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Bikaner

Also known as Bekaner

Bikaner () is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated approximately northwest of the state capital, Jaipur, in the Thar Desert region of western Rajasthan. Bikaner serves as the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of the princely Bikaner State, the city was founded in 1488 CE by Rao Bika, a Rajput chief of the Rathore dynasty. From its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganga Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, facilitated its development.

OverviewAI-generated

Bikaner is a city in Rajasthan, India, serving as the capital of Bikaner district and Bikaner division. Founded by Rao Bika, the city is located within Bikaner Tehsil and has a population of 529,007. It covers an area of 155 square kilometers and sits at an elevation of 242 meters above sea level. The local time zone is UTC+05:30, and residents are referred to as Bikaneri.

The city’s postal code is 334001, and its local dialing code is 0151. Bikaner is twinned with Udine. According to various sources, the population is also recorded as 644,406, with elevation measurements ranging from 229 to 230 meters. The city is described in the Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary.

Synthesized by Vinony from 50 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Weather now

cached 22h ago

31°broken clouds

42% 5.9 m/s OpenWeatherMap

7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality: Bikaner
Region: Rajasthan
Country: India
Population: 644,406
Timezone: Asia/Kolkata

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

102US AQIUnhealthy (sensitive)

PM2.5: 48.2 µg/m³
PM10: 126.2 µg/m³

As of 2026-08-11 05:30 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name: Bikaner
Settlement.other_name: Bikano
Settlement.settlement_type: City
Settlement.nickname: The Red City
Settlement.pushpin_map: India Rajasthan#India
Settlement.pushpin_label_position: right
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1: State
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Rajasthan
Settlement.subdivision_type2: District
Settlement.subdivision_name2: Bikaner
Settlement.established_title: Established
Settlement.founder: Rao Bika
Settlement.named_for: Rao Bika
Settlement.government_type: Mayor–Council
Settlement.governing_body: Bikaner Municipal Corporation Bikaner Development Authority UIT BIKANER
Settlement.leader_title: Mayor
Settlement.leader_name: Sushila Kanwar (BJP)

via Wikipedia infobox

Travel guide

Get around

Getting around in Bikaner is only done using three wheeler autos, due to the fact that streets are too narrow (so that they are not clogged with sand in case of sandstorms, which are very frequent in summer) and busy for cars. These are very cheap and a day's hire shouldn't cost more than ₹250.

See

thumb|Queen's Howdah inside the museum thumb|An idol in Karni Mata Temple

Do

Bishnoi Camel Safaris is a project to save camels through tourism. It has contacts with grassroots camel men and provides fair prices to them. Camels have been the beauty of the Thar Desert but they are at the verge of end due to machines. They are not economically viable and have to compete with machines for survival. It's a pity that we keep on watching this situation. Bishnoi camel safaris has taken the initiative to change this. Contact Mr. Bishnoi [email protected], mobile:09461047725

Eat

For a foodie a visit to Bhujia Bazaar (yes Bikaner does have a market named on famous Bikaneri Bhujia) and Chai Patti is a must. You will just fall in love with the Kachoris and Samosas at Chai Patti.

Sleep

4. RTDC, Dhola Maru- It is a government guest house, contact number- 0151-2529621

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~17 min read

Encyclopedic overview

31 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Geography
Climate
Wildlife
Demographics
Administration
Municipal finance
Cuisine
Places of interest
Junagarh Fort
Lalgarh Palace
Camel Festival
Rao Bikaji's Fort
Karni Mata Temple
Mukam Bishnoi Temple
Laxminath Temple
Bhandasar Jain Temple
Fairs and festivals
International Camel Festival
Animal husbandry
National Research Centre on Camels, Bikaner
Cow sanctuary
Transport
Education
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Friendship
See also
References
External links

==Etymology== The name "Bikaner" is a combination of two elements: "Bika", derived from the city's founder, Rao Bika and "Ner", which is believed to mean "place" or "city" in the local Rajasthani language. Hence, "Bikaner" translates to "the city of Bika".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bikaner” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.