Last Updated on: 30th December 2025, 10:01 am
Centered around a picturesque sacred lake, Rajasthan’s Pushkar holds the distinction of being the only place where Brahma – the Creator of the Universe himself – is actively worshipped in India. Accordingly, the top things to do in Pushkar include temple visits and a walk along the gorgeous lake.
In addition to pilgrims, Pushkar has long been popular with the foreign backpacker crowd, so you should have no problem finding an espresso or a granola bowl. But note that as a holy town, it has some special rules, and consuming alcohol, meat, and even eggs is forbidden here.
While foreigner-friendly in terms of its amenities, Pushkar is also infamous for its scams targeting visitors. For that reason, after having traveled extensively throughout Rajasthan, I can easily call Pushkar my least favorite place in the state.
Nevertheless, it’s still worth a quick visit simply because of how photogenic Pushkar Lake is.
For more information on reaching Pushkar and where to stay, be sure to check the end of the article.
Around the Lake
Pushkar is centered around Pushkar Lake, home to over 50 ghats at which religious pilgrims come from around the country to bathe. But even if you don’t plan to take a dip, the top thing to do in Pushkar is simply walk around the lake and view it from all angles.
According to legend, Pushkar Lake was created by Brahma himself. Looking for a sacred lake where he could perform a special sacrifice, he ultimately decided to create one himself by dropping a lotus flower here in Pushkar.
Other stories, meanwhile, describe how Brahma needed a female consort for his ritual, but his wife Savitri (or Saraswati, in other versions) was late. And so Brahma married a local maiden named Gayatri to complete the rites.
But when his wife arrived, she was so angry upon learning this that she cursed Brahma, stating that he wouldn’t be worshipped directly anywhere but here.
That’s why, despite being the literal Creator of the Universe in the Hindu religion, you won’t come across any Brahma temples except in Pushkar and a handful of smaller ones. (Interestingly, you can find numerous Brahma shrines throughout Thailand.)
In the Hindu pnatheon, Brahma is the creator god, while Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer. A story in the Shiva Purana which involves all three provides another explanation for why Brahma temples are so rare.
In the story, an argument between Brahma and Vishnu ensues over who was the superior deity. Shiva then transforms himself into an infinite pillar of light, telling the two gods that whoever can locate either of end of it would be declared superior.
The challenge goes on for thousands of years. But Brahma, exhausted, ultimately lies to Shiva, telling him that he’d reached the top. Vishnu, on the other hand, realizes that the pillar had no end and acknowledges Shiva’s boundlessness.
Shiva, upset with Brahma’s dishonesty, then declares that he will never be worshipped on earth – except here at Pushkar!
In India, removing your shoes is standard practice when visiting holy places like temples. But as this entire lake is considered holy, you’re supposed to remove your shoes when walking along the lower levels of the ghats.
While at temples, you typically remove your shoes before walking up a set of stairs, it can be rather confusing to suddenly need to do so when stepping down instead of up. And some local pilgrims just walk around the entire area barefoot, so you can’t quite figure it out by observing others.
You will, however, occasionally see painted signs telling you to remove your shoes, while locals are bound to sternly tell you if you’re doing something wrong.
Unfortunately, holiness does not always equate with cleanliness in modern-day India. The ghats are often covered in pigeon crap and grime, so expect your feet to get filthy.
With that said, it’s still worth it to take in the views of such a picturesque lake. But another thing you’ll constantly need to be on guard for in Pushkar – and especially at Pushkar Lake – are the scams.
As you explore the lake, expect to be approached by men dressed as priests trying to place a flower petal in your hand.
If you refuse, they’ll say ‘It’s just for the lake!’ One even told me ‘If you’re not going to respect the lake then don’t go.’ According to him, if I didn’t partake in his scam, it was a sign of disrespect to the sacred lake. But what happens if you do accept a flower?
The scam is so infamous that it’s mentioned in just about every Pushkar travel guide. While I fortunately can’t speak from first-hand experience, if you do accept a flower, the priest will lead you to perform a special ritual known as a puja near the lake. At first, he’ll likely tell you that it’s free, but upon its completion, he’ll request exorbitant amounts as a ‘donation.’
