CHANDRABHAGA FAIR AND HADOTI

Each November we take a small number of guests to Chandrabhaga, in the less-visited Hadoti region, for another of Rajasthan's great trading fairs, Chandrabhaga Fair at Jhalarapatan, the regional equivalent of Pushkar Fair.

We will be based in Kota and around the beautiful old Prithvi Vilas Palace, the summer palace of the erstwhile Maharajas of Jhalawar. The atmospheric old palace, along with the lost pleasure garden created here in the 1930s, is one of the hidden treasures of Rajasthan which you can discover as you visit the surrounding area with its ancient temples, walled towns, and the imposing Gagron Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Like Pushkar, the Chandrabhaga Fair takes place around the full moon of Kartik month. The crops are in, so the November fairs are a great focus for local farming communities who can take time off away from the fields. Farmers and livestock keepers come to trade camels, cattle, sheep and goats, buy farming and household supplies, and enjoy the fair. Pilgrimage is an key element, with religious bathing and rituals at river temples on the auspicious full moon night.

Here you will find all the atmosphere, sights and sounds of the trading fairs of twenty years ago; a place to discover the cultures and traditions of old Rajasthan.

At Chandrabhaga you can see a great many camels; here, camel pastoralists trade large numbers of the attractive lighter-coloured camels which are local to this area.

DISCOVERING HADOTI

Hadoti is one of Rajasthan’s travel secrets, a favourite with us for many years. There are ancient cities and antique temples to visit and trips to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed river island fort of Gagron and Buddhist rock-cut temples. We’ll take you to pilgrimage sites as we explore age-old rituals and aspects of local culture. 

You can also discover the ancient city of Jhalarapatan, one of several Patan cities of India. A Patan is a junction city on trading routes; they were usually fortified and characteristically saw temple building activities as part of active philanthropy by rich merchants. There are always intense and interesting traditional bazaars, where villagers and tribal peoples from far away come to buy jewellery and agricultural implements. You also see the mansions and trading establishments of business communities such as the Jains, another testimony to the significance of such places.

We offer some of the most interesting and engaging travel in Rajasthan, with an award-winning operator. To see some suggested itineraries, take a look at our tours page >