Like many cities I’ve visited before, Pushkar came highly recommended to me by numerous other travelers making their way through India. After spending the last few weeks in the chaotic cities of New Delhi and Jaipur, I was in dire need of a break from it all. Even after living in NYC for years, I am still not capable of dealing with large Indian cities for extended periods of time; all it takes is a few hours of walking around outside before I’m completely drained of energy, covered in dust, and thoroughly dehydrated. I was told the city of Pushkar was a tranquil little escape in the middle of Rajasthani desert and I have to agree with them, it was a breath of fresh air!
Well not literally, if you take a deep breath in Pushkar you’re bound to get a mouthful of sand.
Located midway between Jaipur (map) and Udaipur (map), Pushkar (map) is one of the oldest cities in all of India, so much so, that I couldn’t even find online when the city was founded. The small town is located on the outskirts of Ajmer (map), a larger city with a well-connected train station (there are few trains that go directly to Pushkar) and since I was heading to Udaipur anyways, I decided to stop in for a little rest and relaxation. I hopped off at Ajmer and then took an entertaining local bus out to Pushkar. It doesn’t matter how many times I experience it, I don’t know if I’ll ever get use to India’s complete disregard for personal space.
Upwards of sixty people were crammed into the rickety old bus, but somehow I managed to grab a seat after fighting my way through the crowds of people. As the bus careened through the streets of Ajmer hitting every pothole imaginable, it felt like a regular afternoon in my life until it hit me just how uncomfortable I was. In addition to the scorching heat of the afternoon sun, there was a little old lady sitting to my left coughing up one of her lungs, in front of me stood a woman who positioned her derriere mere inches from my face (I was terrified one of the potholes would cause me to accidentally bump into her), and to my right was a man who was almost resting his crotch on my shoulder. I desperately wanted to stand up - especially since giving up my seat was the kind thing to do - but there wasn’t any room to move! Instead I sat there for the better part of an hour until I finally arrived in Pushkar.
The entire town of Pushkar is built around a small lake, conveniently named Pushkar Lake, that Hindus believe was created by the tears of Lord Siva after the death of his wife. Much like Varanasi, Pushkar is a holy town where Hindu pilgrims from all over India, and the world, come to bath in the sacred lake surrounded by 52 different ghats and pay their respects at the nearby Brahma Temple. While I didn’t appreciate it at the time, apparently there are very few temples in the world dedicated to Brahma, who Hindus believe is the forefather/creator of the human race. While I’ve seen more than enough Indian temples already on my tour (along with cathedrals, mosques, synagogues, etc.) I made it a point to walk through the temples and see the numerous ghats around Pushkar Lake. Just like in Varanasi, I had the usual gag reflex as I watched people bathe in the tepid, bacteria-ridden lake and even go so far as to drink some of the water.
Although to give credit where credit is due, these people must have one hell of an immune system!
Pushkar itself is quite small and takes no more than 30 minutes or so to walk across town. There is one main road on the northern side of the lake full of shops, restaurants, and holy men asking for “donations,” but compared to Jaipur, Pushkar is a tranquil scene even with all the activity in town. I found the city remarkably comical, because to me, Pushkar felt like a little town from a Pokémon game. Like towns in the videogame Pushkar is located in the middle of nowhere and everything in the city is focused around one primary landmark – the lake. Moreover, while are a number of temples scattered through town and a main road for supplies, when I reached the edge of town the buildings abruptly stopped and only the dusty road continued on into a seemingly endless desert. It appeared to me that there was a clear line of demarcation between “the city” and “wilderness,” I’d reached the end of Pushkar.
Unsurprisingly, I grew weary of the temple scene and noticed a large hill outside of town. In my perpetual quest for solitude and tranquility (as well as the desire for completely unnecessary climbing), I made the hike out to Savitri Temple in the middle of the afternoon. The walk was difficult since the sun was out in full force and the temperature was a brutal 41°C (~106°F) outside, but the view and the silence was totally worth it (I’m also a glutton for punishment). High above Pushkar, the only sounds to keep me company were the melodic chirping of songbirds, deep grunts from the local monkeys, and whiff of the hot breeze passing by my ears. That afternoon I easily drank over six liters of water and didn’t once have to go to the bathroom.
Coming from Texas, I’m used to this kind of heat, but the locals say the temperature in Pushkar can reach as high as +50°C (+122°F) during June/July!
Of all the activities I did in Pushkar, the highlight of my visit was an Indian cooking class. Indian food is one of my all time favorite cuisines in the world and while I don’t have a single relative even remotely connected to India, I rank Indian food up there with Texas BBQ, Mexican food, and Cuban food. I’ve been in India for 4 months, but I’m still not tired of the food. I can’t remember the last time I went this long without a piece of chicken, pork, or beef, but I couldn’t care less. The one “souvenir” I wanted to take from India was how to cook a great Indian meal, that way when I inevitably leave the country I won’t have to part ways with its food.
After seeing the city, I came across a cooking class called Pushkar Cooking Art. I’m always a bit hesitant to trust Trip Advisor for anything “authentic,” but I gave the class a chance since it had great reviews and, let’s face it, I don’t know the first thing about Indian cooking so any class would be helpful. A delightfully talkative lady named Shivani hosts the three-hour class from the living room in her home and has been teaching foreigners the basics of Indian cooking for the last 18 years! During the high season, Shivani’s class sells out weeks in advance, but thankfully it was off-season, so I just dropped by and registered. There are three different classes offered, depending on skill level, but I opted for the introductory class and was joined by a couple from Australia who I briefly crossed paths with earlier in Jaipur. For the next four hours the four of us spent the afternoon chatting, telling stories, and cooking - I could not have asked for a better way to spend the day.
Shivani bought supplies and did a lot of the prep work for the meal ahead of time, but even if you take that into account, no meal we cooked that afternoon took more than 20 minutes to prepare! Even for totally unqualified and incompetent “chefs” like me it’s hard to mess up Indian food - everything we made turned out fantastic! I assumed people in India spent hours slaving over a hot stove cooking, but this could not be further from the truth! We started the class with the ubiquitous masala chai (spiced milk tea) before going on to make naan (bread), dhal (lentils), aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry), palak paneer (spinach curry and cheese), before finishing with chana masala (spiced chickpeas). Not only is each dish simple and quick to make, but also they were all made from scratch, healthy, vegetarian, filling, and wonderfully flavorful. I honestly can’t think of a reason why I don’t make this a staple of my normal diet - it’s a win, win, win all around!
While small in size, Pushkar has a great deal to offer and I absolutely loved my stay in this little town - even considering the intense heat. For a tourist making their way through the region on a schedule, it is definitely worth stopping in for a visit, but at most it takes a day or two to see the sights around town. With that said though, I stayed for four days just relaxing, taking in the scenery, and enjoying the peace of a small town. After my few days of rest, I’m ready to take on my next big city - Udaipur.