How to plan your days in Ajmer
Our cousins' rhythm: errands early, before the pilgrim buses arrive, lunch long and indoors, and evenings on the lake shore or at the qawwali.
This list follows it: sacred places at the edges of the day, museums and temples in the middle, lakes and music at dusk.
- Dawn and dusk
- Sacred places
- Midday
- Museums and temples
- Dusk
- Lakes and music
- Short of time
- The first six things below
- Two days
- Add Pushkar
- Not pretty, but deep: Ajmer is not a pretty town in the way Udaipur is. It is a busy, devout, working city, and the old quarter is dense with people, rickshaws and shops.
- History packed tight: within a short drive, a thirteenth-century Sufi shrine, a twelfth-century mosque, a Chauhan lake, Mughal pavilions, a colonial school for princes and a Jain hall of gold.
- Nowhere else: no other place in Rajasthan packs the country's history so tightly.
- One day: the first six things on this list are the essentials.
- Two days: add the museum, Taragarh and an evening at the lake, then spend the second day in Pushkar, fifteen kilometres over the hill.
- The full story: our main Ajmer guide, of which this page is the practical companion.
At the shrine of Gharib Nawaz
Why most people come: the shrine of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, which deserves more than one visit.
- Visit
- Twice: dawn and after dark
- Head
- Covered
- Shoes
- At a stall outside the gate
- Camera
- Leave it with your driver
- Twice: once in the early morning for calm and ritual, once after dark for music.
- Carry almost nothing: and cover your head before the gate.
- Read first: our page on Ajmer Sharif Dargah explains the buildings, and our Ajmer Sharif guide walks you through the customs.
Watch the degs at first light
The cauldrons: in the first courtyard, the larger given by Akbar in 1568 and the smaller by Jahangir in 1614.
- Still used: to cook sweet rice with ghee, dry fruit and saffron, shared with pilgrims as tabarruk, blessed food.
- Come early: you may see the cooks climbing up to stir with long paddles while the steam rises around them.
- Rarely seen: one of the great scenes of devotional India, and very few foreign visitors see it.
Walk the gates and courtyards slowly
The Nizam Gate: given in 1911 by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad.
- Beyond it: the Shahjahani Gate and the Buland Darwaza, the high gate raised by a sultan of Malwa.
- Further in: the red sandstone Akbari mosque and the white marble mosque Shah Jahan built in 1637.
- Pause and watch: a Rajput grandmother with her rose basket, a family from Hyderabad, a boy carrying a folded chadar on his head like a crown.
Offer a chadar or tie a thread
What pilgrims bring: baskets of rose petals and embroidered chadars, cloths laid on the saint's grave.
- A wish: many tie a thread on the screens, and you are welcome to, whatever your faith.
- The khadims: the hereditary custodians guide pilgrims through the rituals. Agree any donation before, not after, or let our guide handle it.
- Our grandmother: a devout Hindu, she tied a thread here for every grandchild.
Stay for Dua-e-Roshni at lamp-lighting
Around sunset: the khadims carry large candles into the shrine for the prayer of light as the lamps are lit.
- The moment: the courtyard falls quiet, drums sound and people stand with palms open. A few minutes, and the most moving of the dargah's day.
- How: arrive a little early, find a place near the edge of the crowd and keep your phone away.
Sit for an hour of qawwali
After the lamps: harmonium, hand-clapping and voices rising from a calm opening verse to long, ecstatic repetition.
- The music: the devotional song of the Sufis, sung here in Urdu, Persian and Hindi.
- How: sit on the marble with the pilgrims, offer a small note to the singers if moved, and do not hurry away.
- Which night: Thursday is the most intense and most crowded. For a calmer listen, choose another night.
Monuments of the Chauhans, Mughals and the Raj
Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, in soft morning light
Begun in 1192: just after the second battle of Tarain, on the site of a Sanskrit college built by the Chauhan king Vigraharaja IV.
Reused pillars: temple columns stacked two and three high, their bells, chains and lotuses still sharp.
- The screen: added across the front in the early thirteenth century by Sultan Iltutmish, carved with Arabic inscriptions.
- When: straight after the dargah, while the light is low on the screen.
- Look for: the tablets that once carried a Sanskrit play attributed to the king himself.
Akbar's fort and the government museum
Built in 1570: Akbar's square, walled palace for his visits to the shrine.
- Jahangir's court: his son held court here during his three years in Ajmer, and in 1616 received Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador of James I, in this city.
- The museum: Rajput and Mughal weapons, stone sculpture from across the region, coins and inscriptions.
- When: the hottest hour of the day. Ask your guide to show you the sculpture galleries first, because they are the best.
Taragarh, for the view over the city
The fort of Ajaymeru: the Chauhan fort on the invincible hill that gave Ajmer its name, crowning the ridge above the city.
- Why kings wanted it: from the top, the city, the lake and the passes through the Aravallis lie at your feet, though most walls and gates are ruined.
- Miran Sahib: within the fort, the shrine of a warrior killed here in 1202 and remembered as a saint, with its own pilgrims and its own quiet.
- When: the morning, when the air is clearest. Wear shoes with grip.
