Pushkar in budget. Review on Pushkar

Pushkar is well connected from Mumbai and Delhi routes by train and highway through Ajmer. Ajmer Junction is the railway station where you have to get down to go to Pushkar by road.

How to Reach Pushkar from Ajmer:

Plenty of buses are available from Ajmer railway station starting from the road touching the railway station. Just cross the road as soon you come out from platform no 1 and stand below the bridge(over pass) on the road in front of the tea stall. First bus to Pushkar starts at 7:30 am from here and after this every half an hour. This bus gets crowded as is used by locals.

Another option is to hire an auto rickshaw for Rs 30(max) and go to the Main bus station where outstation buses stop. The two stands near the ticket booth is the place where the Pushkar buses stop to pick passengers. You can buy your ticket from this ticket window for Rs 20(discounted ticked of Rs 17 for the lady passengers) and the staff will guide you to identify the right bus. You can keep your luggage in the luggage compartment of the bus if you have large suitcase.

Where to get down at Pushkar:

Ajmer to Pushkar is half an hour journey. The route passes near the Anna Sagar Lake of Ajmer. If you are sitting on left side facing the wind screen of the bus, you will be able to see the Anna Sagar Lake soon after leaving Ajmer and also the Maharana Pratap Smarak just before entering Pushkar.

Buses that depart from Ajmer station(starting point) go to Pushkar Bus stand(last stop) adjoining HDFC bank ATM located near gurdwara. From here the nearest good hotels are pushkar palace, sunset point hotel, hotel kahaniya and hotel lake view. These are the hotels at a walking distance of 5 to 7 minutes.

Out station express buses that pick you from main bus stand at Ajmer will drop you at Marwar bus stand, which is located on highway no 58.Ajmer Nagaur road. The buses stop for few minutes here and drive on ahead.  Therefore be alert and tell the conductor that you want to get down at Marwar bus stand. From here the nearest good hotels are hotel white house, hotel khaniya haveli, and hotel ghalot. These are at a walking distance of 5 to 7 minutes.

Hotels:

The hotels mentioned above have off season rate of Rs 500 for double room and high season rates can be almost double. Out of these, hotel white house and hotel sunset are the best options as they also provide good food.

Food:

Both western and Indian cuisine are available all over pushkar. Most of the hotels have roof top restaurant. The city is dotted with plenty of juice centers, fast food joints, cafes and restaurants. All the places are at walkable distances surrounding the lake. You can even take the complete round of the lake on foot in half an hour.

Do not forget to try the local sweet called Malpua. The best malpua is sold for Rs 35 a plate(2 pieces) or Rs 360 a Kg by Laxmi Misthan Bhandar at the main market road.

Other local dishes to try are kachori khadi, samosa khadi.

Radheyji Restaurant, adjoining Axis bank ATM at Baharah Ghat sells best vegeratian food in Pushkar. Thali for Rs 80 is very filling. They have roof top restaurant which has very high prices so avoid that. There the thali is sold for Rs 160. Do not try malpua here.

Plenty of sugarcane kiosks are seen everywhere. Ask the price before hand else they will ask more money after serving. Small glass is Rs 10, medium Rs 15 and large Rs 20. But if you do not ask the price before they will charge Rs 25 to Rs 30 for medium glass. Ask the price whenever there is no menu in any restaurant because pushkar is famouse for overpricing the food if not checked before ordering.

Another very good restaurant for dining is Aroma restaurant. It has the best ambience and many choice of seating options. The food is also very good and very reasonably priced. This restaurant is at a 5 minutes walk from the brahmma temple towards camel fair ground.

Do not try dal bati in pushkar as none of the places provide good daal bati. You will waste your money as even the prices of dal bati are very high.about Rs 200 to Rs 300 per plate. Do not waste your money on this while in pushkar.

Despite liqueur ban, beer and drinks are openly and illegally sold by hard rock cafe(located near surya dharamshala) and Shubham restaurant(far away place opp indian oil pump on highway no 58). Food is not good at hard rock cafe.so aviod having food there. Its over hyped place.

Sight Seeing:

There are many places that are of importance.

Brahmma Temple: The only one temple of its kind in the world.

Karni Mata Temple: One should not miss the cable car ride for Rs 85(return fare). The car starts even if it has one passenger and stops in between for 30 seconds to enjoy the view. You can see the full aerial view of Pushkar city when you reach the top. The starting point is 15 minutes walk from Brahmma temple.

Pushkar Lake: This is a small lake considered sacred hence footwear is not allowed at the ghats. All the activities, markets, restaurants, hotels, etc are situated around this lake.

Camel safari: If you have been to Jaisalmer or plan to go there, you can skip this because there are hardly any pure clean sand dunes near pushkar as you will see in Jaisalmer. The camel safari charges have a great variation from agent to agent ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 2000 per person for overnight safari, so negotiate hard. Just a camel ride or cart ride will cost Rs 300 for two people. The cheapest offers will come to you when you are on way to cable ride stating point. Many camel owners will approach you with the cheapest prices.

There are many shops that claim to teach you yoga, cooking, etc….be careful of these and use your judgment about how authentic will be these. Yoga if not done under proper guidance will cause more harm than benefit.

It is advisable to stay for at least three days in Pushkar to enjoy all its charm. One of the most enjoyable spots is the sunset point where many people gather to watch the sun set at the back drop of the pushkar lake. There are benches and steps of the ghat where you can sit down and watch the scene. Reach there well before to take the best seat.