Rajasthan Desert Festival

About the festival
The Desert Festival is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation at Jaisalmer which goes on for a period of three days. This eventful festival falls in the month of February when lakhs of people from various parts of the world gather in Jaisalmer to become a part of the jubilation. During these three days, the entire city resonates with folk music when camel races, folk dances and competitions are conducted to pull the tourists and promote local handicrafts. Among the highlights of the festival are the fire dancers swaying to traditional tunes, turban-tying competition and a Mr. Desert contest.
The Tourism Department of Rajasthan is resposible for the organization of the festival and delivering a praiseworthy job to cater to every requirement of the tourists coming from different places just to witness the festival celebrations. It is noteworthy that good artistes of international repute are brought by the department to perform at the festival.

This unusual festival has something for everyone, starting from vigorous camel rides, turban tying competition to the Mr Desert contest and even a prize for the most impressive moustache. Besides these, camel races and camel polo add an extra flavour to the whole event.

If you happen to visit Jaisalmer during the time of the festival, then make sure you do not miss this extraordinary festival as it gives a vivid picture of the romance and zeal of Rajasthan and its a guarantee that you will leave from here with fond memories for a lifetime.


Major events of the festival
Folk Dances
Folk dances like moria, ghoomar, dhap, chari, gair and kalbelia are the chracteristic features of the Desert festival. Its an unforgettable spectable to watch women dancing to the beats of dholaks and swaying to the tunes of sarangi. People in large numbers gather to see these outstanding performances.

Kalbelia dance in Moonlit desert
Moon has a great impact on all the dancers and onlookers. The Kalbelia dancers give a memorable performance during night in moonlight and are generally compared to the belly dancers of Egypt.
Other events
Among the other events are camel rides, turban tying competition, Mr Desert contest, prize for the most impressive moustache, camel races and camel polo.
» Duration : Three days
» Time : February
» Venue : Jaisalmer, Rajasthan