Rajasthan
EASTERN
R AJASTHAN
Rajasthan
iNFORMAT
iON
Rajasthan
PUSHKAR
best, and is the restaurant of choice for
Mayo College students’ midterm treat. The
ice cream, milkshakes and floats will keep
you cool.
8 Information
The Tourist Reception Centre (h9am-6pm
Mon-Fri), at the train station, has free maps of
Ajmer and Pushkar.
Bank of Baroda (Prithviraj Marg) Changes
travellers cheques and does credit-card
advances.
Bank of Baroda ATM (Station Rd) By the
entrance to Honeydew restaurant.
Satguru’s Internet (60-61 Kutchery Rd; per hr
₹20; h9am-10pm) Opposite Haveli Heritage inn.
State Bank of India Near the bus stand.
Changes travellers cheques and foreign cur-
rency and has an ATM.
8 Getting ̈There ̈& ̈Away
BUS
The table shows a sample of government-run
buses leaving from the main bus stand in Ajmer.
in addition to these, there are less-frequent
‘deluxe’ coach services running to major des-
tinations such as Delhi and Jaipur. There is a
24hr cloakroom at the bus stand (per bag per
day ₹10).
TRAIN
Seven trains run daily to Delhi (6.10am, 11.05am,
2.15pm, 3.45pm, 8.50pm, 10.45pm and
12.55am) and take around eight hours. Second-
class seats cost around ₹108; sleepers ₹196.
The above Delhi trains all stop at Jaipur too.
in addition, there are a further six daily trains
to Jaipur (6.55am, 11.30am, 12.50pm, 3pm,
4.35pm and 7.15pm). The journey takes less
than three hours. An unreserved ‘general ticket’
(2nd-class seat) costs ₹40 to ₹50; sleepers
₹120; AC chairs ₹230.
There are four daily trains for the five-hour
journey to Udaipur (8.55am, 4.10pm, 12.50am
and 2.10am).
Only one direct train goes to Jodhpur
(2.30pm, 5 hours), while two go to Agra Fort
(12.50pm and 3pm, 6½ hours, sleeper ₹196).
The quickest of two or three daily trains to
Mumbai leaves Ajmer at 4.40pm and takes
around 16 hours. Sleepers cost around ₹350.
There are three reasonably timed daily trains
to Chittorgarh (1.25pm, 4.10pm and 8.40pm).
They take three to four hours. Second-class
seats cost around ₹60; sleepers ₹120.
For Mount Abu, three reasonably-timed trains
run daily to Abu Road (6.50am, 11.25am and
4.40pm) and take five to six hours. Sleepers
cost ₹155.
Pushkar
% 0145 POP 15,000
Pushkar has a magnetism all of its own,
and is quite unlike anywhere else in Ra-
jasthan. It’s a prominent Hindu pilgrimage
town and devout Hindus should visit at
least once in their lifetime. The town curls
around a holy lake, said to have appeared
when Brahma dropped a lotus flower. It
also has one of the world’s few Brahma
temples. With 52 bathing ghats and 400
milky-blue temples, the town often hums
with pujas (prayers) generating an episodic
soundtrack of chanting, drums and gongs,
and devotional songs.
The result is a muddle of religious and
tourist scenes. The main street is one long
bazaar, selling anything to tickle a traveller’s
fancy, from hippy-chic tie-dye to didgeridoos.
Despite the commercialism and banana pan-
cakes, the town remains enchantingly small
and authentically mystic.
Pushkar is only 11km from Ajmer but
separated from it by Nag Pahar, the Snake
Mountain.1 ̈Sights
Temples ̈ HiNDU TEMPlE
Pushkar boasts hundreds of temples, though
few are particularly ancient as they were
mostly desecrated by Aurangzeb and subse-
quently rebuilt.
̈ ̈Brahma Temple
(h5.30am-1.30pm & 3pm-9pm) Most famous
is the Brahma Temple, said to be one of the
few such temples in the world as a result of
a curse by Brahma’s consort, Saraswati. The
temple is marked by a red spire, and over
the entrance gateway is the hans (goose
symbol) of Brahma. Inside, the floor and
walls are engraved with dedications to the
dead.
̈ ̈Saraswati Temple
The one-hour trek up to the hilltop Saras-
wati Temple overlooking the lake offers fan-
tastic views at any time of day, but this is a
particularly good spot for sunset.
̈ ̈Pap Mochani (Gayatri) Temple
The sunrise views over town from the clos-
er Pap Mochani (Gayatri) Temple are also
well worth the 30-minute climb. Walk up
through the small Kali ̈ Temple from the
back of the main bus stand.