Last Updated on: 27th January 2026, 11:56 am
After years of travel to far-off exotic destinations, I thought I’d seen just about everything. But there I was, walking amongst hundreds of rats at the Karni Mata Rat Temple, a place where they’re not considered pests, but holy. Though I only encountered a fraction of them, 25,000 rats are said to live at the temple in total.
If this was somewhere you wanted to stay far, far away from, I couldn’t blame you. But if you’re intrigued, keep reading to learn about what the experience entails. You can also find practical information about reaching the temple from the nearest city of Bikaner, Rajasthan at the end of the article.
Disclaimer: The following article is not for the squeamish!
Visiting the Karni Mata Rat Temple
There’s no polite way to say this, but visiting the Karni Mata Rat Temple means you’re going to be walking through rat shit. A LOT of rat shit. On top of that, there’s a chance that a live rat could scurry over your feet.
As this is a temple, all visitors must remove their shoes upon entry. Shoes, of course, are banned at Indian holy places for cleanliness reasons. While we could get into a debate over which is dirtier, shoes or rat shit, that would be futile, as rules are rules.
Fortunately, you can take some precautions to prevent your bare feet from directly touching the floor. First, you’ll want to bring an extra pair of socks that you’ll be disposing of as soon as you leave the temple.
Various street vendors around central Bikaner sell them, and on my way to the bus stop, I picked up a pair for Rs 30.
Once at the temple, you’ll find a shoe rack by the entrance. And they will also provide you with plastic foot covers. The price is technically free, though they do appreciate donations.
When finished with your visit, you can dispose of the plastic covers together with your socks, and the staff will also provide you with some hand sanitiser.
As you’ll observe, however, many locals go in totally barefoot and don’t bother with the plastic covers at all!
Aesthetically, the Karni Mata Rat Temple is quite beautiful. A temple at this spot dates back to at least 1530, but the current structure dates to the early 20th century, completed by Bikaner’s Maharaja Ganga Singh.
Said to have been inspired by Mughal architecture, the facade is comprised of beautifully carved marble and silver doors. Naturally, both rats and Karni Mata herself make multiple appearances in the art.
But who was Karni Mata? Born into the Charana clan in Rajasthan in the 14th century AD, Karni Mata was a real person who was later deified.
She was believed to have been able to perform miracles from the time she was a baby, and many people came to see her as an embodiment of Shakti. By her teenage years, she’d already amassed a legion of followers.
Soon local Rajputs and military leaders came to ask her for success and victory, and according to legend, their wishes often came true.
She traveled extensively throughout Rajasthan, offering boons to many of those who came to her. In addition to aiding leaders in military battles, she guided them in morality and dharma as well.
She also taught the importance of not causing harm to animals or other innocent living beings.
That’s one reason that rats are left to roam free at her temple. But why are so many here in the first place? According to legend, they are the reincarnated souls of Karni Mata’s devotees, and are thus considered by locals as holy.
I just happened to get there around noon. Upon arrival, someone told me that this was the time with the fewest rats, as many of them would be sleeping. But I can assure you that I still saw plenty!
Rats were everywhere – feasting on milk, scurrying around, and sometimes even fighting with one another. Sadly, a lot of them appeared diseased.
As mentioned, the rats are believed by locals to be reincarnates of Karni Mata’s former devotees. But to an outside observer, this existence certainly doesn’t seem like any kind of reward.
It should be stressed that the Karni Mata Rat Temple is one of a kind in India. I’ve visited countless temples in the country, and while cleanliness can vary from place to place, I’ve never come across anything like this before.
Considering how what we now call Hinduism is not a unified, organized religion with a single overarching dogma or religious leader, there can be a lot of variance from sect to sect and from region to region.
And sometimes, you end up with something a bit extreme, like the Karni Mata Rat Temple or the Gorehabba festival in Karnataka.
Another unique thing about this temple is that photography and video are both allowed in the inner sanctum – something extremely rare at Hindu temples.
At the time of writing, photography (with either a smartphone or regular camera) costs Rs 30, while video capture costs Rs 70.
Frankly speaking, the fact that this is one of the few temples in the country that allows photography inside probably isn’t the best PR move for India!
Aside from walking through rat poop and pee and trying to avoid stepping on rats, another shocking aspect of this temple is that they even let rats feast on the prasad, or temple offering.
Local worshipers seemed completely unfazed. And while I had a chance to line up and enter the main shrine area, I decided to pass on the opportunity and view it from a distance instead.
Leaving the main hall, the route takes visitors through a winding series of corridors. Each one is filled with troughs of rat food, so there’s no escaping them just yet.
