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Umeedon Ki Nayi Udan...

About The Event

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.

Event Schedule



Event Schedule - 2023

Here is our event schedule


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Aarti

Shri Laxminathji Temple, Fort

Shobha Yatra (Ceremonial Procession)

Fort to Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium

Inauguration of Design Festival & Golden Skies (releasing golden balloons)

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium

Performance by Folk artists, Turban Tying competition for Indians and Foreigners, Moomal Mahendra Competition, Moustache Competition, Miss Moomal Competition, Mr Desert Competition, Mrs Jaisalmer Competition, Live Painting Art Camp & Live Clay Portrait Show

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium.

Dine with Jaisalmer

Entire City

Photography Exhibition

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium.

Rajasthani Cultural Programme by Tagaram Bheel, Celebrity Night with Salim Sulaiman Merchant

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium.

Fireworks Display

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium.

Instrumental Music and Yoga

Gadsisar Lake

Camel Decoration Competition, Shan-E-Marudhara Competition, Air Warrior Drill Show by I.A.F, Tug of War Competition for Men & Women (Indians & Foreigners), Camel Polo Match, Panihari Matka Race Competition for Women, Camel Tattoo Show (Acrobatics) by B.S.F, Kabaddi Match

Dedansar Stadium

Camel Safari and Camel Activities

Khuri Sand Dunes

Astronomy Workshop, Sky Gazing and Deep Sky Photography

Khuri Sand Dunes

Desert Symphony by Gaji Khan Barna, Celebrity Musical Night with Atrangi Project followed by Raghu Dixit Project

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium

Fireworks Display

Shaheed Poonam Singh Stadium

Peacock Sighting and Live Instrumental Music Performances

Khabha Fort

Rangoli, Mandana and Wall Painting

Kuldhara Deserted Village

Horse Race Show

Rann of Lanela

Camel Race, Camel Dance and Horse Dance

Sam Sand Dunes

Astronomy Workshop, Sky Gazing and Deep Sky Photography

Sam Sand Dunes

Desert Symphony by Bhutte Khan Nimbla & Group, Celebrity Musical Night with Salman Ali & Shanmukha Priya and Ankit Tiwari

Sam Sand Dunes

How to reach Jaisalmer

By Air

Jaisalmer has its own airport. regular flights ply from all the major Indian cities to Jaisalmer on select days.

By Rail

Jaisalmer is connected with Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, and Delhi through the broad gauge and meter gauge railway tracks.

By Road

Rajasthan Roadways and private buses ply regularly from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur, Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Barmer, Ahmedabad, and Delhi.

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