Pushkar Camel Fair 2026: Dates, Programme and Guide

The Pushkar Camel Fair, or Pushkar Mela, is one of the largest, most famous and most colourful fairs anywhere in the world, a truly dazzling week-long spectacle of camels, vibrant folk culture and sacred ritual, all set in the small sacred desert town of Pushkar in Rajasthan. This complete guide from Delhi Agra Tour Packages covers the Pushkar Camel Fair 2026 in full, the dates, the complete phased programme day by day, the highlights, how to reach Pushkar and how to plan your visit, ideal as part of a wider Rajasthan trip within our Delhi Agra Tour Packages.

I was born in Delhi, and in more than 11 years planning trips across Rajasthan for Experience My India I have taken many travellers to the Pushkar Fair. Here is the clear, practical guide.

Pushkar Camel Fair 2026 at a glance

What is the Pushkar Camel Fair?

The Pushkar Camel Fair, known in Hindi as the Pushkar Mela, is a huge annual livestock fair and cultural and religious festival held in the small, sacred town of Pushkar, in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan. It is one of the largest camel and livestock fairs anywhere in the world, and one of India's most famous and photographed festivals.

What makes the Pushkar Fair so very special is the remarkable way it blends three quite different things into one great, sprawling event over the course of a week. It begins as a vast and ancient livestock fair, with many thousands of camels, horses and cattle brought in by herders and traders from right across the desert for buying and selling. It then grows and blossoms into a vibrant cultural festival, full of colourful competitions, folk music and swirling dance. And finally, as it coincides each year with the holy day of Kartik Purnima, it becomes a deeply sacred and moving occasion, as great crowds of pilgrims gather to bathe in the waters of the holy Pushkar Lake. This extraordinary mix of rural commerce, vivid colour and heartfelt devotion, all in one place, is exactly what draws so many visitors, photographers and pilgrims to Pushkar from all over India and indeed the whole world.

When is the Pushkar Camel Fair 2026?

The Pushkar Camel Fair 2026 is scheduled from 17 November to 24 November 2026, with the main religious and spiritual peak occurring on Kartik Purnima, the full moon, on 24 November 2026.

Because the fair is tied to the Hindu lunar calendar, in particular the full moon of the month of Kartik, its dates change from year to year, so they are different each year and should always be reconfirmed when planning. In 2026, the livestock began arriving from around 10 November, the fair proper runs from 17 to 24 November, and the sacred climax falls on Kartik Purnima on 24 November.

The Pushkar Camel Fair 2026 programme

The Pushkar Fair unfolds in distinct phases, moving from the raw energy of the livestock trading, through the colour of the cultural festivities, to the sacred rituals at the end. Here is how the 2026 programme unfolds:

10 to 16 November: early livestock arrival

In the week before the main fair, the Animal Husbandry Department cattle fair begins, and the farmers and herders start to arrive, bringing their camels, horses and cattle in from the margins of the desert. This is a quieter but atmospheric time, as the great camp slowly takes shape on the fairgrounds.

17 to 20 November: livestock trading and action

The first main phase is all about the livestock. The focus is on camel trading, with thousands of camels changing hands, alongside livestock beauty contests, splendid decorated camel parades, and the initial bustle of rural commerce. This is the traditional heart of the fair, and a wonderful sight.

21 to 23 November: cultural highlights

The fair then bursts into colour with its famous cultural competitions and performances. These include turban-tying contests, the celebrated longest-moustache contest, bridal pageants, the matka phod, or pot-breaking, and the much-loved local-versus-tourist football and other matches. In the evenings, there are folk performances, with traditional Langa and Kalbelia music and the swirling Kalbelia dance of Rajasthan.

24 November: Kartik Purnima, the spiritual climax

The fair reaches its sacred climax on Kartik Purnima, the full moon day that gives the fair its spiritual heart. On this holiest of days, great crowds of devotees and pilgrims gather to perform sacred ritual dips in the holy waters of the Pushkar Lake, across its 52 bathing ghats, believed to cleanse and bless. The bathing is accompanied by the grand Maha Aarti, a deeply moving and beautiful ceremony of flickering lamps, bells and prayer by the water's edge as evening falls, a fitting and sacred end to the great fair.

Where is the Pushkar Camel Fair held?

The Pushkar Camel Fair is held at Pushkar, a small and ancient sacred town in Rajasthan, about 145 km from Jaipur. The fair takes place on the massive, open fairgrounds on the edge of the town, beside the desert dunes and close to the sacred Pushkar Lake.

Pushkar itself is one of the very holiest towns in all of India, set peacefully around its revered and ancient lake, and home to the famous Brahma Temple, one of only a handful of temples dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator, anywhere in the world. During the days of the fair, this normally quiet and sleepy little pilgrimage town is utterly transformed into a vast, sprawling, colourful tented camp, buzzing day and night with camels, traders, musicians, sadhus, pilgrims and visitors drawn from right across the globe.

Entry and tickets

General entry to the open fairgrounds of the Pushkar Camel Fair is completely free for everyone, so anyone can simply wander in and enjoy the atmosphere, the camels, the parades and the performances at no cost at all.

