8 Best Things to do in Bikaner

Posted on July 17, 2020May 9, 2025 by Abbas Slatewala

“Oh Bikaner, why have you been hiding all this time? Did you get overshadowed by too many famous siblings?” – Sonal and Sandro

In the city of Bikaner, you will get to experience all the classic Rajasthan must do’s but with lesser tourists. From the intriguing forts, temples, to jaw-dropping places and yummylicious North Indian Food, you will get to experience it all.

Bikaner is popularly known for the sand dunes and the famous rat temple but has much more to offer and will surprise you at every chance it gets.

Here is a list of things to do in Bikaner to make sure you don’t miss anything in this beautiful city.

The Mighty Junagarh Fort in Bikaner

1. Junagarh Fort

While one may assume this is the most common site to visit and would be just like every other sibling fort in Rajasthan, you might want to change your mind. This fort was built by Raja Rai Singh in the late 15th century, however, the interesting aspect of this fort that will capture your attention is the architecture and intriguing stories of the different rooms!

One such story being the ‘Badal Mahal’ which is the blue room in the fort, built for the royal children which depicted rain, as Bikaner received very little rainfall. Aside from these interesting stories, the fresco paintings on the wall, its windows made of beautifully designed ceramic tiles from all over Europe and Asia. It goes without saying that the fort is an architectural delight and is a must-visit on your trip.

VISITING HOURS: 10:00 to 17:00 hours

ESTIMATED TIME: 1-2 hours

COST: INR 300 per person for foreign tourists, INR 50 per person for Indian tourists

Here are a few forts across India which are not only jaw-dropping but also great to explore with kids.

Walls Of Junagarh Fort

2. Karni Mata Temple

Just when you think you’ve experienced it all in India, you have the Karni Mata Rat Temple to bring your culture shock meter to soar up high. This Temple was built to commemorate the Karni Mata Goddess, who was a part of the Charin clan, it is believed that once she died she got reincarnated as a rat.

The followers of this clan believed that they too would be reincarnated as a rat. Not only do pilgrims worship the rats here but also believe that they will be cured of their ailments.

It is considered auspicious if you spot the white rat of the temple, however, there are as many as 20,000 rats here and to add on you have to enter the temple barefoot! So all we can say is ‘All The Best’.

VISITING HOURS: 24 hours

ESTIMATED TIME: 30 mins

COST: Free

Karni Mata Rat Temple In Bikaner (Photo Credit- Enric Bach)

3. Devi Kund

About 8 kilometers away from the main town of Bikaner is the Devi Kund Sagar which is a crematorium. Although it does not sound like the best idea, the architecture here makes it worth the visit.

There are several Chattris (cenotaphs), each dedicated to one of the important rulers of the dynasty. The cenotaph of Maharaja Suraj Sign is the most exquisite of them all. If you have time in hand making a stop here will be worth it.

VISITING HOURS: 10:00 to 17:00 hours

ESTIMATED TIME: 30 mins

COST: INR 30 per person for foreign tourists, INR 30 per person for Indian tourists

4. Haveli Rampuria

Rampuria is a cluster of Havelis (aristocratic homes), in the old town of Bikaner and this city takes pride in this gem. The minute you step on these streets, you will know why it is so talked about. Built in red sandstone, you will notice that every inch of these Havelis are adorned with skillful artistic work, from the latticed windows to the jharokhas (casements).

There is a blend of Victorian, Rajput, and Mughal style of architecture. These clusters of Havelis are unlike anything you would have seen in India. Grab your camera, wake up early, and start your day exploring these lanes.

The snapshots you will get here will make it seem like you’ve been transported back in time, into an old British town, because of its strong Victorian architectural influence.

VISITING HOURS: 24 hours

ESTIMATED TIME: 1 hour

Cost: Free

Day Time Views Of Haveli Rampuira (Photo Credit – Alessio Spinaci)

If you truly enjoy marveling at such beautiful structures, Rajasthan is filled with them. Here are a few cities across Rajasthan which will definitely perk your interest.

