Watch the Elephants in their most beautiful and splendid form!

The Jaipur Elephant Festival used to take place annually on Holi eve. However, due to pressure from animal rights groups, it has not been held since 2012. From ancient times, the elephant has a great significance in Indian society and have been an important part of various religious events, processions, marriage ceremonies and so on. They have also served as a magnificent mammal in the grounds of a battlefield and resembled strength. Also, according to the Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha (who was believed to be Elephant-headed God) was the remover of the obstacles and was worshipped all over India and before all the gods.

Over the past years, Elephant Festival is celebrated every year in Jaipur. It is a local festival that is celebrated on the occasion of full moon day(PhalgunPurnima). This year in 2019, the Elephant Festival will take place at 04: 30 P. M. To 07: 00 P. M.on 21st March.

Elephant Festival tries to present an integral part of ancient Jaipur culture and their way of living that is inculcated in its residents as well. The festival is an extravagant event for elephant lovers and people who have the zeal to witness elephants and their cultural heritage as well as the set of unique rituals associated with the festival.

The Elephant Festival is organized and promoted by Rajasthan Tourism. It has become an integral part of its yearly festivals.

The elephants are groomed and decorated with a variety of clothing and jewellery items such as rugs, anklets, silver ornaments, embroidered clothes, etc. Also, some elephants are painted in different shades of colours by the keepers of the elephant. The Mahouts are also dressed in royal attire with silver ornaments. The Elephant Festival starts with an enormous and magnificent event of the procession of the elephants. The Mahouts, i.e. the keepers guide their elephants through the crowd. Then the keepers use musical instruments, sticks, etc. They thump their sticks on the ground in order to produce sounds in this festival during the procession. The procession is the best and integral part of the Elephant Festival that is witnessed by the localities and other people annually.

After this ritual, a number of elephant-based games like elephant tug of war, elephant race, elephant polo, etc. lighten the festival. It is a great sensation to watch elephants play games like polo and race among themselves.

One of the main features of the Elephant Festival is the tug of war between elephant and 19 men and women. Also, elephants splash colours over the crowd. They also offer the crowd with garlands. They walk past a ramp and the jury of experts and visitors examines them to select the best decorated elephant of the event. The other performances like musical celebrations and local dance go on throughout the day.

GajShringar exhibitions take place hand in hand with the Elephant Festival. People can buy souvenirs, ornaments, etc. from the exhibitions. They also serve a great variety of local cuisine and street foods.

According to Hindu mythology, when Gods and demons agitated in the ocean then it is believed thatnine gems emerge out of the ocean and one of them represents elephant. Thus this festival was introduced in ancient times to celebrate and acknowledge the traditions and mythology.

In ancient times the strongest elephant was recognized by way of this festival event such as fighting amongst them, racing, etc. by the King itself.

Nowadays, dance, race, procession, local cuisine, street food vendors, etc. bring grace in the festival. The festival used to take place in Chaugan Stadium till 2011 but due to an increase in the amount of the crowd and the stadium’s incapacity to hold such a huge crowd. The festival was shifted to take place in Jaipur Polo Ground, in the Pink City, Jaipur.

The Elephant Festival is organized every year on the occasion of full moon day of PhalgunPurnima on February or March. This year the festival will take place on 21st March 2019. The timings of the festival are from 04:00 P. M. To 7: 00 P. M.The festival will take place at Jaipur Polo Ground, Pink City, Jaipur.

The Elephant festival takes place in Jaipur Polo Ground located in the Pink City, Jaipur (opp. Sawai Man Singh Stadium). One can reach the stadium by various means such as buses, autos, rickshaws, cabs.

• Buses, cabs, Rickshaws, etc. from various nearby cities from Rajasthan as well as Haryana and others.

• Jaipur to Delhi – Shatabdi Express
• Other rail connections from Bikaner, Ahmedabad, Secunderabad, Lucknow, Udaipur, Jodhpur, etc.

• The nearest Airport is located in Jaipur.

There is no as such an entry fee for the festival and everyone is allowed to entry Jaipur Polo Ground. The exhibitions stalls and local street food vendors charge for their activities or features or food.The timings of the festival are usually from 04: 30 P. M. to 07: 00 P. M.

The Elephant Festival takes place either in the month of February or March on the occasion of the full moon day of PhalgunPurnimaand it is usually celebrated on the day of Holi (the colour festival celebrated in India).

Jaipur has many accommodation facilities for the tourist that range from resorts to 5-star hotels and also the budget lodges and hotels. The travellers from all over the country and across the globe travel to Jaipur for its great cultural heritage.