Pushkar Travel Guide

Pushkar Travel Guide At a distance of 15 km from Ajmer, 145 km from Jaipur, 188 km from Jodhpur, 254 km from Bikaner, 278 km from Udaipur, 375 km from Gurgaon and 408 km from Delhi, Pushkar is sacred town located in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan. It is one of the oldest pilgrimage destination in Rajasthan and also one of the prime places to visit near Jaipur.

Pushkar is situated at an altitude of 510 m on the banks of Pushkar Lake. The town derives its name from the Sanskrit word 'Pushkar', which means blue lotus flower. According to mythology, Lord Brahma was on his way to search for a suitable place to perform a 'Yagna', a lotus fell from his hand on the earth and water sprouted from that place. He then decided to name the place after the flower, Pushkar is one of the top attractions you must include in Jaipur packages.

Pushkar is one of the oldest existing cities of India and also one of the five sacred dhams for devout Hindus, the others being Badrinath, Puri, Rameswaram, and Dwarka. According to history, Pushkar was a favorite retreat of the Mughal rulers, which was later taken over by the Scindias after the eventual decline of the Mughal rule. The Scindias handed over the city to the British thus making Pushkar one of the few places in Rajasthan to be under direct British control, until Independence.

There are several temples in Pushkar and the most famous temple is the Brahma temple, which is one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma in the world. Pushkar is also famous for the Pushkar Lake, which has 52 Ghats. Hindus consider a journey to Pushkar to be the ultimate pilgrimage that must be undertaken to attain salvation. Varaha Temple, Merta, Aptaeshwar Temple, Pushkar Cattle Fair, Rangji Temple, and Savitri Temple are the popular attractions in Pushkar. Pushkar is also called 'the rose garden of Rajasthan', because of the extensive flower farming in and around the city.

Sanganer Airport, Jaipur is the nearest airport which is 151 km away from Pushkar. The airport is well connected with flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Jodhpur. Pushkar Railway Station is the nearest railway station, while Ajmer Junction is the major railhead which is about 15 km from Pushkar. Ajmer is well connected by trains with Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Bikaner, Hyderabad, Howrah, Jodhpur, Agra, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Jaisalmer, Mumbai, Amritsar, Haridwar, Pune and Bhopal. The nearest Bus Station is situated in Pushkar near Bangad School. Pushkar is well connected by bus from Bikaner, Ajmer, New Delhi, and Jaipur.

Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Camel Fair held in November on the day of holy Kartik Purnima. It is one of the largest camel fairs in the world, in which thousands of camel owners comes to Pushkar city to take part in events, sell & purchase activities of their cattle. Competitions such as the matka phod, longest moustache and 'bridal competition' are the main draws for this fair which attracts thousands of tourists. An International Hot Air Balloon Festival is also organized during the fair.

The best time to visit Pushkar is from October to March while the peak season is from December to February. Summers are too hot and monsoon & winter offer pleasant weather to enjoy the tourism in Pushkar.