The Pushkar fair at a glance
What it is: a livestock fair of the Thar and one of India's great pilgrimages, sharing one lunar calendar.
- When
- Kartik, usually late October or November
- Where
- The dunes and the lake of Pushkar
- Lasts
- A herders' week, then five holy days
- Best day
- Early trading days, or the full moon
- Book by
- Many months ahead for the best tents
- Good for
- Photographers and curious travellers
- From Jaipur: about three hours by road.
- Nights we suggest: three or four at Pushkar, ideally two in a camp and two in a resort.
- The honest part: the trading is smaller than it was a generation ago, so come early for the herders and stay late for the faith.
Two gatherings on one patch of sand
Pushkar's story begins with a lotus. In the Puranas, the old books of Hindu legend, Brahma the creator struck a demon with a lotus flower, and where its petals fell, water rose from the desert. The largest of those pools is the lake at the heart of town.
The fire sacrifice: Brahma then held a great yagna on the lake's shore, and ever since Hindus have called Pushkar tirth raj, the king of pilgrimage places.
The holy bathe: many believe that bathing in the lake on the full moon of Kartik washes away the sins of a lifetime. Our page on Pushkar Lake and its ghats tells the legend in full.
- Why a fair grew here: Kartik comes just after the monsoon, when the grazing is good and the animals are in their best condition.
- Why herders sell now: it also comes just before the cold months, when a herder wants to sell rather than feed a beast through the winter.
- From pilgrimage to market: families travelling to the lake anyway brought their camels, horses and cattle, and the dunes on the western edge of town became a market.
- Its scale: over the generations Pushkar ka mela, the Pushkar fair, became one of the largest livestock gatherings in Asia, and one of the oldest.
- Event one, the trading fair: run by Raika and Rabari camel herders, horse breeders and cattle men, with its own codes of bargaining, its own songs and food cooked over dung fires.
- Event two, the pilgrimage: it peaks in the five holiest days before the full moon, when the ghats fill day and night.
- Brahma's festival: the Brahma temple, one of very few in India dedicated to the creator, honours its god with a great festival in those days.
- The overlap: the two events overlap for a few days, and that overlap is the fair most people picture.
- A fair in transition: camel numbers in Rajasthan have fallen sharply as roads, trucks and tractors replaced the work camels once did, one reason the state named the camel its state animal in 2014.
- The honest view: each year the trading is a little smaller and the tourist programme a little larger. The heart is still there if you know when to look.
- How to find it: that is what this page, and our Pushkar Camel Fair journey, are for.
When the fair falls, and how the moon decides
A lunar fair: the Hindu calendar is lunar, so the fair moves against the Western calendar by up to a few weeks each year.
The month: Kartik usually spans parts of October and November, and its full moon, Kartik Purnima, is the climax of everything.
- Month
- Kartik, parts of October and November
- Climax
- Kartik Purnima, the full moon
- In 2026
- Full moon in the last week of November
- Herders arrive
- A week or more before the programme
- Official days
- Ekadashi to the full moon
- Diwali
- About two weeks before the full moon
- Early or late: in some years the fair begins in late October. In most it falls in November.
- This year: in 2026 the Kartik full moon falls in the last week of November, so the herders should be arriving in the middle of the month.
- Who sets the dates: the district administration and Rajasthan Tourism announce the official programme each year, and we confirm the dates for our guests as soon as they are set.
- Diwali first: Diwali, the festival of lights, falls on the new moon about two weeks before Kartik Purnima, so you can see both in one journey.
- A busy fortnight: the roads and hotels of Rajasthan are busy across the whole stretch from Diwali to the full moon.
The herders' week, before the programme
When: animals start arriving a week or more before the official programme.
- Who it suits: photographers and anyone who wants the real trading, with fewer visitors, more camels and long, slow conversations over glasses of sweet tea.
- The feel: the town still belongs to the people who walked there. If this matters most to you, we place your nights early.
The official fair, Ekadashi to the full moon
When: the organised programme of races, contests, music and dance usually runs over the last five days, from Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the bright fortnight, to Kartik Purnima.
- Panch tirth: pilgrims call these the five holy days, and the most devout walk a circuit of all three Pushkar lakes.
- The crowds: this is when the town is at its most crowded and its most devout.
The full moon itself
The scale: on the night and morning of Kartik Purnima, the lake is the centre of the world for hundreds of thousands of people.
- Access: roads into town are restricted, and the ghats are packed from before dawn.
- After dark: lamps float on the water. It is extraordinary to witness and intense to be inside.
- How we watch: from a quiet rooftop rather than the crush on the steps.
