Rajasthan, as we all know, is packed with cultural and traditional delights, where celebrations transform everyday life into a vivid canvas of joy and devotion. Visitors plan their Rajasthan visits, especially during festive times, to experience the state’s magic up close. The cultural immersion opportunities set the stage for a bespoke journey rich in color and the spirit of local life.
Below is a list of all the top-most celebrated festivals of Rajasthan, which you must experience once in your lifetime. Let us get started!
Discover the List of the Top Most Important Festivals of Rajasthan: Experiences That Pull You In!
Here you go with a well-curated list of the top festivals in Rajasthan, where the state’s rich culture and communal harmony are showcased in the most authentic form.
Pushkar Camel Fair (Pushkar Mela)
The Pushkar Camel Fair is one of Rajasthan’s grand annual events. It is a week-long celebration showcasing spirituality, desert culture, Rajasthani artistry, and centuries-old trading traditions. The Fair is basically a massive livestock trading gathering, where thousands of horses, camels, and cattle are brought from across the Thar Desert. The Brahma Temple becomes the focal point of the Pushkar Fair for the grand rituals and prayer ceremonies.
- Location: Pushkar (near Ajmer), Rajasthan.
- Dates: Late October to early November
Highlights: Camel trading and competitions (beauty contests, “dancing” camels), handicraft bazaars, cultural performances, energetic horse shows, beautiful folk music & dance, and the religious Shahi Snan (holy bath) at Pushkar Sarovar.
Gangaur Festival
The Gangaur festival is another grand Rajasthan festival on our list, where colorful, culturally significant celebrations turn the atmosphere absolutely immersive and lively. The festival’s name is derived from “Gana” (Lord Shiva) and ‘Gaur’ (Goddess Parvati), celebrating their infinite love and harmony.
Gangaur primarily honors marital fidelity, prosperity, and the well-being of women and their families. Women across the state come forward to celebrate Gangaur with intense zeal and enthusiasm. In Udaipur, the celebrations take a grand turn, with the Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati’s idols being taken to Pichola or Fateh Sagar Lake for ceremonial immersion, accompanied by traditional songs, instruments, and community participation.
- Location: State-wise across Rajasthan
- Dates: Spring to Chaitra (March to April).
Highlights: Married women pray for their husbands’ long lives, while unmarried girls pray for good matches. Processions (beautifully dressed women and painted idols), traditional songs, painted masks, and colorful street parades.
Desert Festival (Jaisalmer Desert Festival)
The Desert Festival in Jaisalmer is another culturally immersive celebration, which is celebrated energetically for over three days. The festival coincides with the harvest season and is a tribute to the vibrant folk traditions of the Thar Desert. The festival wonderfully showcases the state’s incredible rural and desert culture, with strikingly decorated camels and bazaars displaying handicrafts, jewelry, textiles, and miniature paintings.
What’s the best part? Visitors will get intense aromas of delicious Rajasthani cuisine, including Ghevar, Dal-baati-churma, and Mirchi Bada, throughout the place. Grab your choice of flavor-packed delights and enjoy the cultural offerings at the fest!
- Location: Jaisalmer, usually held at Sam dunes or nearby desert venues
- Dates: Winter / late January to early February
Highlights: Camel races & camel polo, the famous ‘Long Walk of Camels’, where camels are elaborately decorated with colorful fabrics, mirrors, and ornaments.
Soak in the fantastic offerings of Desert Festival with our Rajasthan Tour Package today!
Mewar Festival (Udaipur)
This is another grand Rajasthan festival that marks the arrival of spring and the Holi festival. The Mewar Festival is also often considered the Rajasthan equivalent of spring celebrations. The celebrations are all wrapped into the cultural, spiritual, and social activities, beautifully reflecting the heritage of the Mewar kingdom.
Visitors will see women and men, both gorgeously dressed up in traditional, colorful attire with ornate jewelry, performing rituals, singing, and dancing wholeheartedly. The great community spirit is what makes this festival a valid showcase of Rajasthan’s rich cultural heritage and harmony.
- Location: Udaipur and the surrounding Mewar region (processions often start from Gangaur Ghat / City Palace area; events in Gogunda for the village Mewar festival too).
- Dates: Coincides with Gangaur in Chaitra (late March to early April).
Highlights: Wonderful showcases of Ghoomar dance, Bhavai, and traditional music ensembles are central to the festival. Also, decorated palanquins, elephants, horses, and camels parade through the streets.
Teej Festival (Haryali Teej & Kajari Teej)
This is one of the most hugely celebrated Rajasthan festivals, where colors and traditions take on the state. This event is all about women dressing in shades of green, symbolizing fertility and prosperity, and celebrating monsoon, nature, and marital bliss. Teej Festival, both Haryali Teej and Kajari Teej, are dedicated primarily to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva, beautifully celebrating their union.
For travelers wishing to attend the grand celebrations, head for Teej in Jaipur, particularly famous for its grandeur. The travelers will witness grand processions, cultural performances, and royal-style celebrations, often drawing a multitude of tourists each year.
- Location: Statewide, major celebrations in Jaipur, Udaipur, Bundi, and rural areas. Jaipur’s “Shahi Sawari” (royal procession) is famous.
- Dates: Monsoon month Shravan / Bhadrapada (July to August / August to September depending on Teej type)
Highlights: Swings, traditional songs, henna, green garments (for Hariyali Teej), fasting, and the spectacular Shahi Sawari (procession) in Jaipur with decorated elephants, horses, and palanquins, plus a women-led cultural fair in many cities.