5. The Jain Temple Bhandasar

This Jain marble temple is one of the oldest buildings (15th century) in Bikaner and a place where you find some peace and quiet time. The details and intricacy of the mirror work on the walls of this temple is fascinating and hypnotic. They also have fresco paintings depicting the life of the Jain Tirtaknar (teacher).

It is said the foundation of this temple is built on ghee (butter) and coconut. If you have time, make a stop here, seek blessings, and marvel at this beautiful structure, as it is said to be one of the most beautiful Hindu temples.

VISITING HOURS: 24 hours

ESTIMATED TIME: 3-4 hours

COST: Free

Discover More: Know the Cost of Traveling in India

6. The Camel Research Center

If you are fond of animals and find camels as an interesting species, make sure to stop by the Came Research Center in Bikaner, which is about 8kms away from the main city. It’s the only breeding farm in India with about 230 camels. You will not be able to resist capturing the baby camels, as it’s a sight you don’t see often. Photography/videography is allowed on the premises, you can even enjoy a camel ride.

Make sure to visit this place anytime between 15:00 to 16:00 hours, as at this time most of the camels return back to the farm. Another unique part of this experience would be visiting the camel milk parlour, where you can indulge in various camel milk products like ice-creams or any cold beverages.

VISITING HOURS: 14:00 to 18:00 hours

ESTIMATED TIME: 1 hour

COST: INR 100 per person for foreign tourists, INR 30 per person for Indian tourists

Baby Camels In The Farm at Bikaner.

7. Camel Festival

While most of us have heard of the Pushkar camel fair, Bikaner too is making sure they are not left behind in organizing this unique festival. If you are visiting Bikaner in early January, luck is on your side, although the festival dates vary every year, it usually takes place in the second week of January.

During this festival you get to see all the camels dressed up in colorful ornaments,parading alongside the backdrop of the Junagarh fort, there is also a camel pageant which is the biggest highlight of the festival. The folk dance and music, the fireworks in the evening, the camel talent show contests and the delicious Bikaneri food items sold there, makes this the most happening event of Bikaner.

VISITING MONTH: January

ESTIMATED TIME: Half A Day

COST: INR 600 per person

Ornamented Camel At The Bikaner Camel Fair

Another interesting city which hosts a similar event is the city of Pushkar. This blog has all the details you need to get an insight of what goes down at this event.

8. VILLAGE SAFARI

About an hour away from the main city of Bikaner is the Katariasar Village. You will definitely not find a lot of tourists here as it’s not so talked about. You will get a chance to interact with the locals who love to chat with you and give you an insight into their life, you get to observe their daily activity.

Herds of desert foxes, rabbits and peacocks stroll by, make sure to watch out for them. Walking along the sand dunes and enjoying the sunsets is a very relaxing experience. You can book this tour directly with your hotel/homestay.

ESTIMATED TIME: Half A Day OR Overnight Safari,

COST: INR 2,000 – INR 5,500

An Evening At The Sand Dunes In Bikaner

After visiting this offbeat destination, you will leave Bikaner wanting to explore more of India. So make sure you get in touch with our travel experts and they will help you club this destination with the rest of your travels, along with more inside tips to ensure a smooth trip.

Learn More: Uncover India’s Must-See Attractions

Guide Payment by different modes

Posted on April 10, 2020June 12, 2025 by Abbas Slatewala

In this article, we explain the three different payment ways which you can use to pay for your trip to India with India Someday.

Payment by credit card

The fastest and easiest way to pay us is via credit card via our own gateway here. This is only possible for visa and master card, not American Express.

There is a transaction fee of 2.75% with this payment option. For your advance payment, simply pay EUR/GBP/USD 500 per person, and we will deduct the amount in INR that we will receive after the deduction of the fee from your Total in INR. To find out your balance amount, including 2.75% credit card fee, check the TOTAL in your currency in the account summary in your travel plan.