When someone refuses to pay, the priests can sometimes even get aggressive and block their path. Some people end up paying a smaller amount just to get out of the situation.
But it’s best just to never accept anything that a stranger in India tries to hand you in the first place. (With some exceptions of course – the further off the tourist trail you are, the less risk there is.)
Surrounding the lake are narrow streets filled with markets, restaurants and cafes (I especially recommend Honeydew Cafe). As with most such towns in India, pedestrians and motorbikes occupy the same space, so expect lots of honking.
Much like Varanasi, Pushkar attracts a mix of religious pilgrims and foreign backpackers, and you’ll find plenty of establishments catering to either group. Oddly, Pushkar almost seems like an Israeli colony these days, with as many Hebrew signs as English ones.
The Brahma Temple
While Pushkar as a whole is consecrated to Brahma, there’s a specific temple near the lake that serves as the primary Brahma Temple for the entire country. Unfortunately, this area too is rife with scams.
As mentioned above, it’s necessary to remove your shoes when entering holy places like temples. And most of the time, there will be a large shoe rack at which you can leave your shoes for free. At worst, there may be a guard who asks for a few rupees as a tip when you come to retrieve them.
But Pushkar’s Brahma temple is different. Instead of a large organized shoe rack set up by the temple, various religious offering vendors manage private shoe racks where you can leave your shoes – for a fee, of course.
There must be at least ten such shops, and after asking several of them about the price, the response was always ‘As you like.’ When I pressed one of them, he told me ’20, 50, 100 rupees.’ It was clear they were going to try to extort me when it came time to retrieve my shoes, and checking Google Maps reviews, numerous people have complained of just that.
I saw a small pile of shoes near the entrance line, and I decided to place mine there instead. But one of the vendors told me ‘Here not safe, with me your shoes are safe.’
As he watched me, I looked down at my shoes and then looked back at him in the eyes, nonverbally expressing that if my shoes were gone when I returned, I’d know who to blame.
Having been to dozens of temples throughout India, I’ve never experienced anything like this. It’s apparently been going on for years, and there’s no way local authorities don’t know about it. It’s truly disgraceful.
Also note that no bags are allowed inside, and no, there are no secure lockers in the area. Therefore, it would be best to leave your belongings at your hotel before coming.
As for the temple itself, it’s a fairly standard Hindu temple with some nice architecture, but nothing too spectacular. The idol of Brahma isn’t particularly big, and I couldn’t help but feel that the Creator of the Universe deserves something a bit better.
Photos are strictly prohibited, but I did snap one on the way out – surely less offensive than the scams taking place outside, I figured. Luckily, my shoes were still there upon my return.
Gayatri Mata Temple
Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to escape the chaos of central Pushkar by visiting an outlying temple. While, as we’ll cover shortly, the hilltop Savitri Devi Temple is the best known, closer to the lake is another hilltop temple known as Gayatri Mata.
Located to the north of town, you can walk there from the lake in roughly twenty minutes. As you get closer, some signs will point you in the direction of the trailhead.
Not many people seem to know about this temple, and aside from a handful of locals, I didn’t meet anybody else on the short but steep trail.
The temple is dedicated to Gayatri, who, as mentioned above, was the local maiden that Brahma married when performing rites at Pushkar.
The temple itself is small and nothing spectacular, but the main reason to come is for the views. Having visited in the afternoon, I now realize that it’s best to come in the morning for ideal lighting.
Savitri Devi Temple
As the name suggests, the Savitri Devi Temple is dedicated to Savitri, Brahma’s primary consort. Also located on a hilltop, this hill is much bigger than that of the Gayatri Mata Temple mentioned above.
Just getting to the base of the staircase takes roughly twenty minutes on foot from the lake. And then the challenge is just beginning.
Getting to the top requires a long climb up 970 steps. Or, you could simply take a cable car. But the views on the way up are arguably more impressive than the views from the top, so it’s worth the effort to climb.
