Overview

Bikaner is located in the northern part of Rajasthan; it lies in the midst of Thar Desert, and was founded by Rao Bhikaji in 1488 A.D. Bikaner is famous for its rich history, rugged forts & lavish palaces and also for a well maintained wild life sanctuary. Bikaner is a royal city surrounded by a mammoth fortification wall, more than 5 km in circumference and about 5 to 9m high. The city is bright and alive and colorful with its traditional costumes, vivacious fairs and festivals, paintings and murals and electrifying wares and hordes of artistic skills that have been practiced there for centuries.

Tourist attractions in Bikaner

Junagarh Fort

A Mighty Fort; The Great Jewel Of Bikaner; A Fort Never Conquered; The Fort With Mighty Turrets And Battlements; the only way to describe Junagarh Fort is in superlatives. Junagarh Fort was built by Raja Raj Singh and has beautiful palaces, temples and pavilions numbering thirty-seven in all. Built in red sandstone and marble, they are all richly decorated with mirror work, paintings and outstanding stone carvings. The architectural brilliance of the fort is worth seeing.

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Lalgarh Palace

Lallgarh Palace is the pride of Bikaner. This palace was built by Maharaja Ganga Singh (1881-1942), Sir Swinton Jacob being the chief architect. It is a beautifully designed building, made of red sandstone on a lavish scale and has a perfect blend of Rajput, Mughal and the European style architecture. The palace is adorned with beautiful old paintings & hunting trophies. It has some exquisite latticework and filigree work that is done by craftsmen from Bikaner itself. The Palace has wild peacocks spreading their feathers at almost every step among the flowering rows of bougainvillea.

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Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary

Gajner was the hunting reserve of the Maharaja of Bikaner, Maharaj Ganga Singh Ji. The sanctuary also houses a hunting lodge that nowadays provides accommodation to tourists. Spotted deer, antelopes, wild boar, black bucks, neelgais, and chikaras are the commonly found animals at Gajner wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary at Gajner is more like an oasis in the Thar Desert. It even has a Palace that is now a heritage hotel. The Gajner Palace hotel has eleven luxury suites and thirty-three rooms.

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Karni Mata Temple

This Hindu Temple is dedicated to Karni Mata. It is located at Deshnoke, around 30 kms from Bikaner. The temple is known due to approximately 25,000 black rats living here. Devotees can be seen feeding and worshipping them.

Other popular attractions of Bikaner are:

• Jain Temple Bhandasar
• National Research Centre on Camel
• Kodamdeshwar Temple
• Shri Laxminath Temple
• The Royal Cenotaphs

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