Festivals hold an unusual lure for the Rajasthanis and they find any number of reasons to celebrate. While some of these are traditional festivals, there are also a large number that have been recently introduced by the tourism department to showcase the heritage of the region. Chances are, when travelling in the state, you will come across any number of local fairs and festivities in which you can participate. However, some of the larger and more important celebrations are listed below. (This list does not include those festivals that are common to all parts of the country such as Holi, Diwali and Dussehra.)
Festivals
Desert Festival, Jaisalmer - The desert festival at Jaisalmer is a three-day festival specially organised by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) for tourists. A tourist village is set up for the purpose which includes snake charmers, puppeteers and acrobats. Folk music reverberates through the desert air as men and women in traditional costumes perform folk dances.
A variety of competitions like tug-of-war, camel polo, camel acrobatics and races are also organised.
This festival takes place in Jan-Feb.

Gangaur Festival, Jaipur - Gangaur is an 18-day festival celebrated by women all across Rajasthan. Married women pray for the long lives of their husbands while unmarried girls pray for a good match. The festival celebrates the love between Shiva and his consort Parvati
The festival commences on Holi. Women gather flowers and draw water from selected wells while chanting hymns in praise of the goddess. At the end of 18 days, the festivities culminate with the arrival of Lord Shiva to escort his wife back home. A grand procession, symbolic of a marriage procession, carries a beautifully decorated idol of Gauri (another name for Parvati) in a gold and silver palanquin through the city. The procession includes elephants, camels, horses, dancers, drummers and joyous children.
This colourful and popular festival takes place in March-April. TOP^

Camel Festival, Bikaner - The Camel festival of Bikaner is organised by the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture. Most of the events in the festival are staged around camels. Camel owners display their decorated camels in a unique procession around the city. Folk music and dances are also performed. The procession begins at the Junagarh Fort and advances to the Polo Grounds. Camel races, camel milking, fur cutting design, the best breed competition, camel acrobatics and camel bands are also on display. There are also several folk performances and this festival presents the tourist with the opportunity to experience the rare fire dance staged late at night.
The festival is organised in January every year.

Marwar Festival, Jodhpur - The Marwar festival at Jodhpur is a two-day festival is devoted mainly to traditional dances and drama from the Marwar region.
It is held in October every year.

Mewar Festival, Udaipur - The Mewar festival at Udaipur welcomes the spring season. The festival is dedicated to goddess Gauri (Parvati). A procession carrying the idols of Gauri and Shiva is taken around the city to the Gangaur Ghat at Lake Pichola. The entire city turns in their colourful traditional costumes. A stately boat procession then starts from the lake. Traditional dancing and singing mark the occasion. Boat races are also organised.
This festival is held in March-April every year.

Summer Festival, Mount Abu - The summer festival is held at Mount Abu, the hill resort in Rajasthan. The three-day festivities include classical and traditional dances and music.
It is held in June every year.
Elephant Festival, Jaipur - The elephant festival at Jaipur is celebrated around Holi. A royal procession of numerous decorated elephants is taken around the city as people sitting on elephant backs throw gulal or coloured powder on each other. Other festivities include elephant polo, elephant races and a tug-of-war between the elephants and men.
The festival is organised in March each year. TOP^

Teej Festival, Jaipur - Teej is celebrated in the Hindu month of Shravan and marks the advent of the monsoons, a time of joy and respite in Rajasthan. The festival is extremely popular with Rajasthani women. It is dedicated to goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva. Married women dress up in all their bridal fineries, apply henna on their palms and swing on flower-decorated swings as they sing traditional songs. They pray to Parvati for the long lives of their husbands.
The festival occurs in July-August each year.

Urs Ajmer Sharif - Held in the memory of the revered Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti, the Urs at Ajmer Sharif is an occasion for thousands of believers to congregate at the shrine and offer their prayers. All of Ajmer seems to take on a festive air and several programmes are organised to mark the festivals.

Brij Festival - Staged a few days before Holi in the Brij area around Bharatpur, it celebrates the festival of spring with spontaneous expressions of music and dance.

Navratri - The nine days preceeding Dussehra are marked by fasting and one ritual meal a day. In the case of the martial Rajputs, a goat is sacrificed as food for consecration, and the worship of their weapons is obligatory. Usually in September-October, it is a private celebration with no public fanfare. TOP^

Fairs

Nagaur Fair, Nagaur - Nagaur hosts one of the largest cattle fairs in the country. It is a week long fair organised by the Animal Husbandry Department of the Government of Rajasthan, which also controls the trading of this huge cattle market. Thousands of horses, cattle, camels and other livestock are brought to Nagaur for buying and selling, from places as far away as Punjab and Haryana. As many as 2,00,000 livestock are bought and sold by some 80,000 farmers.
Once the trading is over for the day, the evenings are spent in fun and games like tug of war and camel races. Folk dances and songs are also performed.
This cattle fair is organised in Jan-Feb.

Pushkar Fair, Pushkar - The Pushkar cattle fair transforms the city of Pushkar into a colossal colour palette. Held in the Hindu month of Kartik corresponding with Nov-Dec, it is a three-day festival starting on the full moon day of the month. More than 200,000 devotees from far and wide converge at Pushkar for the occasion; they come to fulfil their religious duties as much as to buy and sell cattle. More than 50,000 camels and cattle are bought in for trading. People take holy dips at the Pushkar Lake in the belief that all their sins will be washed off.
Camel races, street theatre, folk dances, jugglers, musicians, comedians, tourists, devotees and traders, all impart a festive air to the occasion. The Rajasthan Tourist office puts up tented accommodation for Indian and foreign tourists during the fair.
The Pushkar fair takes place in Nov-Dec.

Chandrabhaga Cattle Fair, Jhalarpatan (Jhalwar) - The Chandrabhaga cattle fair is held on the last day of the Hindu month of Kartik (Nov-Dec). People from all over come here for livestock trading and to take holy dips in the river Chandrabhaga. This river is considered the holiest river in this part of Rajasthan.
The Chandrabhaga cattle fair is organised in Nov-Dec.

Baneshwar Fair, Dungarpur - A religious fair held at the confluence of the Mahi and Som rivers. The Bhil tribal community in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh assembles at the confluence for holy dips, to immerse the mortal remains of dead relatives or to offer prayers at this auspicious spot. The festival is dedicated to Kalki, the 10th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Festivities include magic shows, acrobatic, dances and songs. A procession carrying a silver image of Kalki on horseback is taken around the village.
The fair is held in Jan-Feb each year.

Chaksu Fair - A gathering of people from Jaipur’s rural pockets collects here in almost all forms of transport – laden into tractor trolleys and jeeps – at what must be one of the most colourful events on the Rajasthani fair calendar. TOP^

Kolayat Fair - The sacred site where Kapil Muni is supposed to have meditated, a fair is held here on the banks of its lakes and the air bristles with excitement. Kolayat can be visited from Bikaner.

Sitla Mata Fair - A large fair is held to propitiate the goddess of war whose wrath can be the terrible scourge of smallpox unless appeased by her followers. Consecrated food on this day consists of stale food left out the previous night. The fair is held in and around the temple dedicated to the goddess in Amber, Jaipur.