The weather in Kartik
Days: warm and dry, often in the high twenties or low thirties.
- Nights: cool enough on the dunes for a shawl, and colder towards the end of November.
- Dust: the fairground is dusty, especially when the wind picks up in the afternoon. Bring a scarf for your face and a cover for your camera.
- The rest of the year: our best time to visit Pushkar guide sets the fair against the other months.
Where the fair happens, from the dunes to the ghats
- Across town
- About half an hour on foot
- Herders camp
- On the dunes west of town
- Ghats
- Fifty-two around the lake
- Savitri climb
- Under an hour, or the ropeway
- Ajmer
- Fifteen minutes over Nag Pahar
The dunes and the mela ground
Where: west of the last houses, where the land flattens and softens into sand.
- The camps: herders live in rows of low shelters made from blankets, saddles and branches, with their animals tethered beside them.
- The mela ground: the fair's own arena sits on this side of town, and the competitions are held there.
- When to walk: at dawn and at dusk, when the light is low and the herds are restless.
The horse lines
Who comes: breeders from across Rajasthan and Gujarat bring Marwari and Kathiawari stallions and mares to a separate area of their own.
- What to look for: the Marwari, with its ears curving inward until the tips almost touch, like a lyre.
- The show: buyers want to see a horse move, so stallions are ridden at a gallop and made to dance in the lanes between the lines.
- Read more: our journal on Marwari horses explains the breed.
The lake and its fifty-two ghats
The heart of the pilgrimage: the ghats, the stepped banks around the water, each with its own families of priests and its own shrines.
- In fair week: they fill with bathers from before sunrise, and the evening aarti, the lamp ceremony, draws crowds on every side.
- Shoes off: take them off before you step onto any ghat.
The Brahma temple
Where: the western end of town, on a raised plinth with a red spire.
- Crowds: busy at every hour during the fair, and busiest of all on the full moon.
- When to go: in the early morning, before the pilgrims arrive in force, or on a quieter week before or after.
Savitri hill
The temple: Savitri, Brahma's first wife, has her temple on Ratnagiri hill above the town.
- The climb: under an hour for most people, and a ropeway runs up for those who prefer it.
- The view at dawn: the lake, the white town and, in fair week, the great camp of herders across the sand, with smoke rising from a thousand fires.
Ajmer, fifteen minutes over the hill
Where: over Nag Pahar, the hill between the two towns.
- The shrine: the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the greatest Sufi shrine in India.
- Why go: an evening of qawwali in its courtyards, after days at the fair, is one of the most moving contrasts in Rajasthan.
- When: we take our guests on the quietest evening of their stay.
A fair day, hour by hour
Before dawn, the cold sand
Be there early: on the dunes about half an hour before sunrise, wrapped in a shawl.
- What you see: camels kneeling where they slept, men wrapped in blankets, and the first fires of the day lit with dung cakes and thorn.
- What you hear: only the groans of the camels and their bells as they shift.
- Why it matters: it is cold, quiet and the most beautiful hour of the fair.
Sunrise, tea and bargaining
Trading begins: as the light comes up, the camels stand and the bargaining starts.
- Slow theatre: a buyer and a seller may sit over tea for an hour, with a go-between holding both their hands under a cloth to signal numbers in private.
- Sit and listen: our guide speaks the herders' dialect and will introduce you, so you can listen rather than photograph from a distance.
- Balloons: on some mornings hot-air balloons lift over the fairground. Our page on hot-air balloons explains how we arrange a flight when conditions allow.
Mid-morning, grooming and the horse lines
Grooming: by nine, the camels are being washed, decorated and shorn in patterns, and the horse breeders are showing their animals at a gallop.
- The stalls: a good time for the edge of the fair, with saddles, bells, nose pegs, embroidered blankets, leather whips and silver.
- Then rest: go back to your camp or resort for breakfast.
Midday, rest
- Hot, bright and dusty: the herders rest too, and we never schedule anything between about eleven and three.
- Instead: a long lunch, a swim and a sleep. The fair will still be there.
Afternoon, the arena
The contests: in the official days, the mela ground brings camel races, decorated camels on parade, tug of war and matka phod, the game of breaking clay pots.
- The famous one: the longest-moustache competition, with folk music and dance between the events.
- Join in: a friendly match between local men and visitors is often on the programme too.
- The programme: it changes a little each year and is announced only shortly before, so we fit your afternoons to it once it is published.
Sunset, the dunes
Beyond the crowds: as the arena empties, walk or ride a camel cart out onto the dunes.