Sometimes credit card payments don’t go through at first attempt because banks block a transaction into a foreign country. If we don’t receive the payment, we will inform you and you can try again or speak to your bank in that case.

For any clients in countries that don’t use the currencies EUR, USD or GBP, we apologize, but a double conversion will take place (from your currency to EUR/USD/GBP and then to INR). Therefore, we’d recommend a payment via wise.com, see below.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted- Photo Credit Frankieleon

Payment by Wise

Wise is an easy-to-use international money transfer platform with low rates and fast transactions. Many of our clients have used it over the years and especially like the good currency exchange rates as well as the swift service.

Before we explain to you how it works, please note:

You have to pay the due amount in INR! We can not accept any other currencies.
You have to enter the email address thinkingindia@indiasomeday.com

So here is a step-to-step guide on how to transfer money with Wise.

1. Open wise.

2. Sign in or login if you have used Wise before. Set a secure password!

3. After your login, click on ‘Send money’. You will see the following page:

You will have to first set your currency (EUR/GBP/USD/AUD etc) on top (You send) and then INR below (recipient gets). Then you will enter the due amount in INR in the lower input line (for example Rs 45000 as an advance for one traveller). It will automatically show you how much this will be in your currency on top, how high the fees are and what’s the current exchange rate. See as an example for an advance payment for one traveller in the image above!

4. If you haven’t used wise before, you will have to enter your details such as Name, birthday, phone number and address.

5. Now it will ask you about the recipient. Click on ‘Business or charity’. Now you have to enter our email address thinkingindia@indiasomeday.com. It will show you immediately that ‘India Someday Travels LLP is already on Wise, and would like to receive INR in the following account’.

6. Next it will ask you ‘What’s the reason for your transfer?’. You can select travel expenses!

7. After a review, you choose how you want to pay. You can pay with your online banking, credit or debit card or another option offered only in your country.

8. Done! Depending on your chosen option of payment, the money should reach within minutes or 48h.

Payment by Bank transfer

Often clients prefer to pay via bank transfer through their own bank instead of using credit card or an online money transfer platform. This is okay for us, but please note the following:

Please make sure that you bear the fees as we need to ensure that we receive the costs of your trip in INR on our account.
Bank transfers take 5-10 working days to reach us. We will only start booking your trip when we have received your advance payment. So if you want us to book your trip ASAP please consider credit card payment or Wise as those are faster.
Please make sure that you type in all details correctly when making your payment as often payments don’t get through due to wrong spelling.
We do not have an IBAN! Only European accounts have IBAN and we only have an Indian bank account. You will have to do an international money transfer to a non-EU country which is often only possible at your bank branch and not through online-banking.
For the calculation of the amount in your currency we use the currency calculator of our receiving bank (HDFC) which is different from the current international exchange rate. This is to make sure that we will receive the necessary amount of your trip costs into our account.
Since bank transfer would take a few days and the exchange rates can often vary drastically within a few days, it can happen that we receive less in INR. Even though you paid the correct EUR amount at the time of payment. In the case of receiving too little, we will have to ask you to make another payment to us. If we receive too much, we can refund it via PayPal.

Here are the required bank details:

Account Name: India Someday Travels LLP

Account Number: 00052560002509

Swift Code : HDFCINBB

Name of the bank : HDFC Bank

Bank branch : Mahalakshmi, Mumbai

Address of the bank branch: 4 A, Tirupati Apartments, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai 400026

IFSC Code of the bank branch: HDFC0000005

India Someday Travels address: India Someday (C/O Abbas & Co), 235, Abdul Rehman Street, Mumbai – 400003, India, +91-022-23093228 (Phone number)

What to expect at Ranthambore National Park

Posted on April 9, 2020May 6, 2025 by Abbas Slatewala

One of the more popular and absolutely fantastic tiger reserves of India, Ranthambore National Park joins its counterparts in having seen a steady increase in Tiger populations. It is now pegged at well over 70 tigers, making your chances of sighting the majestic creature that much higher during a safari.

