24 Hours in Bikaner - An Overlooked Gem in Rajasthan
The Rajasthani city of Bikaner is often overshadowed by its more famous neighbours of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Read our guide to find out why you should not miss this underrated gem of Rajasthan. From the incredible fort to the famous rat temple, read our article for the complete guide to Bikaner.
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Bikaner is not really on the tourist trail. Many travellers will find themselves just passing through it between Punjab’s Amritsar and Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, but few travellers linger to explore. This overlooked town deserves your attention, give it a chance and it has some amazing sites to share!
Where is Bikaner?
Bikaner is a large city in the state of Rajasthan. It is located to the north of Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Ajmer and northwest of the Rajasthani capital, Jaipur.
How to get to Bikaner?
Bikaner is one of the main transport links between the states of Rajasthan and Punjab. Travelling by train from Rajasthan to the Punjabi city of Amritsar, will almost certainly bring you through, or force you to change trains at Bikaner. There are train links to the Rajasthani cities of Jodhpur, Jaipur and Jaisalmer and further afield to Delhi.
For those on the road, there are buses and minivans from most large cities and towns in the area and the neighbouring states.
To book both buses and train tickets in advance check out 12Go.
We arrived in Bikaner after an overnight bus from Amritsar, which arrived very early in the morning. This gave us a full day to explore Bikaner before catching our overnight train onwards to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
Things to do in Bikaner
The Shri Laxminath Jain Temple (Location)
The magnificent Shri Laxminath temple is an essential stop. The temple's Jain builders were so wealthy that they eschewed mere water for the foundation mix and instead built the temple on clarified butter (ghee). The inside of the temple is, simply put, gorgeous! Incredible paintings and carvings adorn every surface. No expense has been spared in the veneration of the holy here, gold guilt, mirrored tiles and bright colours are everywhere without ever coming across as ostentatious.
Entry to the temple is free, but a donation is appreciated.
The temple is right in the centre of town, surrounded by colourful markets selling everything from saris to watermelons. Whilst we visited, we were lucky enough to to time our visit (completely by accident) to watch a procession wind its way past the temple. Camels, masked riders, dancers and ladies with coconut head dresses streamed past, apparently accompanying a holy relic out of a nearby temple. India is always surprising and colourful but this was a feast for the eyes!
Shree Kami Mata - The Rat Temple of Bikaner (Location)
Set around thirty minutes by car or tuk tuk outside of Bikaner is the Shree Kami Mata more commonly known in the West as the Rat Temple. The temple is over 500 years old and is the focal point of an incredible Hindu legend and tradition. What follows here is an extremely loose retelling of the story:
“A local called Kami Mata was the embodiment of the great goddess Shakti. Kami Maya’s youngest (surrogate as she remained celibate) son drowned in a nearby lake and she was implored to bring him back to life. Kami Mata went to where the temple now stands, sealed herself inside and spoke with the God of Death. The God of Death asked her how reincarnation would continue to work if she resurrected the son? Kami Mata replied that for her family and dependents: “Wherever I live, they will live. When they die, they will stay with me”. Kami Mata chose the form of the holy rodent and whenever one of her lineage dies it is said to be reborn for one cycle with her, as a rodent in the temple!”
The temple now has over 20,000 holy rodents who are revered and respected by pilgrims and devotees. Milk and food offerings are left out and the rats run freely everywhere.
Just some of the temple’s holy rats!
Eating a scrap of food the rodents have nibbled is considered very auspicious and sighting of a white rat is the luckiest of all as they are thought to represent Kami Mata herself or one of her immediate sons.
Shree Kami Mata is Bikaner’s most famous or infamous attraction to tourists. Firstly, describing the rat temple as “infamous” and “an attraction” is a bit snobby and entirely unfair. Shree Kami Mata is not meant to be a tourist attraction and is centred around the belief of reincarnation. The temple rats are the ancestors of the worshipers and they are venerated and cared for accordingly. So, if as a tourist, you are creeped out by the rats or underwhelmed by the temple, remember it isn’t about or for you.
We found it to have been an interesting experience with an incredible legend behind it. We were glad we had come but, honestly it’s not a site for mass tourism no matter how many tours want to include it. Go because you want to see faith in practice, to see devotion to reincarnation and respect for peoples ancestors. Do not go to shriek at how icky you feel because a rat ran across your foot. On that note you should also remember, no shoes are allowed in the temple!
As we have alluded to above, if you want to visit the temple most of the tours from Bikaner will include it. If you have your own transport, Shree Kami Mata is around 30km outside of Bikaner. There is also a train station at nearby Deshnoke but we couldn’t find the exact train schedule.
The temple is free to enter and you can store your shoes nearby to the foot washing stations for a small donation. We’d recommend not wearing socks as the floor is quite ratty but you can wash your feet on the way out.
