Pushkar is a pilgrimage town of about twenty thousand people built around a lake that Hindus hold to have formed where Brahma dropped a lotus flower, and it has one of the very few Brahma temples anywhere. That religious status governs daily life in a way that matters practically: the entire town is vegetarian, alcohol is prohibited, eggs are largely unavailable, and there are dress and behaviour rules at the fifty two ghats around the water that are enforced by the people there rather than by signs.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, Roman Trail earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
It is also, for about a week each November, the site of the Pushkar Camel Fair, when the population multiplies many times over, tens of thousands of livestock arrive, and the town becomes one of the most photographed events in India. Whether you want that or want to avoid it is the single biggest decision about when to come.
What Makes Pushkar Different to Pack For
Desert edge seasons
Pushkar sits at around 500 metres on the eastern edge of the Thar, ringed by the Aravalli hills. October to March is the season: days of 22°C to 30°C, nights from 8°C to 15°C and colder in December and January. April to June is punishing, regularly over 40°C. The monsoon in July and August is light here.
A merino wool base layer for women and a fleece mid layer cover the winter evenings, which catch people out badly, particularly at the camel fair when much of the accommodation is tented and unheated.
The ghats have real rules
Shoes must be removed before stepping onto any ghat, photography of people bathing is not acceptable, and public displays of affection, alcohol and non vegetarian food are all prohibited in town. Socks are the practical answer to hot stone. Covered shoulders and legs, and a scarf for your head at the temples.
Modest dress, more so than the rest of Rajasthan
This is a pilgrimage town before it is a traveller town, despite the backpacker scene that grew up here. Long loose trousers or skirt, sleeves, nothing tight or low cut. The standard is closer to what you would wear at a temple than what passes in Jaipur.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Pushkar Packing List
Clothing
Loose cotton kurtas over loose trousers, which you can buy in the bazaar on the first morning for very little and which will suit the climate better than anything you brought. Two merino tops for the layering and for the days between laundry. A large scarf, which is the most used item you will carry.
For winter, more warmth than the daytime suggests. The temperature drop at sunset in the desert is sharp, and rooftop restaurants, which is where you will eat, are exposed.
Footwear
Closed shoes that come off in one movement, because you will remove them at every ghat and every temple. Socks in the bag for hot stone and cold marble. The town lanes are uneven, dusty, shared with motorbikes and cows, and wet in places.
Sun and dust
Desert sun at this latitude is fierce even in January. A wide brim sun hat, high factor sunscreen, sunglasses. Dust is constant, so a scarf across the face on a windy day, and glasses rather than contact lenses if you have the option.
Health and practicalities
Tap water is not drinkable, so sealed water or a filter bottle, plus rehydration salts and a basic stomach remedy. Prescription medication in original packaging. Cash, since the bazaar runs on it. Note that with no meat, no eggs and no alcohol in town, a longer stay means adapting rather than seeking exceptions.
What to Wear at Key Sites
The lake and the ghats
Fifty two ghats ring the water, each associated with a different ritual, and pilgrims bathe throughout the day. Sunset from the western ghats is the thing most people come for.
Practically: shoes off at the edge, carried or left with a shop. Dress covered. Do not photograph people at prayer or bathing, and do not enter the water yourself unless you understand what you are participating in. The lake has been drained and refilled for restoration in some years, so check what state it is in.
The Brahma temple
One of very few temples anywhere dedicated to Brahma, and the reason the town exists. It is busy, the queue can be long on festival days, and there are restrictions on what may be carried inside.
Practically: shoes off and left at the stand, cameras and phones often not permitted inside, and leather is best left behind entirely. Covered shoulders and legs, head covered for women is respectful though not universally required.
The Savitri temple climb
The temple to Brahma's first wife sits on a hill above the town, reached by a stepped path of around a thousand steps or by cable car. The walk takes forty minutes to an hour, is completely unshaded, and is best at dawn for the light and the temperature.
Practically: proper shoes, water, and an early start. Monkeys along the path will take food and anything shiny from an open hand, so nothing loose.
The bazaar and the Aravalli walks
Sadar Bazaar runs the length of the town between the ghats and is one of the better places in Rajasthan for textiles, silver and leather bags, with prices that still respond to a polite negotiation. Beyond it, paths lead up into the Aravalli hills past the Pap Mochani temple, quiet enough that you will usually have them to yourself.
