Fascinating Tours

The Elephant Festival is a unique event of the elephants organized on the day of Holi in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. There is a reference of the tradition of Hastimangala or the Elephant Festival in the Jataka stories of Buddhism. As the name suggests, the elephants are the center of attraction in the elephant Festival. A number of elephants, groomed in vibrant colored attire of embroidered velvets and glittering gold ornaments, parade before an entranced audience. The elephants participate in number of events like races, polo matches, tug-of-war, elephant fights and festival of Holi.


During the festival of Holi, elephants, dancers, musicians, and visitors and spectators come to the Chaugan or the Polo Ground in Jaipur. The festival commences with the procession of elephants, camels, horses, chariots, canons and palanquins followed by performances of the folk dancers. The atmosphere is made lively with the sound of the bankiya or the trumpet.


Most of the participants in the Elephant Festival in Jaipur are the female elephants. The mahouts or the elephant keepers take utmost care and great enthusiasm in decoration and grooming of the elephants, as there are prizes for the Best Groomed elephant as well. The elephants are painted on foreheads, trunks, foreheads and feet with floral motifs and adorned with ornaments and jewelry from tusk to tail.


The spotlight is on the Game of Polo, considered a royal game on the elephant Festival. Polo players are dressed in saffron and red turbans and try to score goals with long sticks and a plastic football for their teams. Last but not the least, the tourists are invited to mount the elephants and play Holi.


Elephant has always been the Imperial Mount with kings, members of the royal family, nobles and dignitaries mounting it. Rajasthan Tourism has revived the age-old tradition of significance of elephants by including the Elephant Festival in the list of the cultural calendar. The Elephant Festival in Jaipur began only a decade ago and was conceived to attract the tourists. The game of Polo is most recent inclusion yet the most popular.