Bikaner
City Information
Someone said If ever beauty has
bloomed in a desert, it has been at Bikaner.
The colorful desert city of Rajasthan was
founded by Rao Bika Ji during 1488 AD, Bikaner
is located in north west part of Rajasthan
in India. Rao Bikaji was a descendant of Jodha,
the founder of Jodhpur.
Bikaner was and important historic city in
India and it was a major trade center as it
stood on the ancient caravan route which linked
central Asia and North India with the Gujarat
seaports. Bikaner is and important tourist
and now becoming more and more popular with
travellers. Bikaner has a superb fort, camel
safaris and 30 kms to the south is the extraordinary
Karni Mata temple where thousands of holy
rats are worshipped.
While other cities of Rajasthan are rich
in lakes and pleasure pavilions, Bikaner seems
quite bare in that respect. Given its severe
climatic conditions, the wealth of its architectural
heritage lies in its forts, palaces and temples.
The Ganga Canal, built between 1925 and 1927,
brought prosperity to this otherwise arid
desert region.
Main
Sightseeing of Bikaner
Junagarh Fort & Museum :
The late 16th century fort was constructed
by Raja Rai Singh, a general in the army
of Akbar, the Mughal emperor. It housed
palaces inside and subsequent Maharajas
added luxurious suites. Don't miss the beautiful
diwan-e-khas (private audience hall), Anup
Mahal, Badal Mahal, Gaj Mandir and Hawa
Mahal. A major feature of the fort and palaces
is the superb quality of stone carvings.
Several rooms at the fort house an interesting
collection of royal vestments, armory (enormous
bore guns used from the back of camels),
Maharaja Ganga Singh's 56 kilogram suit
of armour, sword with ivory and crystal
handles and a biplane presented to Ganga
Singhji by the British during World War
I. There are supposed to be only two models
of this plane in the world.
Lallgarh Palace : One
of the most impressive palaces constructed
during the last half of the nineteenth century;
the Lallgarh Palace defies the bleak and
rugged reality of the harsh Thar Desert
around Bikaner. Lallgarh Palace was the
most completely integrated example of Indo-Saracenic
architecture.
Camel Breeding Farm :
Just 8 km away from the city, at the govt.
run camel breeding farm, you discover a
lot about the Ship of the Desert. You learn
that the long-haired camel with hair on
its ears is the Bikaner variety, famed for
its strength. The light-coloured ones are
the ones from Jaisalmer, and are prized
for their speed. The dark-coloured camels
come from Gujarat and the female camels
are prized for their milk-producing capacity.
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Excursions
from Bikaner
Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary :
Located around 32 kms away from the city alongwith
Bikaner to Jaisalmer road. It is quite peaceful
area where you can see Bluebull, chinkara
and blackbuck, flocks of imperial sand grouse
etc in there natural habitate. Its really
worth to visit.
Bhandeshwar and Sandeshwar
Temples : Around 05 Kms from the
city these temples are the oldest surviving
monuments of aesthetic heritage. These temples
are popular for the quality mirror work and
the golden leaf paintings done in the temple
roof and walls. The temples are dedicated
to 23rd Jain teerthankar, Parasvanathji.
Devi Kund : This is the
royal crematorium with a number of cenotaphs
located 08 kms away from Bikaner. The chhatri
of Maharaja Surat Singh is most imposing.
One cannot miss the spectacular Rajput paintings
on the ceilings.
Kalibanga : This is One of
the major excavation sites of the Harappan
civilisation in India. This place houses emence
treasure of our past and is of particular
interest to archaeology enthusiasts..
How
to reach Bikaner ?
By Air : At present there
is no airport
By Train : A number of good
trains connects Bikaner with Jaipur, Jodhpur
and Delhi.
By Road : Rajasthan Tourism
offers very good and frequent express buses
from Bikaner to Udaipur, Ajmer, Jaipur, Jodhpur,
Jaisalmer, Jhunjhunu and Kota.
Some important road distances
from Bikaner : Ajmer : 233
kms, Jodhpur : 243 kms, Jaipur : 321 kms,
Jaisalmer : 333 kms, Kota : 434 kms and Delhi
: 460 kms