Bikaner Junagarh Fort - (Location)
Dominating the centre of the OldTtown is the grand, sprawling, towering edifice of the Junagarh Fort. Towers, arches and colonnades clutter every surface of the building, nothing has been left unadorned! The Junagarh Fort is a beautiful, amazing building that has been kept in fantastic condition and the halls and rooms inside are jewel boxes of coloured stones, mirrors and glass.
Junagarth translates to “Old Fort”, it was renamed this when the ruling family moved out to another nearby palace. Before the renaming Junagarh Fort was known as Chimtamani.
The fort houses a great museum containing many artefacts and items, from palanquins, paintings and mediaeval weaponry to a restored World War One aeroplane! We came here after our visit to Shree Kami Mata Temple and had a great few hours wandering the jewel encrusted rooms and admiring the beautiful architecture.
Dotted around the main fort building are the overgrown remains of the fort's outbuildings. Also outside of the fort are some beautiful gardens but it was unclear if we could access them as they seemed to be setting up for a wedding or other large event.
Entrance to Junagarh Fort costs 400 rupee each (£3.80 or $4.81) for foreigners (considerably cheaper for Indian nationals), you can take group tours or just walk yourself around. There is a pricey but very pretty cafe in the grounds as well as toilet facilities.
Exploring Bikaner Old Town and the Haveli’s
Bikaner Old town is a spiralling knot of cobbled streets and alleys, lined with beautiful old architecture. We were based in the old town near the Rampuria Haveli. Haveli are traditional townhouses, usually built long ago by wealthy nobles.
The Rampuria Haveli is, according to Aldous Huxley, “The Pride of Bikaner”, a gorgeous red sandstone building that seems to appear out of nowhere as you turn a corner in the Old Town. The Rampuria Haveli was constructed by the wealthy Rampuria merchant family (it is not certain when, but the internet states around 1400) and has been renovated many times by its inhabitants. It now has a beautiful blend of architectural styles from traditional Indian to more European influences. Portions of the Haveli are open to the public.
We spent the last of our day in Bikaner wandering the streets of the Old Town, it was almost like stepping back in time. Save for the occasional motorbike and tuk tuk you could have been in any era in the last few centuries. Children played with balls on the cobbled streets, washing crossed the lanes overhead and all around was the architecture of yesterday.
Please note, we visited Bikaner in the out of season hot months and found it to be quiet and relaxed. When researching this article we noticed lots of reviews of the Old Town seem to say the exact opposite so beware that it may get very busy in peak seasons. If you visit when we did (July time) just be aware that it will be scorchingly hot during the day!
How to visit Bikaner, where to stay and how long do you need?
This is a difficult question to answer as, due to a mix up with the trains, we didn't stay overnight in Bikaner. All of the above activities were done in one, unhurried day so you could do this in a day like we did. There are more things to explore in the town and you could definitely get another day or so and spread your activities out if you wanted to.
If you’re doing Bikaner in a day, or if you have a long wait between trains, we would recommend contacting one of the local guest houses and buying a room for the day. We did this very inexpensively, paying around £15.00 / $19.00 for two meals (for two people) and a private room with hot shower for the day as well as a tuk tuk taxi to the train station in the evening. If we were just to buy the room itself, it would have been much cheaper (700 rupee or £6.65 / $8.42) but the food was great and the taxi gave us peace of mind. After an overnight bus and before an overnight train, the shower and privacy were a godsend! It was also great to have a secure place to leave all our bags whilst we explored and to charge our phones.
We used the M.I guesthouse as it is smack bang in the middle of the Old Town, and allowed us to wander about the beautiful old streets. The guest house was very helpful with our train mix up and arranging our tour. The tour of the Jain temple and the Shree Kami Mata (rat temple), including a guide and a driver who dropped us off at the fort at the end of the tour. This cost us 1500 rupees (£14.25 or $18.04). This was well worth it for us to have it all arranged for us as we only had a day to explore. If you have longer you may have been able to find another operator who could do it cheaper but honestly it was worth the money!
If you’re only there for a day, try and time your arrival for early in the morning and leave in the evening or later at night so you can maximise your time in Bikaner.
Bikaner, is it worth a visit?
We know that is a clickbait heading but, hey people do search for these things! Of course Bikaner is worth your time, it is beautiful, full of history and amazing buildings. Tourists only seem to stop and go to the rat temple for the photos but there is so much more to the city than that. The fort is stunning, the Jain temple marvellous and the Old Town seems straight out of a storybook. If you have the time, or find yourself between trains, Bikaner is fantastic.
Where to stay in Bikaner?
For those with time on their side, or for those who would like to stay a little longer in Bikaner than just a day, then there is plenty of accommodation to choose from. Check out the map below:
Other things to do in Bikaner?
If you’re looking for other things to do in Bikaner, or would like to book a tour of the city in advance, check out Get Your Guide.
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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