A Complete Guide on Pushkar Camel Fair 2023 (Pushkar Fair or Pushkar Mela) is a fascinating annual five-day festival held in a holy town of Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan, India. Pushkar, one of the oldest cities in India hosts one of a kind Camel & livestock trading fare where more than 50,000 camels are decorated, raced, displayed & traded ever year. Pushkar Camel Fair originally started to attract local cattle traders to do business has now also turned into one of India’s most famous tourist attraction.
This festival of bright colours now attracts huge numbers of visitors from around the globe. It is the second largest cultural gathering in India after the great Kumbha Mela. In addition to camel trading, puppet shows, craft shops, moustache race, acrobatics and many of these events have become a highlight of the fair.
There are mainly two components to the Pushkar Fair: a) camel trading b) religious rituals. In the first 5 days of the festival, camel trade takes place and draws most tourists. Diverse religious practises such as bathing in the Holy Pushkar Lake take place at the end of the Pushkar Mela.
Dates of Pushkar Camel Fair
From 20 to 27 November 2023, the most eagerly anticipated Pushkar Camel Fair will be held. There’s going to be a huge rush at this fair, so booking it in advance is recommended. If you come before the festival, you will catch glimpses and swings.
About Pushkar city
In Rajasthan, near Ajmer, famous for Ajmer Sharif, Pushkar is a small religious town. As a tourist venue, Pushkar was never too popular among Indians, but the number of tourists has increased rapidly in recent years due to the growing popularity of the Puskar Festival among the masses. Interestingly, there is only Brahma’s temple in Pushkar in the country. The centre of many religious ceremonies is Pushkar Lake in Pushkar, such as pilgrims taking a holy dip along the 50 odd ghats along the lake.
History of Pushkar Festival:
The fair is believed to be around 151 years old and its origins are based on a legend mentioned in some scriptures. According to this legend, Pushkar Lake sprang up when a lotus flower which Lord Vishnu was carrying fell on the Earth. The history of Pushkar Festival mentions that all the 330 million Gods and Goddesses of Hindu religion assemble around this sacred lake to perform a special “yajna” on the day of Poornima (full moon night) to purify themselves from the misdeeds committed in past lives.
A dip in the lake on this day implies washing away the sins as the water of the lake is believed to have healing properties. Due to the observance of these rituals, Pushkar is noted as one of the five holiest cities located in Rajasthan India.
Things to do in Pushkar
The Holy Pushkar Lake along which the whole town transforms into a marvelous carnival
- Hot Air Balloon ride: Get on a Hot Air Balloon to view the camel fair. It will become one of the unforgettable moments of your trip. SkyWaltz is one of the vendors providing exciting balloon flights over Pushkar.
- Camel Safari: Take the Camel Safari and enjoy the desert landscape and the camel fair spectacle from the best seat in town.
- Witness or take a dip in Holy Pushkar Lake: Pilgrims do it as part of religious rituals and it is believed to wash away sins committed just like a holy dip in River Ganges.
- Brahma Temple: Visit the ancient and famous only Brahma Temple in the world.
- Shopping: you can buy a wide variety of things such as clothes, jewelry, Beads, bangles, small idols, lovely glassware, antique items etc. Pushkar offers one of the very unique shopping experiences in India. Remember to always bargain with the shopkeepers.
Major Attractions in Pushkar Fair
The Pushkar fair is definitely one of the world’s most famous cattle fairs, featuring camels as the main attraction. Over here, camels are adorned with lovely jewels, saddles of various colours, and other elements. Such camels are then shown for trading. There are also numerous camel-related events, such as shaving, camel parades, camel beauty pageants, camel races, and camel dance, etc. Seeing the auction of various animals in the middle of the desert is one of the most significant scenes to be seen when doing Rajasthan tours.
Other than this, the Rajasthani people perform different cultural programmes, musical performances, and folk dances. There are also magic shows performed by magicians that are run by them. You will also not be able to stop the performance of snake charmers at the fair.
There is a full lane devoted to candy and treats, where wherever you go you can see mouthwatering food products. At the Pushkar fair, where individuals with moustaches of various sizes compete, an exclusive completion of moustaches is also carried out, and the best one is deemed the most beautiful moustache.
Places to Visit Near Pushkar
Even around Pushkar there are a lot of places that one can visit. Some of these places are
1. Ajmer
Ajmer is located at a distance of 16 kilometres from Pushkar and has numerous historical monuments which attract the tourists here.
2. Savitri Lake
This Lake is located at the top of the Ratnagiri Hills. There is picturesque scenery waiting to greet the tourists here. You can ride a ropeway to reach this place, it’s a six minutes journey and cost INR 90.
3. Anasagar Lake
This Lake is located right at the centre of Pushkar. You can enjoy a calm and relaxing time here while munching on the local street food and enjoying the boat rides in the lake.
4. Jaipur
Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, has some beautiful historical sites and gardens that often leaves the tourists amazed and in wonder. There are also several markets here for the tourists interested in a little bit of shopping.