Is Bikaner worth a stop?

Yes, if you are driving between Jaipur or Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, which is exactly where it sits. Junagarh Fort is one of the few in Rajasthan never taken by an enemy and is remarkably intact, the Lallgarh palace complex is grand and almost empty of tour groups, and prices are lower than anywhere comparable. One or two nights.

How far is Gajner Palace from Bikaner?

About 30 km west of the city, roughly 45 minutes. It sits on its own lake in what was the royal hunting reserve, so it is a destination for the night rather than a base for seeing Bikaner. People often stay in town for the fort and move out to Gajner for a second night.

What is there to see around Bikaner?

Junagarh Fort and the Lallgarh palace complex in the city, and the Bhandasar Jain temple in the old quarter. Outside, Karni Mata at Deshnoke, 30 km south, is the temple where the rats are protected, and the National Research Centre on Camel is a genuine working farm. Gajner lake, 30 km west, draws a lot of winter birds.

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Experience India

India · 5 hand-picked stays

Boutique hotels
in Bikaner

Bikaner gets skipped, which is most of its appeal. It sits north of Jodhpur and east of Jaisalmer, and the palaces here are grand, quiet and a good deal cheaper than the equivalent in Udaipur or Jaipur. We hold five stays in and around the city.

The Lallgarh complex, on the north edge of town, is the reason to come. Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob designed the red sandstone palace for the Maharaja of Bikaner, and it is now two hotels: The Lallgarh Palace, with billiards rooms and the original public spaces, and The Laxmi Niwas Palace, the wing built to house the Maharaja's guests. The carved sandstone work here is the finest in this part of Rajasthan, and you can walk the corridors without a crowd.

In the old city, Bhairon Vilas has 18 rooms in an 1872 haveli built for Bikaner's prime minister, still lived in by the family. It sits just below Junagarh Fort, which is the other thing to see and is unusually complete because Bikaner was never taken.

Out at the desert edge, Gaj Kesri has the Thar starting at its boundary wall. Gajner Palace is further out, about 30 km west: 45 rooms and historic suites in a lakeside hunting palace built by Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, with a bird-heavy lake in front of it.

Bikaner is roughly five hours by road from Jodhpur, six from Jaipur and five and a half from Jaisalmer, which makes it the natural break on the northern loop. The Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke, 30 km south, and the camel research farm are the usual half-day additions.

Planning the rest of the trip? Read our Bikaner travel guide.

Where they are

4 of the 5 stays in Bikaner; the rest are not pinned yet. Tap a pin for the stay.

Bikaner · Heritage Palace

The Laxmi Niwas Palace

A red-sandstone palace on the edge of the Thar, raised by the Maharaja of Bikaner in 1904 and famous, even then, for guests who never quite wanted to leave. Domes and cupolas, deep-carved friezes, filigree stonework and latticed screens, set in formal lawns. The Laxmi Niwas Palace is the royal house of Bikaner, now a heritage hotel.