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Witness / Attend in PushkarIN
A small Rajasthani pilgrimage town wrapped around a sacred lake, home to one of the world's very few Brahma temples. Each November its desert edge fills with tens of thousands of camels, horses, and traders for one of the largest livestock fairs on earth.
Why here
The Pushkar Fair is one of the last great livestock fairs anywhere: for about a week around the full moon of Kartik, the dunes outside town fill with camels being groomed, raced, traded, and paraded, alongside horse markets, moustache competitions, and a funfair that has grown around the commerce. What makes it worth planning a trip around is that the fair is not staged for tourists, the camel trading is real business that predates the cameras, and it coincides with a major Hindu pilgrimage, so the same week the dunes are full of camels, the ghats around the sacred lake are full of pilgrims bathing at Kartik Purnima. Arrive early in the fair window: the trading (the most photogenic and authentic part) peaks in the first days, before the official program takes over.
Best months
The fair follows the lunar calendar, building through the week before Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik, and culminating on it. Upcoming Kartik Purnima dates: November 24, 2026 and November 13, 2027. Dates shift yearly, so verify against Rajasthan Tourism's published program before booking. November in Rajasthan is dry and pleasant, warm days and cool desert nights. Accommodation in Pushkar books out months ahead for fair week, with tent camps on the outskirts absorbing the overflow.
Getting there & around
Fly into Jaipur (JAI) and drive about three hours, or take a train to Ajmer, thirty minutes away, from Delhi or Jaipur. Book rooms or a tent camp three to six months ahead for fair week; prices multiply and the town's small size means everything central sells out. The fairgrounds, dunes, and lake ghats are all walkable from town, no internal transport needed.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Rajasthan Tourism
organizerThe state tourism department that conducts the official Pushkar Fair program, publishing each year's dates and the schedule of competitions, cultural performances, and events layered onto the traditional livestock trading. The authoritative source for planning a fair visit.
SIA Photography
GuideRuns a dedicated Pushkar Camel Fair photography tour led by photographer Saurabh Chatterjee, with small groups, dawn dune sessions among the camel traders, and image review after each shoot. Access and instruction for the fair, which Rajasthan Tourism organizes.