Travel to Pushkar

15km northwest of Ajmer, the small town of Pushkar attracts thousands of visitors from all parts of the world for its famous camel fair. The occasion provides a great opportunity to have a deep insight into the life and traditions of Rajasthan.

Pushkar is a place of antiquity, which finds mention in the ancient scriptures of the Hindus including Puranas. The Padma (Lotus) Purana, one of the 18 Puranas, deals with the origin of Pushkar. The town came into existence when Lord Brahma, the Creator of the famed Hindu Trinity, dropped his lotus flower (pushpa) to earth from his hand (kar) to destroy a demon. So there is left no scope for doubt that it is one of holiest places for the Hindus. The legendary color of the camel fair, combined with the wonderful scenic beauty and heady religious atmosphere of the temples and ghats have made Pushkar a prime tourist destination.

Pushkar Lake is renowned for its sacredness and holy water. People gather here throughout year to have a holy dip in its waters but the one on the day of Kartik Purnima (Full moon), falling in some time in the month November, is considered most auspicious. Pilgrims light clay lamps on leafy dishes; leave them to float over the sacred lake. To celebrate the Great Yagna, a five-day fair is organised when hundreds of thousands of people throng at Pushkar, take a holy dip on all the five days in the lake and worship at Brahma temple. An outstanding feature of this fair is that adherents of all religions attend this fair.

Pushkar abounds with 400 temples and the most important among them are dedicated to Brahma, Shiva, Badri Narayan, Rangjee, Savitri, Gayatri, and Varaha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu. The lake is surrounded by 52 ghats built over the years by several rulers and feudal chiefs. The important ghats are Brahma Ghat, Varaha Ghat, and Gau Ghat. Pushkar is also famous for being centers of Nimbarkacharya and Vallabhacharya sects. There are three Pushkars - Jyeshtha, Madhyama and Kanishtha. The last one is popularly known as 'Boodha Pushkar'. People perform oblations at the three Pushkars on foot which is known as "Panch-kosi-Parikrama". A distance of 16 Kms. has to be covered while performing it.

How to Reach there

Air
The closest airport is 131 km away in Jaipur.

Train
The nearest railway station, in Ajmer (10 km), has trains to Jaipur, Delhi, Udaipur, and Ahmedabad. From Ahmedabad you can get a train to Bombay or Dwarka. You can have a travel agent in Pushkar arrange your train a day or two in advance for a Rs. 30 charge, rather than going to Ajmer yourself. The best way to get to Delhi is to catch an overnight train from Ajmer. It is much better than taking an overnight bus, but it takes a little advance planning.

Bus
There are two bus stands in Pushkar-the Marwar bus stand, in the north of town by the post office, which services some long distance places, and the Ajmer bus stand, east of town by the Pushkar Hotel, which has buses to Ajmer and Jaipur. There are regular buses from Pushkar to Ajmer. The buses from Ajmer to Pushkar depart every hour from 6 am to 10 pm from near the Ajmer railway station.