Visiting India’s Pushkar Camel Fair

Starting out as just a local trade fair for camel owners, the Pushkar Camel Fair morphed into a huge festival that brings in almost half a million travelers from all over the world. Taking place in November, the fair also revolves around religious rituals, with pilgrims dipping into the holy Pushkar Lake.

© Koshy Koshy | Flickr

The camels draw the crowds — thousand and thousands of camels, many adorned and all for sale. There are camel races and camel beauty contests, all surrounded by other attractions looking to get into the action, from performers and musicians to snake charmers and craftsmen selling their wares.

The religious activities start to commence toward the end of the festival, with villagers arriving from nearby locations to bathe in the lake, participate in ceremonies in makeshift temples and then wash in a massive crowd of thousands at a time in a lake it’s believed was created when Brahama dropped a sacred lotus flower on the Earth.

© Oleg Doroshenko | Dreamstime

You can find many tour operators offer walking tours of the fair, though some additionally include hot-air balloon rides during for a bird’s-eye view of the festivities. The fair is held just outside of Pushkar and hotels sell out quickly, but working with a tour operator can ensure you have a suitable place to stay. One operator, Ampersand Travel, gives you the entire 14-day experience at only a little more than $4,000 per person. The tour includes not only the trip to the fair, but also tours of Delhi, Jaipur and more.

This year, the two-week festival ran Nov. 2–11. Herds of camels arrived over the first several days, until more than 10,000 combined camels, cattle and horses were present. The fairground The bazaars set up shop Nov. 6–7.