Bikaner, Jan 22 : Bikaner came alive to the entertaining acts of the 'ships of the desert' as the three-day annual camel festival was kicked off here.

The festival started with the procession of beautifully decorated camels heading towards the open sand on the outskirts of the city.

Organised by the state tourism department, the festival is expected to boost tourism in the state.

"Only through this festival, we are able to propagate our values and culture to other parts of the country and the whole world," said Alok Gupta, District Collector.

These camels fascinate tourists from all over the world with their movements, charm and grace.

"I like it very much. I think the tradition is nice and it's something special. You can feel it when you're here," said Melina, a tourist from Denmark.

The camels display amazing footwork, dancing gracefully to the slightest direction of their drivers. Colourful bridles, bejewelled necks, jingling anklets and long, lanky camel shadows on dusky sands, cast a magical spell.

"Everything is very good. Its very colourful, the camels are very beautiful with their clothes. People were dressed up as well," said Andy, a foreign tourist.

A variety of events involving camel, like camel dance, camel decoration competitions and camel fur cutting competitions will be presented during the fair.

Bikaner is situated around 320 kilometers from Jaipur and was recognised as a major trade hub in the 16th century. It boasts of a number of places of tourist attraction including forts, palaces, temples and museums apart from the Center of Camel Research. (ANI)