Some specific commercial rides and ticketed attractions, however, do cost extra. The most famous of these is hot air ballooning over the fairgrounds, which offers a spectacular bird's-eye view of the great camp and the desert, for a separate fee. Various other rides and special experiences are also ticketed, but the heart of the fair, its colour, its camels and its culture, is free to enjoy.

Highlights of the fair

There is an enormous amount to see and do at the Pushkar Camel Fair:

• The camels: many thousands of camels, a great number of them beautifully decorated, groomed and adorned, being traded, paraded and proudly shown off, the great and unforgettable sight that gives the fair its name.

• The competitions: the famous longest-moustache contest, the colourful turban-tying competitions, bridal pageants, the lively matka phod, or pot-breaking, and the much-loved local-versus-tourist football and other friendly matches.

• Folk music and dance: wonderful evening performances of traditional Langa and Kalbelia music, and the mesmerising, swirling Kalbelia dance, among the very greatest and most distinctive folk traditions of Rajasthan.

• Hot air ballooning: a spectacular bird's-eye view over the fairgrounds and the desert, for those who wish to take to the air.

• The sacred rituals: the moving Kartik Purnima bathing at the ghats of the holy Pushkar Lake, and the grand Maha Aarti.

Together, these make the Pushkar Fair one of the most extraordinary and unforgettable experiences in all of India.

How to reach Pushkar

Pushkar is in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan, well connected to the main cities:

• From Jaipur: Pushkar is about 145 km from Jaipur, a drive of around 3 hours, making Jaipur the most common gateway to the fair.

• By train: the nearest major railway station is at Ajmer, only about 14 km from Pushkar, from where it is a short drive. Ajmer is well connected by train to Jaipur, Delhi and other cities.

• From Delhi: Pushkar can also be reached from Delhi, by road or by train to Ajmer, as part of a Rajasthan trip.

For the fair, most visitors travel via Jaipur or Ajmer, so our Jaipur to Pushkar distance and Delhi to Pushkar distance guides cover the journeys in full.

How to plan your visit

The Pushkar Fair is hugely popular, so a little planning goes a long way:

• Book months ahead: accommodation in and around Pushkar, including the famous luxury and tented desert camps set up specially for the fair, fills up many months in advance, so book as early as you can.

• Choose your phase: decide whether you most want to see the livestock trading, the cultural competitions, or the sacred Kartik Purnima rituals, and plan your dates around that, or come for several days to see it all.

• Stay nearby: base yourself in Pushkar itself, or in nearby Ajmer, for the easiest access to the fairgrounds.

• Combine with a Rajasthan trip: the fair pairs wonderfully with a wider Rajasthan or Golden Triangle trip, taking in Jaipur and beyond, as our things to do in Jaipur guide covers the nearby Pink City.

Want the Pushkar Camel Fair planned, with your stay, travel and timing all sorted? Message us on WhatsApp and Experience My India will build it for you.

Tips for visiting the Pushkar Camel Fair

• Book your accommodation many months in advance, as the tented camps and hotels fill up fast.

• Decide which phase of the fair you most want to see, and plan your dates around it.

• Arrive early in the day at the fairgrounds to beat the biggest crowds and enjoy the morning light.

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes for walking on the sandy fairgrounds, and carry sun protection.

• Be respectful at the lake and the ghats, especially during the sacred Kartik Purnima rituals.

• Keep your camera ready, as the fair is one of the most photogenic events in the world.

What to expect

The Pushkar Camel Fair is a vast, vivid, overwhelming and utterly unforgettable spectacle, quite unlike anything else. Across the great fairgrounds, thousands of camels, horses and cattle gather amid clouds of dust and colour, the air full of the sounds of traders, folk musicians and crowds. There are the splendid decorated camels, the famous moustache and turban contests, the swirling Kalbelia dancers, the hot air balloons drifting over the desert, and, at the end, the deeply moving sight of thousands of pilgrims bathing in the holy lake on Kartik Purnima.

It is crowded, dusty, colourful and intense, a true feast for the senses and the camera, and above all a wonderful window into the living culture, commerce and faith of rural Rajasthan. For those who love festivals, culture and photography, and who plan their trip well ahead, the Pushkar Fair is one of the great travel experiences on earth.

Plan your trip with us

A Pushkar Camel Fair trip, as part of a wider Rajasthan or Golden Triangle journey, is easiest and most enjoyable when the travel, the stay, the timing and the sightseeing are all arranged for you. That is what we do, your accommodation in Pushkar or nearby is booked well ahead, a comfortable private car and driver, a knowledgeable guide, and the whole trip planned around you.

Tell us your dates and group size and we will price it honestly around your standard rather than a fixed figure. You can combine the fair with the classic circuit on our Golden Triangle tours, or see how it fits a wider trip in our one week North India itinerary guide, and our best time to visit North India guide covers the seasons. We can build it all as part of a Golden Triangle tour with a Rajasthan extension. Explore All Delhi Agra Tour Packages.

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