Bikaner is one of the popular tourist destinations in Rajasthan. Located in the middle of Thar Desert tourists frequent it to enjoy the charm and beauty of desert. Apart from the places of interest situated within the district numerous places lie outside the city boundaries. Local transportations, such as, auto rickshaws and unmetered taxis are easily available in Bikaner to drop in at the places of interest around Bikaner. While some of these are of high religious importance the others are historically important.

Karni Mata Temple in Desknok is a well-known tourist place. It is located at a distance of 30 kilometers from Jodhpur. The goddess is considered the patron Goddess of the Bikaner dynasty. She is believed to have blessed and guided Rao Bika in establishing his kingdom. The temple has massive silver gates that had been donated by Maharaja Ganga Singh. The panel of the gate depicts the patron Goddess, with head of the demon Mahishasura, at the end of her trident. The temple is said to be 600 years old. The striking feature of this temple is the presence of numerous rats. It provides a haven to the rats (also called kabas) who are fed on the offerings of the devotees and run freely all over the temple complex. Regular bus services are available at an interval of 15 minutes from Bikaner to Deshnok to arrive at this temple.

Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary is situated 32 kilometers away from Bikaner. It is location the way to Jaisalmer road. Gajner was once the hunting preserve of Maharaja Ganga Singh. This wildlife park is surrounded by scrub forest. There is a lake within this sanctuary. It offers the perfect place to watch out for the chinkara, black buck and nilgai. The tourists will also be able to see antelope, gazelle and pigs arriving to drink water at the lake. The lake also attracts migratory birds from distant Siberia and other places in winter. The birds that can be found here are black bellied sand grouse and cranes. A palace is located nearby. The Gajner Palace served as a summer resort for the Maharaja. Buses from Bikaner are available for the sanctuary and the tourists will have to disembark at the village Galari.

Camel Breeding Farm around Bikaner is also known as the National Research Centre on Camels. It is located at a distance of 8 kilometers from Bikaner. This government-managed camel breeding farm is only one of its kinds in Asia. One can get acquainted with this indispensable ship of the desert at this camel breeding and research station. The farm was formed in 1960 and it extends over 2000 acres of arid land. At this center the camels are crossbred here and the farm provides almost 50% of India`s camels. Camels were one upon a time the major source for recovering the economy of the kingdom. Even the British army had a camel corps drawn from Bikaner, which was a famous fighting force, and the Indian army still has a Camel Corp, an important part of desert warfare and defence. There are 3 different types of camels that are bred here. Jaisalmer camels known for their speed, camels from Bikaner district renowned for their load carrying capacity and dark colours camels from Gujarat. To arrive at this place the travelers can easily avail auto-rickshaws and taxis.

Kolayat is located 50 kilometers southwest of Bikaner. To reach this place one has to travel via Gajner. Here the tourists will come across a large lake and a temple complex in Kolayat. It has a number of temples that have sandstone pavilions and 52 ghats built around the lake. These were built because of the initiative taken by Maharaja Ganga Singh I. It is also considered a sacred spot, dedicated to Kapil Muni and regarded as one of the 58 most important Hindu places of pilgrimage. The whole place comes alive on the Kartik Poornima (Full Moon) in November for Kolayat Festival for 10 days and thousands of pilgrims congregate to take sacred dip in the holy waters of the lake. A cattle fair especially for the trading of camels is a part of the festivities.

Kalibangan is located about 205 kilometers north of Bikaner near Hanumangarh (75 km). This is an important historical site. Excavations yield evidence for a city that existed around 5000 years ago. Remains as old as pre Harappan and Harappan civilizations were found at this place. as a result it is of great interest for the archaeologists. The name of this literally means `black bangles.` It derives its name from the numerous pieces of terracotta bangles that were found strewn all over the excavation site. Excavations have revealed well-planned towns with streets that intersected at right angles and an advanced drainage system. It has also been discovered that the houses were made of bricks and used terracotta pipes in the bathrooms. Other finds include a uniform system of weights and measures. An archaeological museum has also been established near the site. It houses the remnants found here, such as mud bricks, a range of pottery and ornaments.