Pushkar, the lake town of Brahma and the camel fair

A lake that fell from a lotus

• Brahma's sacrifice: he then chose the lake for a great yagna. The story of his two wives starts here, and explains Pushkar's most famous temple and hill.
• Tirth raj: Hindus call Pushkar the king of pilgrimage places, and many believe a dip on the full moon of Kartik washes away a lifetime's sins.
• Small and shallow: a basin, partly man-made and held by an old dam, ringed by temples, ghats and whitewashed houses.
• The setting: the Aravalli hills on three sides, and sand dunes rolling away to the west.
• Difficult years: silt from the hills, falling groundwater and pollution have all troubled the lake.
• Recovery: cleaning and desilting since 2009 has helped. Full after a good monsoon, with spires reflected in the water, you understand why people pray for its health.

The ghats, from first light to the evening aarti

• Brahma Ghat: where Brahma himself is said to have bathed.
• Gau Ghat: one of the most important, renamed Gandhi Ghat after some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed there in 1948.
• Family rituals: our guide will tell you which ghats families use for which rites, from a child's first haircut to the last rites for a parent.
• At dawn: pilgrims come down wrapped in shawls, ring the bells, pour water from brass pots and float marigolds while the mist lifts.
• At dusk: the evening aarti, worship with lamps, conch shells and bells, and the whole lake glows with small flames.
• Ghat by ghat: our guide to Pushkar Lake and its ghats.

The temple of Brahma

• The curse: seeing another woman in her place, Savitri cursed Brahma to be worshipped nowhere on earth except Pushkar. The gods pleaded, and she softened it only so far.
• The building: largely fourteenth century, with later repairs, of marble and stone on a high platform reached by steps, under a red spire.
• The silver turtle: it sits on the hall floor facing the sanctum.
• Coins in the floor: the marble floor and walls are set with silver coins left by devotees, many engraved with the givers' family names.
• The image: Brahma with four faces, one for each direction, with Gayatri beside him.
• Who goes in: by tradition married men, as householders, do not enter the inner sanctum. Priests of an ascetic order worship there, and pilgrims offer through them from the outer hall.
• Read more: our page on the Brahma temple, and the story of Pushkar's Brahma temple in full.

Savitri on her hill, and Gayatri on hers

• The view: the lake like a mirror, spires and rooftops around it, hills to the east and dunes to the west.
• The valley waking: on a clear morning, breakfast smoke rises and the first bells sound from the ghats.
• Gayatri's temple: a shorter walk, far less visited, with a good view back across the water to Ratnagiri.
• Both wives: pilgrims who know the story often visit both, so neither is neglected.
• Practical details: in our guide to the Savitri temple.
• Not only water: the hills are a reminder that Pushkar is a landscape too.

More temples, a Mughal ruin and the bazaar

The camel fair, in the month of Kartik

• The camels: washed, decorated, shorn in patterns and paraded.
• The herders: Raika and Rabari men in great red and white turbans bargain over tea for days.
• The horses: especially the curved-eared Marwari breed, shown off at a gallop.
• The fun: camel races, tug of war, the longest-moustache competition and matka phod, breaking clay pots, plus folk music, dance and rides.
• At sunrise: hot-air balloons sometimes lift over the dunes.
• A fair in transition: camel numbers have fallen sharply as roads and tractors replaced them, one reason the camel became the state animal in 2014. Each year the trading is smaller and the tourist programme larger.
• Plan it with us: our Pushkar Camel Fair page, our fair guide, and the Pushkar Camel Fair journey.

Pilgrim etiquette, the Pushkar way

• A vegetarian town: meat, fish and eggs are not served, and alcohol is not permitted. Please don't bring them in.
• Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered for men and women, and a scarf is useful in temples.
• Keep affection discreet: holding hands is fine. More than that on the ghats will cause offence.
• Don't swim or wash in the lake: it is sacred water.
• At the aarti: stand or sit quietly and avoid flash. Our guide to temple etiquette covers the rest of Rajasthan.

Pushkar today: priests, pilgrims and travellers

• See the records: our guide can introduce you to a priest who will show you how they work.
• The pilgrims' town: families arrive by bus and car, bathe, make offerings, eat a simple meal in a dharamshala, a pilgrims' rest house, and leave.
• Festival days: quiet on ordinary days, the lanes fill shoulder to shoulder on festivals and full moons.
• The travellers' town: it grew from the 1970s, when backpackers discovered Pushkar's calm and stayed for weeks.
• Their legacy: rooftop cafés, music shops and bookshops, and falafel and hummus on many menus, first made for Israeli travellers.
• Living together: some locals welcome it and some don't, but as long as visitors respect the rules, the three Pushkars get on surprisingly well.

Malpua, rose and the vegetarian table

• Cool months: hot milk sold from great pans, flavoured with cardamom and saffron.
• Rose country: the fields around Pushkar grow roses, made into rose water, rose syrup and gulkand.
• Gulkand: a sweet preserve of petals and sugar that Rajasthani grandmothers swear by for cooling the body in summer.
• Where to buy: in the bazaar, from shops that make their own.
• The best meal in town: a simple evening thali of dal, seasonal vegetables, kadhi, bajra roti and churma.
• Our favourites: in the food of Pushkar guide.

Where to stay in Pushkar

• Both suit: travellers who want calm after a day in the lanes.
• During the fair: luxury tented camps open near the fairground, so you wake to camel bells.
• Which suits whom: our guide to luxury stays in Pushkar and our comparison of luxury hotels in Pushkar.
• If you prefer a palace: base yourself in Jaipur and come for two nights, or combine Pushkar with nearby Ajmer and Kishangarh.

When to come to Pushkar

• For quiet: avoid the fair and come in December, February or early March.
• April to June: hot, often above 40°C, and the town empties of visitors.
• The monsoon: it refills the lake and greens the hills, and pilgrim life goes on.
• Holi, February or March: celebrated with great energy, music and colour, and not for the shy. See our Holi in Rajasthan page.
• Month by month: our guide to the best time to visit Pushkar.

Getting to Pushkar

• By air: Kishangarh Airport, opened in 2017, is roughly an hour's drive. Jaipur's airport has many more flights and is about three hours away.
• From Jaipur: around 150 kilometres by road, usually about three hours.
• In the old town: lanes are narrow and many are pedestrian, so you walk from your car to the ghats.
• Transfers: our guide to getting around Rajasthan explains how we plan them.

Ajmer and Kishangarh, the neighbours

• Adhai Din ka Jhonpra: an early mosque in Ajmer, built from the carved pillars of older temples and colleges.
• Taragarh: the hill fort above Ajmer, for a wide view over the city and the Aravallis.
• Kishangarh painting: the small court of Kishangarh gave its name to a school of miniature painting famous for the elongated profile of Bani Thani.
• Plan it: our Ajmer page has the full picture.

Who will love Pushkar, and who may not

• Endlessly rich: for photographers, writers and anyone who wants to understand Hindu pilgrimage.
• During the fair: one of the great spectacles of India.
• Harder if: you want palace grandeur, fine dining with wine, or quiet streets at every hour.
• The downsides: crowded lanes, persistent touts, and in fair week a town that is noisy, dusty and full.
• How we soften it: stay outside town, come in with a guide at the right hours, and let us handle the rest.

Two days in Pushkar, the way we spend them

• Longer versions: in our Pushkar itinerary.
• The bigger journey: the sacred Rajasthan journey links Pushkar with Ajmer, Nathdwara and Ranakpur.