The Ranthambore experience is all about the game drives (safaris), and we recommend going on at least 3 during your stay. There are 2 safaris a day, an early morning safari that starts around 6 a.m., and an afternoon safari starting around 3 p.m. Each safari takes around 3 hours, and you are picked up and dropped back to your hotel.

We recommend spending the rest of the time relaxing at the hotel, we usually book a hotel with a pool so you get a break from the heat. Your Ranthambore accommodation will include all meals and an afternoon trip to the Ranthambore Fort as well.

At Ranthambhore, the Bengal Tigers greet you! – Photo Credit Annie Spratt.

Are three safaris necessary?

The forests are beautiful, and bursting with wildlife. You will see innumerable deer (spotted and sambar), monkeys, gazelles, mongooses and a range of gorgeous birds, and if you are lucky you will spot sloth bears, leopards and the ever elusive tiger. In order to maximise your chances of seeing wildlife, and especially a tiger, we recommend going on three safaris; this will ensure you make the most of what Ranthambore has to offer.

Less than 25% of Ranthambore Park is open to tourists, and this is further divided into ten zones. Each zone is an independent area with no overlap. We will book you in different zones, so you get to explore a new part of the forest on each safari.

Will we spot a tiger?

We can’t make any promises, but if you choose to go for the sake of the experience, you will not be disappointed! Having said that, on recent trips our guests have spotted a tiger at least once during their safaris, and even more than once on few occasions.

When is the best time to spot wildlife at Ranthambore National Park?

Go when it is hot and dry and your chances of spotting wildlife at any national park are the highest. It is at this time that you will always see a variety of wildlife by the watering holes, while the rest of the park dries up.

Mid March to June end and the month of November are excellent months for wildlife spotting in Ranthambore, alongside the winter months of December, January and February. The months of May and June see the least tourists, due to the excessive heat.

How the Safari works?

There are two safaris a day, the morning safari (starts at 5:30 a.m. in summer / 6:00 a.m. in winter) and the evening safari (starts at 2:30 p.m. in winter / 3:00 p.m. in summer). You are picked up and dropped back to your hotel, and you spend a little under 2½ hours in the park.

There are two vehicles used for the safari: an open six-seater jeep and an open twenty-seater bus (canter). We always try and get you booked in a jeep as it can cover more ground quickly and get in better proximity to the wildlife. However, the safaris need to booked well in advance (at least two months), and if open jeeps are sold out we will book you on a canter.

Make sure you book your wildlife safaris well in advance

How touristy is Ranthambore?

We will not lie, Ranthambore is a popular national park that draws tourists due to its large tiger population, and can be easily accessed especially while touring Rajasthan. That being said, the number of jeeps and canters (a total of 20, sometimes stretched to 24 during peak season) entering each zone are limited, which further gets dispersed within each zone. When one vehicle spots a tiger, calls are made and other vehicles will soon gather around.

The bottom line is, you will see tourists and you will see other vehicles, but you still get an unforgettable view of the wildlife. Overall, Ranthambore offers great variety to a sightseeing tour across Rajasthan. The forests are beautiful and you see a variety of wildlife, the accommodation is relaxed and the food is great!

India is home to nearly 50 tiger reserves

India has over a hundred national parks, half of which are tiger reserves (a national park that has a resident tiger, or tiger population).

The national parks of central India are ideal for tiger spotting, as it’s drier forests minus the thick undergrowth make sightings that much easier.
Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench in Madhya Pradesh, and Tadoba National Park in Maharashtra are amongst the finest national parks in the country.
Corbett National Park at the foothills of the Himalayas have dense forests and wild elephants, alongside tigers, leopards and other wildlife too.
Dudhwa National Park and Kaziranga National park are both home to the rare one-horned rhinoceros.
Bandipur and Nagarhole National Park are beautiful dense forests in south India.

Do let us know if you would like us to plan a wildlife-focussed holiday to India, in which case your entire itinerary would be planned around different national parks. And if Ranthambore has caught your eye, simply click on ‘Plan My Trip’ and let’s get started