The Jaisalmer Desert Festival is an annual event that take place in February month in the beautiful city Jaisalmer (Rajasthan). It is held in the Hindu month of Magh, three days prior to the full moon. The festival is celebrated amidst the beautiful dunes of the Thar Desert in the Sam dunes (42 kilometers from Jaisalmer). Romantic, remote and unspoiled, the location comes to life during the three day extravaganza of the delights of the desert.
Once a year during winters, the sands around Jaisalmer come alive with the brilliant colors, music and laughter of the Desert Festival. Dressed in brilliantly hued costumes, the people of the desert dance and sing haunting ballads of valor, romance and tragedy. The fair has snake charmers, puppeteers, acrobats and folk performers. Camels, of course, play a stellar role in this festival, where the rich and colorful folk culture of Rajasthan is on show.
The Jaisalmer fort provides an ethereal backdrop to the annual desert festival. it is a joyful celebration of the traditional performing arts and creative crafts of Rajasthan.
Jaisalmer Desert Festival is all about fun and excitement. One can enjoy vibrant puppet shows, folk music and dance, camel races, camel polo matches, tug of war, juggling events, turban tying and longest mustache competition. Participants wear colorful traditional attires and display the best of Rajasthani folk culture and traditions. Presentation of Gair dance forms and folk fire dances are an added attraction of Jaisalmer Desert festival. There is a unique competition for men by the name Maru Sri or Mr. Desert Pageant, which attracts locals as well as international travelers. There are plenty of stalls selling handicrafts and local knick-knacks and many food stalls serving the best of authentic local food.
It has, on display, some of the most fondly preserved components of Rajasthan’s rich culture. Add to this the warmth and cheerfulness of the people of Rajasthan who welcomes the tourists from the depths of their hearts. Capture on film the site of a turbaned, handsome man with long moustaches and the flowing beard set in the backdrop of the romantic golden sands. Watch spirited villagers participating in the festival, attired in their colorful best, astride their gaily caparisoned camels.Swing to the high pitched musical instruments which echo in the vast expanse of the tranquil desert. Tap your feet to peppy folk music.
The spectacular gair dancers of barmer and the fire dancers are great crowd puller too.The excitement heightens as the Maru-Shri(Mr. Desert) competition and the turban-tying contest get underway. In the tug of war, Indian competes with Foreigners which adds to the fun of the festival. An interesting event of the festival is the moustache competition. In this competition the prize is given to the man with the longest moustache. An interesting point to keep in mind is that in Rajasthan turning moustaches upwards signifies honor while dropping moustaches indicate surrender. There are also Camel Races camel polo to add the fun..
The grand finale is a trip to the Sam sand dunes on the moonlight night, where one can also experience the pleasure of a camel ride. The folk artistes performing on the sand dunes take the enhancement to its crescendo.
Leaving Jaisalmer without any shopping is a sin. Pick the best of local handicrafts, dresses, knick-knacks, room décor, locally made leather stuff, bags, footwear, puppets, pieces of jewelry made of precious and semi-precious stones and most importantly souvenirs made from yellow sandstone. Popular markets to explore for a hearty retail therapy are Bhatia Bazaar, Pansari Bazaar, Manak Chowk and Sadar Bazaar.
