Top Must-Try Experiences in Pushkar for Every Traveller Today

I got Pushkar wrong the first time.Three hours, one temple, back in the car to Jodhpur before dark. Ticked it off. It took me another four or five visits to work out that I’d basically driven through a town without seeing it, and that almost everyone doing a Rajasthan loop makes the same call for the same reason: Pushkar looks small on a map.It is small. That’s not the point.The town sits around a lake the size of a few cricket grounds, ringed by 52 stone ghats, with the Aravallis pushed up close on two sides and sand on the third. What makes a Pushkar trip work is not covering ground. It’s being awake at 6 am when the light is still pink and nobody is trying to sell you anything.So here’s what to do in Pushkar, honestly ranked, based on what I’d actually send a friend to do.

Quick answer: what to do in Pushkar

Sit through the evening aarti at Pushkar Lake. Visit the Brahma Temple early. Climb Savitri Temple for sunrise, or take the ropeway if your knees object. Do a camel ride on the western dunes at sunset, shop Sadar Bazaar in the afternoon, and eat malpua with rabri at least once. If you can time it, come for the Pushkar Mela, which runs 17 to 24 November 2026.

Pushkar basics

The experiences worth your time

Aarti at the ghats

This is the one. Not because it’s a spectacle, though it is, but because it’s the only time the whole town does the same thing at once.Winter aarti starts around 5:30 pm. In summer it slides closer to 7. Get there early, take your shoes off well before the steps, and leave anything leather at your stay. Belts and wallets included. People forget the belt.A word of warning that nobody puts in guidebooks. Men will approach you at the ghats offering a flower ritual, sometimes called a Pushkar passport, and tie a red thread on your wrist. It’s harmless. It also ends with a donation request that can get uncomfortable, and the amount quoted tends to scale with how expensive your shoes look. A polite no before the thread comes out saves the whole conversation.

Brahma Temple

There are very few temples to Brahma anywhere. That’s the draw, and it’s why this ranks first on most lists of Pushkar tourist places.Red spire, marble floor, a silver turtle set into it. Doors open around 5 am, shut at 1:30 pm, then reopen at 3 until 9. Go at opening. By ten the queue is out in the lane, and phones aren’t allowed inside the sanctum anyway, so there’s nothing to be gained by waiting for better light.

Savitri Temple at sunrise

Ratnagiri Hill, roughly 500 steps, and they are steep in a way that photographs never convey. Forty-five minutes if you’re honest with yourself about pace.The ropeway costs about ₹165 and takes four minutes.My suggestion, and I’ve done it both ways more than once: walk up in the dark, come down on the ropeway. You get the sunrise from the top, and your legs get to keep working for the rest of the day. The view covers the lake, the dunes and the hills all at once. Best Pushkar sightseeing you’ll do.Gayatri Mata Temple is on the hill opposite. Fifteen minutes up, better at sunset, far fewer people.

The dunes, and the balloons

Pushkar’s desert is modest. If you’ve been to Jaisalmer you’ll find it small. But a camel ride here at sunset is an hour well spent and doesn’t require an overnight commitment.Hot air balloon rides go up at dawn, roughly ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 depending on operator and season. During Mela week they sell out days ahead. Book before you arrive, not after.

Bazaars

Genuinely good shopping. Silver, juttis, block prints, rose water, leather bags. Split it by street rather than wandering:

Opening quotes are high. Start at half and expect to land somewhere near two-thirds.

Food

Skip the rooftop cafés serving pasta. Malpua with rabri at Sarvadia Mishtan Bhandar. Khasta kachori at Shree Pushkar Raj. Dal baati churma anywhere that looks busy at lunch. And the falafel, which is not a gimmick – Pushkar has hosted an Israeli backpacker circuit for decades and the rolls are properly good.

Pushkar best time to visit

Pushkar Mela 2026 runs 17 to 24 November, finishing on Kartik Purnima. The 2027 edition falls 6 to 14 November. Book stays three months out. That is not an exaggeration, the town genuinely runs out of beds.

Where to stay

The market here has shifted fast. Lakeside guesthouses still exist and still cost very little, but weekend demand from Delhi and Jaipur has pulled a lot of new inventory towards private stays on the outskirts.

Six people or more, and rental vacation properties usually beat four hotel rooms on price per head. Luxury homestays and villas out towards the hills give you Aravalli views without market noise, though check the drive time. Anything past fifteen minutes and you’ll skip the sunrise, which defeats the object.

What people get wrong here

Treating it as a stopover. Bringing leather to the ghats. Turning up expecting a beer, in a town that has neither alcohol nor meat nor eggs. Photographing pilgrims mid-prayer without asking. Booking Mela accommodation in September. Sleeping in.That last one is the real mistake. Pushkar before eight in the morning and Pushkar at noon are two different towns, and only one of them is worth the trip.

FAQs

What are the best things to do in Pushkar City?

Evening aarti at Pushkar Lake, the Brahma Temple, the Savitri Temple hike, a camel safari on the dunes, a sunrise hot air balloon ride, shopping the bazaars, and eating malpua, kachori and dal baati churma.

When will Pushkar Mela start?

17 November 2026, running through to 24 November. Livestock trading starts a few days before the official programme, and those early days are quieter and more photogenic than the peak.

What is the best time to visit Pushkar in Rajasthan?

October to March. November is the loudest and most spectacular month because of the Mela, but February is the sweet spot if you want the weather without the crowds.

What are the best Pushkar hotels?

Depends who you’re travelling with. Solo, take a lakeside guesthouse. As a couple, a heritage property. As a family or group, a villa or homestay outside the centre will give you more space for less money.