Prithviraj Smarak, the Chauhan memorial
- What it is: a modern memorial on the road towards Taragarh, with a statue of Prithviraj Chauhan on horseback.
- Why stop: the terrace has a fine view, and Ajmer families bring children here to hear the story of the king who once ruled from Ajmer to Delhi.
Mayo College, by prior arrangement
Founded in 1875: named after the Viceroy Lord Mayo, the school where India's princes learned to rule.
- Its first pupil: the young Maharaja Mangal Singh of Alwar.
- The building: white marble with domes and a clock tower, one of India's finest examples of the Indo-Saracenic style.
- Visits: a working school, so only with permission, which we request for guests with a real interest. Otherwise the view from the road is still worth the drive.
The railway town and the old cantonment
1818: the British took Ajmer, and for more than a century it was the capital of the small province of Ajmer-Merwara.
- What came with the railway: workshops, bungalows, churches and a clock tower facing the station.
- A slow drive: with a guide who knows which family lived where, it shows a side of Ajmer that has nothing to do with pilgrims.
- Who it suits: rail enthusiasts and anyone curious about how British India sat inside the princely states of Rajputana.
Temples, a golden hall and other faiths
- Soniji ki Nasiyan
- Begun 1864; gold hall 1895
- Dedicated to
- Rishabhdev, first Tirthankara
- Gold used
- Said to be about 1,000 kg
- Nareli
- Jaipur road, best at dusk
- Pushkar
- Fifteen kilometres west
Soniji ki Nasiyan and its hall of gold
The Red Temple: from the street, a sober building of red sandstone, which is why people call it that.
Its story: begun in 1864 by the Soni family and dedicated to Rishabhdev, the first Tirthankara.
- The hall of 1895: climb to the gallery and look down on a vast gilded model of the Jain universe and the city of Ayodhya.
- What you see: palaces, processions, elephants and flying vimanas, celestial chariots, hanging in the air. It is said to use about a thousand kilograms of gold.
- When: the middle of the day, when the outdoor sights are too hot.
Nareli Jain temples at dusk
Where: on the Jaipur road out of the city, a modern complex of Jain shrines in pale stone climbing a rocky hillside.
- Why: calm, clean and very beautiful as the evening light turns the stone gold, the perfect antidote to the old city.
- How: dress as for any temple, remove leather if asked, and walk up slowly.
A day across the ridge in Pushkar
Over Nag Pahar: fifteen kilometres west, one of the holiest towns in Hinduism, around a lake with fifty-two ghats and the rare temple of Brahma.
- A lesson: seeing Ajmer and Pushkar together is the best we know in how India's faiths live side by side.
- Remember: Pushkar is strictly vegetarian and alcohol-free.
- Planning: our pages on the Brahma temple and Pushkar Lake and its ghats.
Lakes, gardens and the Aravalli air
Sunset at the Baradari on Ana Sagar
The lake: built in the twelfth century by the Chauhan king Arnoraja, known as Ana, the grandfather of Prithviraj Chauhan.
- The Baradari: five centuries later Shah Jahan added a row of white marble pavilions along the embankment, open to the breeze.
- The hour: sit in one in the last light, as the far hills turn violet and the lake goes silver.
- Ajmer's most peaceful hour: and it costs nothing but time.
Daulat Bagh, Jahangir's garden
Below the embankment: the garden Jahangir laid out on the lake shore, now a public garden popular with families and morning walkers.
- Not formal: not a Mughal garden like those of Agra, but shady and pleasant.
- What it tells you: how the emperors used this lake as a retreat from the dust of the road.
A boat on the lake
In the evenings: boats go out on Ana Sagar, and after a strong monsoon the lake is wide and full.
- From the water: the marble pavilions and hills come into proportion, and the city's noise falls away.
- For families: simple and a little old-fashioned, which is exactly why children enjoy it.
A quiet drive to Foy Sagar
Where: the western edge of the city.
- Its story: a smaller lake built in 1892 as a famine relief work, when the government paid hungry families to dig and build.
- Why go: quieter than Ana Sagar and framed by hills, and in winter you may see waterbirds on its edges.
- When: the end of a long day, with a flask of tea in the car.
Flamingos at Sambhar Lake
North-east of Ajmer: India's largest inland salt lake fills with flamingos in a good winter.
- Akbar's wedding: at Sambhar in 1562, the young emperor married the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber, on his way back from the dargah.
- How: a long afternoon with a picnic and a sunset over the salt flats, from November to March. Our Sambhar Lake page explains the seasons.
Sohan halwa, kadhi kachori and the dargah lanes
- Take home
- Sohan halwa
- Breakfast
- Kadhi kachori
- Evening
- Biryani, kebabs, sheermal
- Souvenir
- A small bottle of rose attar
Buy sohan halwa on your way out
What it is: wheat, milk, ghee and sugar, cooked for hours until it sets into dense, chewy squares studded with nuts.
- Where: shops in the lanes around the dargah sell it in tins, and it keeps well.
- Why every bus smells of ghee: every pilgrim takes some home.
- When: on your way out of the old city, not in. You will not want to carry it through the crowds.