- The light: the sand turns gold and then rose, the herders bring their animals back to camp and the fires are lit again.
- Our ridges: we know a few low ones that most visitors never reach.
After dark, the lake
Aarti: in the evening, the ghats fill for the lamp ceremony.
- Floating lamps: in the days around the full moon, pilgrims float lamps of leaf and flower on the water, and the whole lake glows.
- Your spot: we find you a quiet step or a rooftop, and our guide stays with you through the crowds.
- Then bed: a late, simple dinner and an early night, because dawn comes quickly.
The herders, their camels and their horses
The Raika camel herders
Who they are: most camel men at the fair are Raika, also called Rebari, a herding community whose traditions tie them to the camel more closely than any other people in India.
- Their origin story: their own stories say the first Raika was created by Shiva to look after the first camel, made for Parvati.
- Dress: Raika men wear great turbans, often red, and gold earrings. Their women wear heavy black or deep red skirts and veils.
- Lineage: they know each animal's lineage the way other families know their grandparents. Our journal on the Rabari herders introduces their world.
A camel dressed for the fair
Shearing: coats are shorn in intricate patterns of flowers, waves and geometric bands, a craft some men practise for a lifetime.
- Ornament: beaded collars and bells at the neck, silver or brass at the ankles, embroidered cloth on the saddle.
- Why it matters: a well-decorated camel tells buyers its owner cares.
- The longer story: our piece on the camels of Rajasthan tells the story of the animal and why its numbers have fallen.
The horse breeders
Who they are: often Rajput and Muslim families who have bred Marwari horses for generations.
The breed's past: the Marwari was the warhorse of the Rathores of Marwar, prized for its stamina in the desert.
- A revival: it nearly disappeared in the twentieth century before breeders revived it.
- Dancing horses: watch for Marwari stallions trained to dance to the drum, and riders showing off at a gallop between the lines.
- Cattle: cattle, and the bullocks still used on small farms, have their own corner of the fair.
How the animals are treated
The honest part: not everything at the fair is gentle. Camels are made to race and sometimes to dance, and a few handlers are rough.
- Our rules: camel rides kept short, slow and in the cool hours with handlers we know, and we steer you away from any event where animals look stressed.
- No elephants: our ethical animal encounters page explains our rules, and why we never book elephant rides anywhere in Rajasthan.
Etiquette and respect at the fair
Ask first: ask before photographing anyone, and accept no with a smile. After a few minutes of conversation most herders are happy to pose, and some will want to see the picture.
Never at bathing time: don't photograph people bathing in the lake, and be especially careful with women. The ghats are private spaces at bathing time.
Shoes off: on every ghat and in every temple. Leave them with your guide or at the stands outside.
- A sacred town: Pushkar is vegetarian and alcohol is not sold. Please don't bring meat, eggs or alcohol into it.
- No public affection: don't kiss or hold each other closely in public.
- Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered, for men and women alike, is the rule that keeps everyone comfortable.
- Accept tea: sit when you are offered tea at a herder's fire, and take a small glass. It is the most generous welcome of the fair.
- No handouts: don't hand out sweets or money to children.
- Mind your bag: keep a hand on it in the crowds, and leave valuables at the hotel. Our page for women travellers has practical advice for the full-moon days.
How we plan your fair
Choose your half: come early for the herders and the trading, or late for the pilgrims and the full moon.
Four nights for both: with four you can see some of each, but the dates rarely let you see the best of both in only two. We place your nights with you against the year's calendar.
Camp or resort: a camp near the fairground puts you on the sand at dawn, which is the whole point for photographers. A resort outside town gives you a pool, a spa and a quiet night.
- Lead time
- Many months ahead for the full-moon days
- Nights
- Three at least, four for both halves
- Crowds
- Moderate early, enormous from Ekadashi
- Dust
- Bring a large cotton scarf
- Cold
- A fleece at dawn, cotton by eleven
- Our own way: two nights of each, with the choices explained below.
- Book early: the best tents near the fairground and the best rooms for the days around the full moon are reserved many months ahead, and some properties ask for minimum stays.
- How we hold rooms: as soon as the dates are announced, and we visit the camps ourselves before we recommend them.
- Road closures: on the busiest days roads into town are closed to most traffic, so we plan walks rather than drives around the full moon and keep a car on call for the evenings.
- Kit: something to seal your camera against the dust.
- More detail: our Pushkar fair guide has a fuller packing and practical list.
Where to stay for the fair
A luxury camp near the fairground
What opens: tented camps on the edge of the dunes, during the fair.