Supposedly, seeing a rare white rat is said to bring good fortune, but I wouldn’t be so lucky.
Eventually you’ll end up in an open-air side area featuring additional signs. As with the main structures, many of them have been painted bright pink.
Here too, of course, were more rats. And more grime. And more feces.
While indeed shocking, I was somewhat surprised at myself for feeling relatively calm. But I had already been traveling in India for a few months by that point, and it took a lot to faze me.
Just that morning alone, I had to kindly request my hotel staff to wipe off the pigeon poop from the rooftop table before I ate my breakfast!
Eventually, I found myself back at the front courtyard, where I walked around to look for more rats. As mentioned, a local had told me that most would be sleeping at midday, and I realized he was right. Peaking through an opening in one of the structures, there were countless more!
Eventually, I felt that I’d had enough, and I left the temple to dispose of my foot covers and socks. Though there were some stalls selling food outside the temple, I didn’t want to eat anything until after taking a long, hot shower. And it’s not like I had the biggest appetite.
Though I’d read about it before my visit, I ended up forgetting to see the Karni Mata Museum behind the main temple, as the return bus to Bikaner appeared right when I arrived at the main road.
So is the Karni Mata Temple worth visiting? It’s certainly an experience most people won’t forget. And from now on when people ask me about some of my crazy travel experiences, this will be near the top of the list.
With that said, it would be a shame for those who don’t know much about Hinduism to walk away from India with this as one of their few temple memories. (Well, that and getting scammed by fake priests in Varanasi or Pushkar.)
To balance things out, I’d recommend also visiting a relatively calm and clean Indian holy city, such as Kurukshetra, Nashik or Maheshwar.
Additional Info
The Karni Mata Rat Temple is located in the village of Deshnok, located about 30 km from Bikaner. Fortunately, it can easily be reached by public bus.
First, you’ll want to head to a place called Ambedkar Circle from where a bus will pick you up and drop you off at the temple directly.
Arriving at the large roundabout, it can be confusing to figure out where exactly to wait, as there are no signs. But the bus should arrive at the eastern side of the circle. In any case, it would be wise to ask some locals to confirm.
At the time of my visit, the journey cost Rs 40 each way. It should take just under an hour, but a lot depends on traffic. As mentioned, the bus will take you right to the temple, so no need to worry about transfers. And when returning to Bikaner, just wait in the area where you got dropped off.
If you think you’d feel more comfortable visiting the Karni Mata Rat Temple with a guide, this tour will take you there from Bikaner, while it also includes a stop at Junagarh Fort.
Despite its large size, relatively few foreign visitors visit Bikaner, and you won’t have the abundance of hotel options that you’ll find in other parts of Rajasthan.
Traveling on a budget, I stayed at Jamna Vilas Guest House, which was located about 15-20 minutes on foot from the entrance to Junagarh Fort. It was also possible to walk from the hotel to Rampuria Haveli, not to mention the bus stop for the Karni Mata Temple.
In addition to the convenient location, the staff were very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, however, the room was not exactly clean, while I could clearly hear sounds from the guests on the other floors due to a large ventilation shaft.
Those with a bit more money to splurge should consider the centrally-located Cavalry Villa Bikaner, or Hotel Bhairon Vilas located next to the Ganesha Coffee Lounge.
Bikaner can be directly accessed by rail from cities like Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Delhi and Agra.
If you’re coming from Jaisalmer like I was, you’ll see that you can only buy advanced tickets for a night train. Confusingly, however, there’s an extra train that doesn’t appear on the Indian Railways (IRCTC) website or other booking apps.
The train is called Lalgarh Express and departs every day at 11:00. As the name suggests, it terminates at Lalgarh Junction, which is situated in northern Bikaner but still an easy tuk tuk ride to the center.
Boarding the train in Jaisalmer, my hotel owner’s son kindly accompanied me to the station and insisted on helping me buy a ticket. It was very kind of him, but he ended up purchasing a general class ticket, despite me explicitly telling him that I wanted 2AC! What followed us what could best be described as ‘the train ride from hell,’ but I did at least end up making it to Bikaner in one piece.
If you’re doing a long trip through India, it’s best to create an account on the official Indian Railways (IRCTC) website. But that’s much easier said than done!
If you’re just doing a shorter trip, it’s best to book train tickets through 12GoAsia. You’ll pay a significantly higher fee, but it’s a much smoother experience.
The above link is an affiliate link, but I did use 12GoAsia a few times before I got my IRCTC account set up, and I had no issues.
Aurangabad also has its own airport, with direct flights from Mumbai and Delhi.