Pushkar Camel Fair Rajasthan Livestock

The Pushkar Camel Fair (Pushkar Mela) held annually for five days around the Kartik Purnima full moon in November is the world's largest camel trading fair and one of Rajasthan's most significant agricultural markets, where over fifty thousand camels, horses, and cattle are brought for trade by herders and farmers from Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana to the sand dunes around Pushkar lake in Ajmer district. Trading begins a week before the religious festival at the lake, with camel herders from the Raika pastoral community driving their animals hundreds of kilometers across the desert. Camels are decorated with embroidered saddle covers and tassels before trading, and competitions including camel racing, camel decoration contests, and the longest mustache competition draw crowds and media. The Kartik Purnima full moon marks the auspicious bathing day in Pushkar's sacred lake, attended by tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims who believe a Kartik Purnima bath at the lake cleanses sin. The fair combines livestock economy with tourism, pilgrimage, and craft market, with folk performers including Kalbelia snake dancers, Manganiyar musicians, and Bhopa narrative performers giving nightly shows. The Pushkar Fair is a major venue for international buyers of Rajasthani handicrafts, camel-leather goods, and embroidered textiles.