India · State of Rājasthān
Where to Stay in Bikaner, State of Rājasthān
Bikaner is a city of northwest Rajasthan in India, a desert town of the Thar, famed for its unconquered fort, its camel country, and its temple of revered rats.
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Where to stay in Bikaner
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Where you stay in Bikaner turns on the old town or the fort. The lanes of the walled city keep the havelis, the markets, and the temples within a walk, and staying downtown suits anyone here for the old town. The fort stands to the north.
Camels rest in the lanes. Out toward the fort and the desert, the town gives way to the palaces, the camel farm, and the roads into the Thar. A room out of the centre trades the lanes for the quiet dunes, the old palace hotels, and the wide sands beyond the walls.
Thar sand takes over past the last gate. Stay downtown for the old town, or out for the desert. The red fort and the wide sands hold the desert city.
About Bikaner
Bikaner is the desert city of northwest Rajasthan.
What is Bikaner known for?
In the sands of the Thar in the west of India, it grew as a caravan town on the old trade roads, and it keeps the great red fort of Junagarh never taken by a foe, the camel country of the desert, the rat temple of Karni Mata nearby, and the carved havelis of the old walled town. The dry sands run to the sky. Camels cross the desert roads.
What are the main landmarks in Bikaner?
Junagarh fort is the pride of Bikaner. The great red-sandstone fort never taken by a foe, filled with painted halls and courts, is the emblem of the city, downtown. A rat temple stands to the south.
The temple of Karni Mata at Deshnok, alive with revered rats, draws pilgrims out of town, while the Jain temples, the camel farm, and the carved havelis mark the country around Bikaner.
What is the history of Bikaner?
Bikaner rose in the desert sands. A Rathore prince founded the town in fourteen eighty-eight on the caravan roads of the Thar, and it grew as a market of the desert trade. A great fort held the town.
The kings raised the red fort of Junagarh on the plain, so strong that no enemy ever took it, and filled it with painted halls. The camel made the desert town. Bikaner bred fine camels for the trade and the war, and its camel corps became famous across the land.
The faith kept old shrines. At Deshnok nearby stood the temple of Karni Mata, where holy rats are revered, and Jain temples rose in the town, and Bikaner grew as a city of the Thar, keeping its fort, its camels, and its shrines. The sands still ring the walls.
Bikaner keeps its desert city in the Thar.
Where is Bikaner?
Bikaner lies in the northwest of India, in the heart of the Thar desert. The city sits on a low rise of the dry plain, ringed by sand and scrub, in the arid north of Rajasthan, with the great desert stretching away on every side and the border with Pakistan far to the west. The dry plain runs flat and bare.
Sand dunes roll to the sky.
What is the climate of Bikaner?
Bikaner has a harsh, dry desert climate. Scorching summers and cold winters cross the Thar, with fierce dry heat before a scant monsoon and cold clear nights in winter. Dry heat sears the sands.
Winter nights turn cold.
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Updated August 2026