Bikaner in Rajasthan, India is a vast expanse of rippling sand right in the middle of the desert and situated on an elevated ground, surrounded by a seven-kilometer-long embattled wall marked by five gates.
The Rathore prince Rao Bikaji, the son of Rao Jodhaji of Marwar, founded Bikaner in 1488 AD. The fortified town still preserves the aura of medieval times, as it is protected by the harsh desert and has remained untouched by outside influence.
In the center of Bikaner is the Junagarh Fort, around which the town has developed. The fort is lavish and huge and houses stunning apartments worth seeing such as the Anup Mahal, Karan Mahal and Phool Mahal. There is the Durbar Hall, built at the turn of the century, using carved wood by Maharaja Ganga Singh who also built Lallgarh which is the residence of the royal family. It entirely built of red sandstoneand designed by British Architect Sir Swinton Jacob and is the finest example of Rajput Architecture. The building features magnificent pillars, elaborate fireplaces, Italian colonnades and intricate latticework and filigree work. The palace houses the Shri Sadul Museum as well as the fourth largest library in the world.

Other Museums are at Junagarh which includes a World War 1 fighter aircraft, and another section for royal robes and dresses and the Golden Jubilee Museum which displays everything from paintings to armor, coin, pottery, carpets, sculptures and remnants from the Harappan period.

For shopping you can visit Katla at Kote Gate or MG Road and Station road for local fabrics, footwear, tie and dye saris, jootis, etc. Also pick up some miniatures from the Bikaner School of Painting. Urmul Trust- a rural village cooperative was established to promote village crafts, fabrics which can be purchased from its shop near the Junagarh fort. A unique Bikaner art is gesso work which is painting on camel hides which are sold as door hangings, lamp shades, photo frames and decorations.

Bikaner also boasts of a camel breeding farm, where camels are bred from species all over the world.
Try out the kachoris and ras malai at Station road. However those averse to street food stay away!! Take home some Bhujias, namkeens and papads which is also what Bikaner is famous for.

Distance from Delhi: 548 km
Best time to Visit: October to March
Getting there
By train: 11 hrs by train to the Bikaner Station.
By Road: 11 hrs Drive

This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 1:38 am and is filed under Historical Places. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.