Located in the midst of Thar Desert, Bikaner is a “cultural paradise and a traveller’s haven”. Bikaner with its magnificence in architecture, art and culture is filled with colour, festivity and cultural marvels.The city will mesmerize you with the camels sauntering the beautiful sand dunes, its ancient palaces and forts. Rightly called as one of the three great desert kingdoms of Rajasthan, the dazzling city boasts of old-world charm, opulent havelis and depicts a pleasing bygone era of the Rajputs. Best known as the “camel country” for breeding some best-known riding camels, Bikaner also happens to house one of the only two models of the biplane used by the British in World War 1.
Sand Dunes and the Desert Safari are among major attractions. Bikaner is also famous for hosting the international Camel festival which draws tourists from the world over. Other attractions here include experiencing delicacies such as Thandai, Bhujias, shopping for the fascinating Ivory and Lacquer items or simply witnessing the immense heritage taking the form of wall paintings and arts and crafts in the area.
Junagarh Fort
The Junagarh Fort of Bikaner is a magnificent structure around which the city of Bikaner grew up. The fort was initially called Chintamani and later renamed the Junagarh or Old fort in the 20th century. The foundations of the Junagarh fort was built in 1478 by Rao Bika. However, it existed just as a stone fort then. The present grand structure was inaugurated on 17th February 1589.
The palaces inside the fort, the gardens, balconies, kiosks, etc., depict a composite architectural style influenced by the different rulers’ cultural differences and foreign inspirations.
The unique monuments on display in the fort represent 16 generations of rulers in Bikaner starting from the late 16th century.
Karni Mata Temple
The Karni Mata Temple, also popularly known as the Nari Mata Temple or ‘Rat Temple’, is a 600-year-old temple located around 30 km from Bikaner in a small town of Deshnoke in Rajasthan. What is unique about this temple is the fact that 25,000 black rats live, and are worshipped, in the temple. Infact, the food that is eaten by them is considered to be holy and is later served as ‘prasad’.
These holy rats are known as kabbas, and people from all over the world travel great distances to come and visit the temple to pay their respects to these rats. Numerous tales and legends are associated with the temple and the rats that live here, but no one knows the exact history of this unique shrine.
The Karni Mata Temple is also noteworthy for its architecture that has been influenced by the Mughal style of construction. The beautiful temple is adorned with a fantastic marble facade and marble carvings that further add to the charm of this place. While the entire concept of this temple may seem as gross or weird to some, it is a unique experience altogether and is something you should not miss out.
Lallgarh Palace
Lallgarh Palace, a breathtaking Rajasthani Palace, is located in the beautiful city of Bikaner, Rajasthan in India. It was constructed for the Maharaja of Bikaner, Maharaja Ganga Singh, between 1902 and 1926. The palace built in European architecture style has now been opened up for tourists as a Heritage Hotel and the entire estate comes under the National Heritage Trust. The estate also houses a museum named Shri Sadul Museum, where you can find traces of Rajasthani Royalties and get an insight into their extravagant lifestyle.
Built with red sandstone bought from the Thar Desert, the colours of the beautiful structure when they change shades as the day progresses. If you wish to stay at the Lallgarh Palace Hotel, you’ll be amazed at the massive size of the rooms you’ll be living in and the regal hospitality you’ll be receiving. One of the estate wings has been maintained only for the Royal family of Bikaner. The other two wings are for The Lalgarh Palace Hotel and the Lakshmi Niwas Hotel.
Gajner Palace
Gajner Palace is located in the city of Bikaner on the banks of Gajner Lake. This regal palace was built by Maharaja Ganga Singh as a hunting lodge for him and his family but was converted to a hotel in 1976. Gajner Palace offers you a variety of leisure activities from boat rides to desert safaris. Built as a traditional Rajasthani Palace, it is an architectural beauty that now is modernised to host guests. The entire vicinity is filled with lush green trees while the glorious palace itself offers recreational activities like billiards, lawn tennis, cycling, bird watching and wildlife safaris.
National Research Centre On Camel
Identified as one of the important tourist place of Bikaner, National Research Centre On Camel is open for tourists during afternoon. Tourists can see the camel of different breeds and their behavior.
A camel museum is available to apprise them of the developmental and research aspects of the camel in the desert ecosystem. Facilities of camel riding, safari and video/photography are also available. Special attraction of the centre is Camel milk parlour and you can have unique value added camel milk products like ice-cream, hot and cold beverages. There are many shops within the premises too.
Rampuriya Haveli
Among all other havelis like Rikhji Bagri ki Haveli, Haveli of Bhairondan, Daga Chowk Havelis and Sampatlala Agarwal Haveli, Rampuria group of Havelis are known for their more than 400 years old architecture splendour. With intricate details of jharokhas and carvings, havelis are no less than palaces. Source: Holidify.com