This hill is home to a large community of langur monkeys. And while langurs are generally thought of as calmer and less aggressive than macaques – the other prominent type of monkey in India – that’s certainly not the case here.
As pilgrims made their way up to the temple, naughty langurs would snatch bags of offerings right out of their hands, ripping apart the plastic and munching on the flowers!
And at one point, a huge group of monkeys blocked the entire path, and I had to wait for some of them to move in order to proceed. If you would like to present offerings at the main shrine, it would be best to buy them within the temple itself.
Once at the top, you’ll encounter a small temple with the main shrine dedicated to three goddesses: Savitri, Sharda and Saraswati. Photography is strictly prohibited within.
Interestingly, another shrine is dedicated to Sarada Devi, the wife of the 19th-century Bengali saint Sri Ramakrishna. She had made a pilgrimage here following her husband’s death.
Following the temple visit, it was time to return via the same staircase. While easily one of the top things to do in Pushkar, there’s not much else to do in the area around the Savitri Devi Temple, so you’ll likely proceed back to the lake.
Sri Panchkund Shiva Temple
While not quite a hilltop temple, the Sri Panchkund Shiva Temple is yet another outlying temple that offers nice views and an escape from the crowds and traffic. You can get there in about 30 minutes on foot from Pushkar Lake.
This temple might not be of interest to the average foreign backpacker. But if you’re familiar with the great Indian epic The Mahabharata, it’s connected with the five Pandava brothers who play a starring role in the story.
In fact, while the current structure is obviously rather recent, legend has it that the Pandava brothers themselves visited Pushkar and built a temple here.
Pushkar is mentioned briefly in the epic as a popular pilgrimage site. And while the historicity of the Mahabharata is often debated, the events are generally estimated to have taken place sometime between 3000-1000 BC.
The main temple is dedicated to Shiva, though one of the shrines off to the side is dedicated to Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu and a cousin of the Pandava brothers.
While photography in temple shrines is generally discouraged in India, a sadhu (holy man) who was relaxing by the pond encouraged me to photograph the shrines. He never asked for anything, and it was a nice change of pace from Pushkar Lake.
Past the main temple, you can continue along a trail to reach yet another Shiva temple situated atop a small hill. Using an app like Maps.me or Organic Maps should come in handy here.
Just note that this area is absolutely teeming with monkeys – both langurs and macaques. While they didn’t end up bothering me, they certainly took an interest. If you’re considering coming out this way, be sure not to bring any food or snacks with you.
This additional temple offers great views of the surrounding hills, and I didn’t meet a single other person up there. For that reason alone, I found it well worth the visit.
Additional Info
For those traveling by rail, you’ll first want to take a train to Ajmer, which is directly connected to cities like Udaipur and Jodhpur. As such, Pushkar makes for a nice stop in between those two cities.
While there may be buses available, from Ajmer I would recommend immediately hailing an Uber to Pushkar, which only cost around Rs 500 at the time of my visit. The journey takes roughly 30 minutes.
Uber is not very reliable within Pushkar, so getting back to Ajmer station from Pushkar, my hotel arranged a shared taxi with other guests for Rs 200 each.
If you’re doing a long trip through India, it’s best to create an account on the official Indian Railways (IRCTC) website. But that’s much easier said than done!
If you’re just doing a shorter trip, it’s best to book train tickets through 12GoAsia. You’ll pay a significantly higher fee, but it’s a much smoother experience.
The above link is an affiliate link, but I did use 12GoAsia a few times before I got my IRCTC account set up and I had no issues.
As a popular backpacker destination, Pushkar has plenty of options to choose from, many of them quite affordable.
I stayed at Hotel Kanhaia Haveli which was just fine for the price, but the lack soundproofing was sometimes an issue.
Conveniently, the hotel has a rooftop restaurant, and one of the staff members even gives massages. It had been ages since I’d had a massage and paid just Rs 1000 for one hour.
Other highly-rated yet affordable hotels in the area include Hotel 777 Pushkar, Inn Seventh Heaven, and Heli Pushkar.