Practically: the bazaar is narrow, busy with motorbikes and closes in the afternoon heat. The hill paths are rough, unmarked and exposed, so proper shoes, water and an early start rather than a midday attempt.
The camel fair
Held around the full moon of Kartik, usually in November, running roughly a week and combining a livestock market with competitions, music and an enormous pilgrimage bathing day at the end. It is extraordinary and it is extremely crowded, dusty and hot by day and cold at night, with most accommodation in tented camps.
Practically: book months ahead, take layers for a cold desert night, dust protection, closed shoes for a livestock ground, and cash. Expect to be photographed as much as you photograph.
What Not to Bring
Leave alcohol, meat and eggs, none of which belong in this town and some of which will not be sold to you. Leave shorts and vest tops. Leave leather belts and bags if temples are on the list.
Leave anything valuable loose in a crowd, and leave the plan to arrive in May or June, when the heat makes the town genuinely unpleasant and much of it shuts in the afternoon.
Essential Resources for Women in Pushkar
Emergency numbers in India: 112 is the single national emergency number. Police 100, ambulance 102 or 108, fire 101. The national women's helpline is 181 and the police women's helpline is 1091, both operating in Rajasthan.
Tourist police: Rajasthan operates a tourist police unit, and there is a presence in Pushkar during the season and heavily during the camel fair. They handle overcharging, harassment and the guide and priest disputes that are the local speciality.
US Embassy and consulate: the embassy is in New Delhi at Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, telephone +91 11 2419 8000, at in.usembassy.gov. There is no consulate in Rajasthan. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: Pushkar has small clinics only. The nearest real hospitals are in Ajmer, about fifteen kilometres away, including the JLN Medical College hospital, and anything serious goes to Jaipur, two and a half hours by road. Travel insurance with evacuation cover is the sensible baseline.
Official health authority: the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at mohfw.gov.in.
US State Department travel advisory for India: current advisory level and detail, with state by state notes. Read it directly rather than relying on this page.
UK FCDO travel advice for India: entry requirements, safety and health guidance, including the e-visa rules.
Official tourism authority: Incredible India at incredibleindia.gov.in, with Rajasthan Tourism at tourism.rajasthan.gov.in for the camel fair dates, which move with the lunar calendar each year, and the registered guide list.
Solo women safety assessment: Pushkar is small, walkable and generally easy for a woman alone, with a long established traveller scene that means an independent woman is not unusual here. Serious crime against visitors is rare. Two specific problems are worth naming because both are near universal and neither is dangerous. The first is the Pushkar passport, the local name for the priest scam: a man approaches at the ghats, presses a flower into your hand, walks you through a short blessing, ties a thread on your wrist, and then demands a large donation, sometimes aggressively, sometimes quoting a figure per family member. It is the single most reported hassle in town. Do not accept a flower, do not let anyone begin a ritual with you, and if one starts, put the flower down and walk away; genuine priests do not solicit tourists on the steps. The second is the hashish offer, which is constant and which you should refuse flatly, since drug possession in India carries serious penalties and the offer is sometimes a setup. Beyond those, staring is common as across Rajasthan, and modest dress reduces it a great deal. Do not walk the unlit lanes alone late, agree autorickshaw fares in advance, and be cautious about the camel safaris sold on the street, which should be booked through your guesthouse or a registered operator rather than from a man on a corner. During the camel fair the crowd density is enormous and pickpocketing rises accordingly. The town has no alcohol, which in practice makes the evenings calmer than most Indian tourist towns.
Reading On
Pushkar is a short hop from Ajmer and fits between Jaipur and Jodhpur on a Rajasthan circuit. The India travel guide for women is the parent for the whole country, and the India packing list for women covers a multi region trip. Closest to hand, the Rajasthan travel guide for women covers the state and the circuit, with the Jaipur travel guide for women, the Jodhpur packing list for women, the Jaisalmer packing list for women and the Udaipur travel guide for women as the other stops. For a comparable pilgrimage town, the Varanasi travel guide for women covers the Ganges ghats. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why merino handles a 30 degree day and an 8 degree night in one outfit, the best merino wool base layers for women explains the fibre, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