The best: large canvas tents on raised floors, proper beds, attached bathrooms with hot water, heaters for the cold nights and fresh vegetarian food.
- The worst: crowded rows of small tents beside a loudspeaker.
- Our five checks: the walk to the fairground, the noise at night, the bathrooms, the heating, and whether the camp keeps its promises year after year.
- Why no names: camp names change, so we recommend them each season rather than in print.
A resort at the edge of town
The Westin Pushkar Resort and Spa: at the foot of the Aravallis on the edge of town, the most polished choice, with gardens, pools and a large spa.
- Ananta Spa and Resort: quieter and more rural.
- Pratap Mahal: an IHCL SeleQtions hotel between Pushkar and Ajmer.
- Why a resort: all three give you calm after a day of dust. Our guide to luxury hotels in Pushkar compares them honestly.
A haveli on the lake, for one night
The idea: a single night for the full moon in a heritage hotel on the ghats, waking to the bells and the bathers.
- The trade-off: simpler rooms and loud lanes, but the dawn from a lakeside terrace is unforgettable.
- Who it suits: we suggest it only to guests who want atmosphere above comfort.
A palace nearby
Phool Mahal: a palace base in Kishangarh, about an hour away. Jaipur works too, driving in for dawn and dusk.
- The trade-off: you lose the camp mornings, but you sleep in a royal house.
- Every option: our overview of luxury stays in Pushkar sets them all out.
What to eat at the fair
Herders' fires: thick bajra rotis made from pearl millet and a pot of dal or spiced vegetables, cooked over small fires of wood and dung.
Tea: endless glasses boiled with milk, sugar and ginger. If you are invited to share, accept a little.
The stalls: pakoras, jalebis and kachoris fried in vast iron pans around the fairground.
- Prasad: sweet sellers pile their trays with laddoos and the sugar sweets that pilgrims take home as prasad, food blessed in the temple.
- Malpua: Pushkar's famous pancake, fried in ghee and soaked in syrup, in the bazaar. Have a clay cup of lassi with it.
- Roses: buy rose water and gulkand, a preserve of rose petals, from the town's rose gardens, which supply temples across the region.
- Vegetarian and dry: the town is vegetarian and alcohol-free, and the food is better for it.
- How we do it: you taste your way round the stalls with a guide who knows which pans are freshest, but proper meals stay at the camp or the resort, because dust and crowds make hygiene hard.
- Quieter weeks: our food of Pushkar guide lists our favourite places to eat.
Journeys and places to combine with the fair
The Pushkar Camel Fair journey
Length: nine nights, starting in Jaipur.
- Pushkar: four nights, two in a camp and two in a resort, with an evening at Ajmer.
- The finish: three nights by the lakes of Udaipur. It is the way we would take our own friends.
Diwali first, then the fair
Timing: Diwali falls about two weeks before Kartik Purnima.
- The plan: spend the festival of lights in the bazaars of Jaipur, then drive three hours west for the fair.
- Read more: our Diwali in Jaipur journey can lead straight into it, and our page on Diwali in Rajasthan explains the five days.
Udaipur or Jodhpur afterwards
Why: after the dust, a palace by the water is the perfect reward.
- Udaipur: Udaipur is about five to six hours south, and we break the drive with lunch at Deogarh Mahal.
- Jodhpur: about four to five hours west, and from there the desert triangle continues to Jaisalmer.
Other fairs in Kartik
Bundi: the Bundi Utsav is also held in Kartik.
- Kota: the Kota Dussehra falls a few weeks earlier.
- Nagaur: the Nagaur cattle fair, a great livestock gathering of a different character, falls later in the winter, so it suits a second visit.
The sacred trail
- The route: Pushkar, Ajmer, Nathdwara and Ranakpur together make one of the richest pilgrim journeys in India.
- The timing: our sacred Rajasthan journey can be timed so you reach Pushkar for the full moon.
Who will love the fair, and who won't
Curious travellers: you will love it if you are curious about living tradition and enjoy early mornings and long conversations through a translator.
Adventurers: dust, crowds and loud music should sound like an adventure.
- Photographers and writers: anyone who wants to understand rural Rajasthan finds it endlessly rich. Our photography tips explain how to work with the light here.
- Harder for: anyone who dislikes crowds, noise or dust, wants wine with dinner, or thinks of luxury as silence.
- Loud all week: fair week in Pushkar is loud from before dawn until late, and the town's rules apply to everyone.
- The calm alternative: come to Pushkar in December or February instead, when the ghats belong to local pilgrims and the town is calm.
- The month: our guide to Rajasthan in November shows what else it offers.