Elephant Festival

One of the unique and most symbolic festivals in Rajasthan, Elephant Festival in Jaipur is an annual festival that is vigorously celebrated on the eve of Holi (March) in PhalgunPurnima. Celebrated to mark the bonding between elephants and the locals of Rajasthan, this festival is dedicated to Lord Ganesha who is believed to be an obstacle remover among the Hindus.

During this festival, elephants are decorated and groomed in the best possible ways. From putting up velvet rugs to jewellery around the tasks, anklets to bells, ear danglers to coloured brocade, mahouts (elephant keepers) do everything to make the elephants look imposing! They even put colours on the elephants to make them more attractive among the others; however, only female elephants participate in this traditional festival of Rajasthan!

Elephant Festival in Jaipur begins with a gala procession that moves around the city with a person sprinkling colours from the back of the elephant. Events like elephant polo, elephant race, elephant decoration, and elephants’ tug-of-war attracts a large number of crowd during the Elephant Festival in Jaipur.

• Celebrated Across: Jaipur
• Celebration Month: PhalgunPurnima of Hindu Calendar (February to March)
• Last Celebrated On: 22^ndMarch, 2016
• Next Celebration On: 13^th March, 2017