Hotels Pushkar

Pushkar
Pushkar is a pilgrimage in Rajasthan. The holy town is just 11 kms from Ajmer and is settled at the edge of the Thar Desert. People from all across the country come to visit this mesmerizing town both for religious reasons as well as to explore the charm of its perpetual beauty. There are many parables associated to the formation and sustenance of this town . Pushkar is named after the holy Pushkar lake that finds its existence in this desert town. Though it is quite alarming to have a water body as big as Pushkar lake, in desert of Rajasthan where there is acute scarcity of water. But its existence, per se, is the most intriguing fact about this town. Every year thousands of pilgrims swarm in Pushkar to take a holy dip in the Pushkar lake on Kartik Purnima, or on any of the four days preceding it, in desire of Salvation. Pushkar has more than 52 ghats around the lake and 500 big and small temples with Brahma Temple being the most important one, as it is the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma in the entire world. Other elements that catch fancy in Pushkar are the Pushkar Fair and the interesting culture that prevails in this pilgrimage town.

History Of Pushkar
Pushkar is one of the five holiest pilgrimages of Hindus in India. The other being Puri, Rameshwaram, Dwarka and Badrinath. The small town, Pushkar, located 11 kms north west of Ajmer, Rajasthan has a very intriguing and life like history attached to it. The legend goes that when demon Vajra Nabh killed the children of Lord Brahma, he got extremely furious and in a fit of rage hurled his weapon, a lotus flower at him. The demon died instantly but the lotus disintegrated and the petals glided down to earth and landed at three places in and around Pushkar spawning a lake called Pushkar meaning 'Pushp' or flower. The holy Pushkar Lake holds a lot of religious importance. It is believed that a dip in the waters of Pushkar ensures salvation.
Pushkar has more than 500 temples in its vicinity. Amongst which the Brahma Temple and Savitri Temple carry prime importance. Pushkar is the only place all over the world where Lord Brahma is worshiped, despite being the part of the holy trinity of Hindus. The belief behind this is that once Lord Brahma had descended on earth to perform a 'Yagya'. His wife Savitri was not with him at that time and the 'Yagya' would be incomplete without her. Therefore, Brahma married a local girl and sat down for the Yajna. Meanwhile Savitri landed on earth and, upon finding some other lady sitting next to Brahma, cursed him that he would never be worshiped anywhere on earth. On being pleaded by other gods, Savitri recanted her curse partially and said that Lord Brahma will be worshiped only in Pushkar. Every year thousands of pilgrims from across the country flock to Pushkar to observe the ritual on kartik Purnima, or on any of the four days preceding it, in desire of Salvation.

Culture
Like any other desert town, Pushkar also has a rich cultural base with lots of interesting rituals and customs attached to it. Pushkar is famous for its holy lake and an array of temples. People from all around the country come to visit this town, seeking salvation, by taking a dip in the holy lake. The Brahma temple along with 4 other temples are the famous of all temples that stuffs Pushkar. Because of the immense religious importance that the town holds, it has a queer but fascinating culture. The people of Pushkar are very religious and therefore their food preferences are only restricted to vegetarian food. Pushkar is a typical rajasthani town with its male folks wearing colorful costumes that comprise of Angarakha, dhotis or pyjamas, kamarband or patka (waistband) with colourful turbans, while the female folks wear colorful skirts with a hip length jacket, with three quarter length sleeves, covering the front and back.

The culture of Pushkar is best witnessed during the Pushkar fair, when a large number of devotees throng the town. Devotees take spiritual bath in the lake and pray at the only Brahma Temple in the world. The fair takes place at the vast stretch of desert land. Pushkar fair also play host to the biggest cattle fair in the country where camels and other cattle are sold and bought by cattle breeders and traders. Camels are adorned beautifully before they are laid out for sale. Other popular custom of Pushkar that can only be witnessed during the Pushkar fair is the camel race and mustache competition. Tourists prefer staying in camps and cook food over campfires while the fair is on. They also enjoy fold music and folk dances performed by the local artists. There is so much variety , vibrancy, fun, color and liveliness in the Pushkar town during the fair that it becomes difficult to find such excitement anywhere else in the country. Hinduism is the most followed religion in Pushkar and its chiefly spoken languages are Hindi, Marwari, Mewati, Mewari, Dhundhari and Harauti. The people of Pushkar are very amicable ad courteous.

Climate
Pushkar, the holy town of Rajasthan, located at the edge of Thar Desert, has an extreme type of climate. Pushkar weather notices wide difference in the day and night temperatures. The days are burning hot while the nights are cold and pleasant.

Rainfall - Pushkar receives very little rainfall in the rainy season (July - mid Sep.) and gets very humid during Monsoons.

Summer - Max. Temp is around 45˚C and the Min. Temp is around 25 ˚C. Evenings and nights are pleasantly cool.

Winter - Max. Temp is around 22˚C and the Min. Temp is around 8 ˚C. Evenings and nights are quite cold.

The best time to visit Pushkar is between Oct - mid March, when climate conditions are at their best, after the humid rains and before the scorching heat of the summer.

How to Reach

By Air : Jaipur airport is nearest to Pushkar. The distance between Pushkar and Jaipur airport does not exceed 138 kms. Jaipur is well connected with major metropolitan cities in India - Mumbai, Delhi etc through direct flights.

By Train : Ajmer railway station facilitates the arrival of tourists willing to visit Pushkar. Ajmer is directly connected with the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai by regular trains. Trains are easily available throughout the year.

By Road : Another convenient mode of transportation to Pushkar is by road. You can either hire a cab to reach Pushkar or board a direct bus to Ajmer. From Ajmer onwards, hire a taxi or avail any local transport to arrive at Pushkar. Ajmer is linked with all major cities like Agra, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Delhi, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur by bus.