Camels And More, Only At Pushkar Camel Fair

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The Pushkar Camel Fair is one of the most highly-rated travel experiences and visitors to India must add it to their itinerary. Not just visitors to the country, but even Indians have been known to make several trips to the fair, which is held in Pushkar, Rajasthan every year around October and November.

This is an epic festival, unlike any that you have ever seen before. The sheer number of camels, horses and cattle that take over the area is mindboggling. We are talking thousands, if not more. The colours, the sights, the sounds and of course, the smells, all create a one-of-a kind holiday that you will not forget for a long time. No wonder the fair sees nearly 400,000 people visiting Rajasthan for those 14 days alone.

But do all these people come to Pushkar to just meet-n-greet the animals? As exciting as it is to see exotically decked up animals from up close and personal, once you’ve seen a few, you’ve seen them all. Then what? Is there anything else going on around the town for you to enjoy?

Plenty, we say. The fair itself has numerous excitements in store for you. And while you might find it difficult to pull yourself away from all the buzz of the mela (fair, as it is called in India), there is a lot for you to see and enjoy in and around Pushkar itself.

So, hold your hats for a bit and get ready for a whirlwind journey across one of India’s most colourful, fascinating and beautiful lands.

At The Fair

The animals start to arrive at the fair over the course of a few days. Magnificent camels, sprightly horses and gentle cattle, all mill about within a few square kilometres. The air is frenetic with animal activity, and with buyers and sellers sitting down over endless cups of chai (tea) to arrive at the best price for the animals. You can move about and observe people as they try and strike the best deal. Sometimes it might take days. The animals are decked up in their finery; you will also spot fantastic camel fur art. Just don’t fall in love with any of the gorgeous animals on display. You wouldn’t know what to do with it later.

Soon the tented marketplace is being set up and you will start to see stalls and a mini bazaar with attractive handicrafts and daily use items out on display. Things will only get livelier from here on. Anywhere you walk about in the fair, you will get to see fascinating performances. Get your ringside seat and watch acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and other nomadic performers display their skills. Several of these people come from the Nath performing community that has been performing for centuries, and they learn these skills from a young age.

Apart from this, there are moustache competitions, snake charmers, camel races and parades and carousel rides too.

For many people, the Pushkar Camel Fair is also a chance to catch up with relatives and acquaintances. It is a social gathering where at times, even marriages are arranged. Most of the people who come to the fair live in the desert and this is an opportunity for them to sell and buy necessary items. Some have travelled for weeks to get to this location, while others arrive on bullock carts, on camels or in trucks.

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Pushkar Camel Fair : An Event Of Gastronomical Proportions

No festival of India is complete without food, and the Pushkar Camel Fair is no different. As the people start to arrive and set up their tents, so do the culinary artists and food sellers. The fair is a heady cornucopia of tastes, flavours and variety, liberally littered with stalls offering you lip-smacking dishes.

The foods available at Pushkar are such that you can eat whatever your heart desires at any time of the day. Simple, yet delicious, each of the hearty dishes has sustained the people of Rajasthan for countless centuries and they will sustain you too during your visit to the land of camels.

Begin your day with a breakfast of piping hot puris and sabji (puri is a fried bread that is crisp and flaky on the outside and soft inside, and sabji is usually boiled potatoes in a flavourful gravy). You can find this almost at every food joint within Pushkar. A samosa or kachori (deep fried wheat puffs either filled with potatoes in the case of the samosa, or a combination of pulses and spice in the kachori). Have them hot with a special chutney.

Do not miss the authentic north Indian aaloo-chhole-tikki-chaat when in Pushkar. You will go back dreaming of the flavours for a long time. Potato patties doused in chickpea curry and with a ladle of coriander and mint chutney.

For sweets, you must have the kalakand (sweetened milk cake) and the jalebi (deep fried pretzel shaped dish soaked in sugar syrup). Wash it all down with a glass of sugarcane juice. Hold the ice as you never know where the water for that came from.

Adventures Galore

What else can you expect at Pushkar once you are done eating and have made friends with the animals? The quaint town in the Thar Desert has quite a few adventures and offbeat things that you can try your hand at.

Ride a camel, for starters. It is a bumpy ride, initially, but once you get the rhythm, you will soon start to enjoy the languid pace of the being as it takes you through the sand dunes with the wind rushing through your hair.

Around the same time as the Pushkar camel fair, the town organises a hot air balloon festival. You can get some of the best views of the town, the fair and the surrounding areas from the balloons. Best of all, you get to beat the crowds and still manage to see the fair.

Climb down to earth and hop into a jeep. The Pushkar jeep safari is a thrilling way to see the rugged landscape that surrounds Pushkar. These rides will also take you to relatively lesser known local attractions of such as hidden waterfalls, rare wildlife and it is again a way to get away from the crowd and do your own thing.

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For History And Heritage Lovers

Pushkar is an old town and like all places in India, it too has a rich history. Walk in its by-lanes to get a sense of its rich past and culture. When in Pushkar, don’t miss a visit to the Brahma Temple which is the centre of the festivities. The Gangaur Ghat is where all the musicians congregate, and you can enjoy a lovely evening listening to traditional drums of Rajasthan. Another temple that you must add to your itinerary is the Ajaypal Ji Temple. The structure itself if beautiful, but it is the ride to the temple that is even more spectacular.

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Conclusion

The 14-day Pushkar camel festival is a beehive of activity and you must plan to spend several days here to be able to truly soak in the experience of one of India’s largest animal fairs.

If we’ve whetted your appetite for the Pushkar Camel Fair, do check out our curated Pushkar Fair packages to find one that is meant just for you.