Full-Day Excursion of Two Holy Cities of Different Faith - Ajmer and Pushkar

You’ll be picked up from your Jaipur Hotel and be driven to Ajmer, a distance of around 80 miles (approx. 2.5 hours drive). The Nag Pahar (Snake Mountain), a steeply shelving spur of the Aravallis, west of Jaipur, forms an appropriately epic backdrop for Ajmer. The city Ajmer gets its name from ‘Ajay Meru’. Roughly translated, it means ‘Invincible Hills’. Ajmer was founded by Raja Ajaypal Chauhan in the 7th century and later the ruling Mughals in particular, fancied it as a favorite destination.

One of the early meetings between the Mughal King Jahangir and the Ambassador of the Court of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Thomas Roe, took place here in 1616. A few centuries later, the city was handed over to the British, making Ajmer the only region in Rajputana to be directly controlled by the British East India Company. Today Ajmer is regarded as an educational and cultural center. Muslims believe that seven visits to this site are equivalent to one visit to Mecca.

Ajmer is also known for Mayo College, considered to be the “Eton of the East”. Deemed as one of the best boarding schools of the world, it was founded by the 6th Earl of Mayo with a vision for providing education to the children of higher classed Indians, focusing primarily on the princes of the princely states. The classic white building is worth seeing for its notable architecture. Its alumni are well known in all walks of life in India.

Following Ajmer you will then be driven to Pushkar, a distance of about 8 miles away.

According to legend, Pushkar came into existence when Lord Brahma, the Creator, dropped a lotus flower (pushpa) to the earth from his hand (kar). At the three spots where the petals landed, water magically appeared in the midst of the desert to form three small blue lakes, and it was on the banks of the largest of these that Brahma subsequently convened a gathering of some 900,000 celestial beings – the entire Hindu pantheon. Surrounded by whitewashed temples and bathing ghats, the lake is today revered as one of India’s most sacred sites. During the auspicious full-moon phase of October and November, its waters are believed to cleanse the soul of all impurities, drawing pilgrims from all over the country. Alongside this annual religious festival, Rajasthani villagers also buy and sell livestock at what has become the largest camel market (unt mela) in the world, when more than 150,000 dealers, tourists and traders fill the dunes west of the lake. Like most of the markets in Rajasthan, the Pushkar market is also a colorful fusion. You will find almost everything here from small souvenirs to amazing leather bags and boots, to unique silverware and silver jewelry, to colorful lamp shades and clothes. The tour is narrated and well balanced between these two holy cities in a highly spiritual country. From Pushkar you will return to Jaipur.