From Delhi: Ajmer and Pushkar 2-Day Tour with Car and Guide

Two towns, twelve kilometres apart, and two entirely different faiths

Ajmer and Pushkar sit either side of a ridge in Rajasthan, and putting them in one trip is the point: one is among the most important Sufi shrines in the world, the other is the principal Brahma temple anywhere.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

The tomb of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the Sufi saint who brought the Chishti order to India in the twelfth century. It is one of the most visited shrines in South Asia, drawing Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs alike — Akbar walked here from Agra on foot after a vow, and Mughal emperors endowed it for two centuries.

The courtyards are dense and loud, with qawwali sung near the tomb, rose petals sold by the basket, and two enormous cauldrons in which food for thousands is cooked and distributed.

Heads covered — men and women both — shoes off well before the gate, and keep your bag in front of you. It is intense and it is extraordinary.

Pushkar

Over the ridge, and completely different in temper. A small town around a lake that Hindus hold formed where Brahma dropped a lotus — and one of the very few Brahma temples in existence, because he is almost never worshipped directly.

Fifty-two ghats ring the water, each built by a different ruler. Savitri Temple on the hill above gives you the whole lake, by staircase or cable car.

The town is strictly vegetarian and alcohol-free within its limits. Enforced.

A warning worth taking: men at the ghats will offer a "Pushkar passport" blessing and then demand a large donation. A firm, polite no is enough.

Practical

Ajmer is about 390 km from Delhi, so this is a genuine two-day trip with one night.

Private air-conditioned car, driver and a guide throughout.

The camel fair in Kartik, usually November, fills Pushkar completely.