Breakfast on kadhi kachori
The city's favourite: a crisp, spiced kachori broken open and drowned in hot, tangy kadhi, a yoghurt curry thickened with gram flour.
- How: standing at a counter with sweet tea, before the day gets going.
- Where: our guide knows which stall is frying fresh that morning. Eat where the oil is hot and turnover quick.
An evening meal in the dargah quarter
After the qawwali: the lanes fill with the smell of grilled meat.
- What to eat: biryani, kebabs, slow-cooked curries and sheermal, a soft, faintly sweet bread enriched with milk and saffron.
- Safely: we only take guests to places with a fast turnover, or bring the food back to your hotel.
- Remember: across the hill in Pushkar no meat is served at all.
Shopping in the lanes around the shrine
What pilgrims buy: rose petals, embroidered chadars, lace caps, prayer beads, attar perfumes in tiny glass bottles, devotional books and recordings of qawwali.
- Not fine crafts: but a small bottle of rose attar or a cap for your own visit makes a meaningful souvenir.
- How: bargain gently, and never let a stranger lead you to a shop. Our shopping guide to Rajasthan explains how we avoid commission traps.
Painters, marble and barefoot engineers nearby
Kishangarh, for painting and a lake palace
Where: about 30 kilometres north-east of Ajmer, Kishangarh was a small Rathore state.
- Bani Thani: its eighteenth-century painters created the famous woman with lotus eyes and a long, curved profile.
- A studio morning: painters still work in the old style, and we arrange a visit to watch pigments ground and outlines laid with a single-hair brush.
- Tea by the lake: end beside Gundolav lake, below the walls of Phool Mahal. Our miniature painting page describes the craft.
The marble yards of Kishangarh
A great market: Kishangarh is now one of the largest marble markets in India, with blocks and slabs from across Rajasthan stacked along the highway in white, green, pink and black.
- Why go: an hour with someone in the trade explains the buildings of your journey, from the Taj Mahal to the Dilwara temples.
- When: the morning. It is dusty and hot at midday.
Tilonia and the Barefoot College
Since 1972: in the village of Tilonia, in Ajmer district, the Barefoot College has trained rural women and men as solar engineers, teachers, water experts and craftspeople.
- Why go: one of the most hopeful mornings you can spend in the state, for anyone curious about how Rajasthan's villages are changing.
- How: arranged in advance, and it pairs naturally with Kishangarh.
Festivals worth planning around
- The Urs
- Six days in Rajab
- Shifts
- About eleven days earlier each year
- Pushkar fair
- Kartik, usually October or November
- Ramadan
- Lively lanes after sunset
The Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
What it is: the saint's urs, the anniversary of his death, which Sufis celebrate as his union with God.
- When: six days in the Islamic month of Rajab, moving about eleven days earlier each year through the Western calendar.
- What happens: the silver Jannati Darwaza is opened, the degs are cooked again and again, and qawwali goes on through the night.
- How we go: one of South Asia's largest religious gatherings, so only with an experienced guide and a carefully planned route. Our Urs at Ajmer Sharif page explains how it unfolds.
The Pushkar fair, next door
When: the Hindu month of Kartik, usually October or November.
- Who comes: camel and cattle traders first, then hundreds of thousands of pilgrims for the full moon bath.
- Ajmer's role: the gateway for the crowds, with hotel rooms across the district full months ahead.
- Planning: book early and see our Pushkar Camel Fair page.
Eid and Ramadan evenings
Ramadan: the dargah quarter comes alive after sunset, when the fast is broken and food stalls stay open late.
- Eid: families in new clothes, sweet vermicelli and embraces in the street.
- Moving dates: like the Urs, these follow the moon.
- If you are here: an evening walk in the lanes after the fast is broken is warm and welcoming.
Ajmer after dark
Lamps and qawwali: watch the lamps lit at the dargah, then stay for the qawwali. The one evening experience in Ajmer we would never skip.
The embankment: walk Ana Sagar after dark, when the heat has gone and families come out for kulfi and roasted corn.
- Folk music at dinner: most good hotels can arrange Rajasthani musicians on the terrace. Our page on folk music and dance explains the traditions.
- Pushkar's aarti: if you are staying there, drive back over the ridge for the lamps floated on the lake, a striking contrast with the dargah an hour earlier.
- Stars: on a clear winter night, step into the garden of a resort outside town. Away from the city lights, the sky over the Aravallis is surprisingly dark.
What we tell friends before their first Ajmer day
A scarf or cap: carry one at all times, for the dargah, temples and the sun.
Slip-off shoes: and socks if the marble is hot underfoot.
- Leave in the car: valuables, bags and cameras. The dargah crowds are dense, and pickpockets work them.
- For calm: avoid Thursday evenings and Fridays, and avoid the Urs unless you have come for it.
- Rest at midday: Ajmer's best hours are early morning and evening, in every season.
- Never argue religion: people of many faiths pray here side by side, and that is the point. Our temple etiquette guide covers the basics for every faith.
- Sleep outside the city: in Pushkar or Kishangarh, unless you need to be close for an early start. Our guide to luxury hotels in Ajmer is honest about the options.