Situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan, Pushkar is one of the ancient and sacred town of Rajasthan. It is merely 11km away from the most revered holy city of both Hindus and Muslims, Ajmer. Nag parbat (the snake hill) separates Pushkar from Ajmer. Pushkar is a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. Pious people from various parts of India, visits Pushkar, the only abode of Universe's creator, to have a holy dip in the Pushkar lake.
The very first moment when you will step into this divine land of Lord Brahma, you will be mesmerized by the panoramic beauty of the three lakes which surrounds this holy land. According to a legend, Pushkar was created when Lord Brahma's lotus flower fell on Earth, for the purpose of deciding the venue for his Yagna. The lotus flower fell on three different places in the region, from where water comes out.
Apart from the famous Pushkar Lake and 500 temples in the city, which includes a 14th century Brahma temple, Pushkar has 52 ghats where pilgrims descend to the lake to have holy bath. It is believed that if you take a holy dip on kartik Purnima, it is equivalent to perform yagnas for several years. Some other major attractions of Pushkar are the temple of Savitri, the first wife of Lord Brahma. Savitri temple is located on the hill behind the Brahma Temple which can be reached by a flight of steps. This temple offers a picturesque view of the lake and the surrounding desert scape and the Varah temple, which was rebuilt by Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur in the year 1727. It is famous for sculptures, carvings and richly ornamented image house. Besides the temples, another tourist attraction of Pushkar is the Man Mahal. This palace was built by Raja Man Singh of Ajmer. This is the biggest princely house in Pushkar and was used by Raja Man Singh during his visits to Pushkar.
As Pushkar is a small town, it is easy and ideal to explore Pushkar on foot only. You can even use a bicycle to get around this holy land often called as "thirth raj".
Pushkar is renowned across the globe for the Pushkar Camel Fair. This fair is an annual religious fiesta held near the Pushkar lake. This camel fair is the largest Camel fair of the world. Every year thousands of tourists and pilgrims from around the world comes to this mystical land to witness this spectacular event of seven days which held during the auspicious occasion of kartik Purnima in the month of October/ November. Countrymen from every nook and corner of Rajasthan comes here to sell their cattle at a good price. Apart from camel trading, other highlights of Pushkar Fair include race and parade of decorated camels, folk performances, body tattooing, ethnic shopping, puppet shows, acrobatics, best breed contest, moustache competition, bridal competition etc.
Pushkar is easily accessible by all modes of communication. The nearest airport to Pushkar is the Jaipur Airport. Jaipur is well connected to all the major cities of India. Ajmer is the nearest railway station to Pushkar. Rajasthan Roadways run very comfortable deluxe buses from Jaipur, so that you can enjoy a smooth road journey to Pushkar. If you wish you can also hire private cars to reach Pushkar.
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