Nagaur Cattle Fair
Nagaur Cattle Fair is another of the most incredible festivals in Rajasthan, a culturally vibrant livestock fair continuing for several days in Nagaur. The festival showcases a bustling arena of trading, traditions, colours, and centuries-old desert customs, as well as a massive gathering of cattle, including bulls, camels, horses, and oxen. This event draws large crowds of breeders, pastoral communities, traders, and even curious travelers who wish to witness the authentic side of rural Rajasthan.
The extent to which the cattle are brought here for trade is phenomenal. Moreover, breeds such as the strong Nagauri bulls, celebrated for their power and endurance, draw high demand across India. At the Nagaur Cattle Fair, you will also witness beautifully adorned and styled Camels (just like the Pushkar Camel Fair), and lively negotiations of the buyers and the sellers.
- Location: Nagaur (between Jodhpur and Bikaner), Rajasthan.
- Dates: January to February (lunar calendar/Tithi-linked)
Highlights: Livestock trading (camels, cattle, horses), rural sports, tug-of-war, camel races, traditional performances, folk markets, and a large rural marketplace
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Marwar Festival
This is a must-attend event for those yearning for a cultural Rajasthan experience. Celebrated annually, the Marwar festival, originally known as the Maand Festival, honors the romance, music, valor, and folklore of the erstwhile Marwar region. The event is all about traditional artistry and heroic tales, along with the lively extravaganza of Rajasthan’s cultural identity. The highlight of the event is the soulful singing of Maand, a classical style of Rajasthani folk music, which unfolds the timeless sagas of the brave Marwari heroes.
- Location: Jodhpur city and the nearby village of Osian (Marwar region). Main events often take place at Mehrangarh Fort and Osian.
- Dates: Traditionally on Sharad Purnima (autumn full moon)
Highlights: Evening folk music & dance at Mehrangarh Fort, dances (Kalbelia, Bhopa), puppet shows, camel & horse processions, and spotlight on Rajasthani cuisine and handicrafts.
If you’re planning a trip to Rajasthan, read our blog for the perfect itinerary- Rajasthan 7 Day Itinerary
Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF)
The Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) – a real standout event that takes place every year in the simply stunning Mehrangarh Fort. UNESCO considers this festival to be a real treat – a “People’s Platform for Creativity and Sustainable Development” is what they call it. RIFF gives artists from Rajasthan a huge stage to showcase their folk music, while also opening the door for traditional and contemporary musicians to come together and do their thing. It’s a world/folk music festival, the most important one.
- Location: Mehrangarh Fort and venues around Jodhpur city
- Dates: Tied to Sharad Purnima / autumn full moon (usually October)
- Highlights: Evening concerts, folk music festivals, daytime workshops, street performances, and more.
Urs Festival
This is India’s most spiritually charged festival, during which significant Sufi gatherings are held every year at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The festival is deeply associated with the saint’s union with the Divine, often represented as a moment of spiritual liberation. This festival lasts for six days, transforming Ajmer into a pilgrimage centre for millions of devotees from India and around the world.
- Location: Dargah Sharif (Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti), Ajmer
- Dates: Held annually according to the Islamic lunar calendar (usually in December for recent years)
Highlights: Annual commemoration of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, soulful qawwali nights, prayers, and millions of pilgrims from India and abroad; special rituals (flag raising, ‘Jannati Darwaza’ opening, devotional qawwali sessions) and a uniquely syncretic devotional atmosphere.
Camel Festival
The Camel Festival is another grand festival that truly showcases cultural Rajasthan and is dedicated to Camels, regarded as the “Ship of the Desert”. This annual festival takes place near Junagarh Fort, turning the entire landscape into a canvas of colors, folk artistry, and desert traditions. Skilled trainers bring their camels and participate in grooming competitions, such as “Best Decorated Camel” and “Camel Fur Cutting Design,” with diverse animals’ patterns, furcuts, accessories, and posture judged. The Camel Festival is also a must-attend event, showcasing the camel’s incredible performances, including camel races, acrobatics, dances, and tug-of-war.
- Location: Bikaner
- Dates: Typically, the second week of January
Highlights: Dedicated camel extravaganza, showcasing camel parades, cultural performances, camel races, best-decorated camel contests, folk music and dance, camel polo, and a dive into desert cuisine and crafts.
Are you ready to lose yourself in the cultural magic of the festivals in Rajasthan? Wait no more, and book your perfectly personalized Rajasthan tour package today with JustWravel. Start packing for an adventure wrapped only around fun, exploration, and countless incredible discoveries.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is considered a must-attend event as it brings together world-renowned authors, poets, thinkers, and emerging voices in one open-access space. The incredible cultural and artistic showcases are worth experiencing.
Rajasthan festivals are considered special because they perfectly blend royal traditions, desert rituals, folk performances, and centuries-old customs.
The top activities at Pushkar Fair are trading, cultural competitions, desert camping, energetic bazaars, and a multitude of decorated camels and horses.
The Teej festival in Jaipur is famous for its royal processions, traditional dances, beautifully decorated idols of Goddess Teej, and women dressed in green, making the city glow with festive energy.
Yes, there are several shopping opportunities at the Camel Festival, as thousands of local artisans gather to showcase their leather goods, bead jewelry, tie-dye fabrics, desert handicrafts, carpets, and miniature artworks.
