Sikar is a city located midway between Agra and Bikaner on the National Highway 52 in the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old havelis (large houses with Mughal-era architecture). It is located 114 km from Jaipur, 320 km from Jodhpur 215 km from Bikaner, and 280 km from Delhi.

History

Sikar had been the biggest Thikana (Estate) of the Jaipur state. Previously Sikar was known as Nehrawati. It was the capital town of Thikana Sikar. Sikar is surrounded by the fortified walls consisting of seven “Pols” (gates). These historic gates are named as Bawari gate, Fatehpuri Gate, Nani Gate, Surajpole Gate, Dujod Gate Old, Dujod Gate New and Chandpole Gate. The primitive name of Sikar was “Beer BhanKa Bass”.

Geography and Climate

Geography
Sikar is the district headquarters of Rajasthan’s Sikar district, which is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan. It is located at27.62°N 75.15°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 427 meters (1401 feet).

Climate
Sikar has a hot, semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) and rain occur in the monsoon months, between June and September. The summer months of April to July have an average daily temperature of around 30 °C (86 °F). The maximum temperature during the May & June can reach close to 50 °C (122 °F) with little to no humidity. During the monsoon, there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not persistent. The winter months of November to February are also harsh, with average temperature ranging from 0–15 °C (32–59 °F) even with little or no humidity. There are, however, several cold fronts that lead to temperatures below freezing −8–0 °C (18–32 °F).

Modes of Transportation

Rail
Sikar Junction railway station comes within the territory of the North Western Railway. Sikar City is connected to Jhunjhunu, Rewari, Delhi, Churu, Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Abu Road, Indore, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Road
Sikar is well connected by roads from all the major cities of Rajasthan and nearby states. A four-lane national highway NH-52 passes through the center of the city. NH-52 connects Sikar with Jaipur and Bikaner. The western freight corridor will also pass through Sikar, as a main project of the central government. Kotputali Kuchaman Mega Highway also passes through Sikar.

Air
The nearest airport to Sikar City is Jaipur International Airport, which operates daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Udaipur, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat. A new airport is proposed at Shahpura (a town in Jaipur district) that is very close to Sikar. A small air strip at Tarpura village is also available for the landing of small private planes against payment.