bikaner

About Bikaner :

Bikaner is a vibrant, dust-swirling desert town with a fabulous fort, a refreshing outpost feel and a burgeoning tourist trade. Close to the fort lies the rickety old walled city, a medieval maze of narrow, dark and uneven streets decorated with rubbish heaps, medicine men, gambling dens, dark-red sandstone havelis and some exquisitely painted Jain temples. Bikaner was founded in 1488 by Rao Bika, a descendant of Jodha, Jodhpur’s founder, and was another important staging post on the great caravan trade routes. When the British arrived centuries later, the state of Bikaner exchanged its finest camels for its freedom. Camel safaris continue to grow in popularity here, as travellers chase the silken darkness of a desert dawn without the hassle of Jaisalmer. Many travellers also come to visit the notorious Karni Mata Temple in Deshnok, 30km south, where pilgrims worship thousands of holy rats, or Kolayat, 54km south, a temple town where sadhus (spiritual men) swim in rubber tyres. There’s a camel festival in January.

Bikaner is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan in northern India. It is located 330 kilometres (205 mi) northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. It was formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner. The city was founded by Rao Bika. Bikaner.^[1]^[2]^[3] in 1486 and from its small origins it has developed into the fifth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganges Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, have allowed the farming of crops such as mustard, cotton, groundnuts, wheat and vegetables. Other industries include wool production and the mining of Gypsum, plaster of Paris and bentonite.

History of Bikaner

Prior to the mid 15th century, the region that is now Bikaner was a barren wilderness called Jangladesh.[4] In 1488 Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner. Rao Bika was the second son of Maharaja Rao Jodha of the Rathor clan, the founder of Jodhpur and conquered the largely arid country in the north of Rajasthan. As the second son of Joda he had no chance of inheriting Jodhpur from his father or the title of Maharaja. He therefore decided to build his own kingdom in what is now the state of Bikaner in the area of Jungladesh. Though it was in the Thar Desert, Bikaner was considered an oasis on the trade route between Central Asia and the Gujarat coast as it had adequate spring water. Bika’s name was attached to the city he built and to the state of Bikaner (“the settlement of Bika”) that he established. Bika built a fort in 1478, which is now in ruins, and a hundred years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city centre, known as the Junagarh Fort

Tips for Bikaner stay