Arriving in Pushkar is really special. It’s one of the oldest and holiest places in India, with hundreds of temples in the surrounding area. Right next to the Thar desert, this sacred town forbids the consumption of alcohol, meat and eggs. It’s also famous for it’s annual camel fair, taking place over several days in November. After arriving in the sacred town of Pushkar and receiving a Puja blessing ceremony on the holy lake, my tour group sets about exploring Pushkar.
Although the main street is full of pancake cafes, bakeries, stalls selling hippy trousers and souvenirs, all catering towards the tourist, there is still a genuine feel about this place. With the echoes of the drums, gongs and worshipers singing by the lake, immersed in culture upon arrival, I feel like I have stumbled on something quite magical.
Pushkar Lake…
The deep orange of the sunset by the lake is of the best I have seen, complete with music and chanting in the background and the silhouettes of birds flying overhead. It really is beautiful here. There’s something very down to earth about wandering barefooted, by the holy lake that’s glowing orange and pink from the Indian sun, a gentle wind on your face whilst watching the world drift by. A great place to take a step back from rushing around travelling and just ‘be still’ for a bit and to contemplate thoughts.
Time for a camel ride…
So after feeling refreshed from a good nights sleep, the group sets out on a camel tour into the desert to watch the cameleers dance and perform magic tricks. We start off on the camels by the roadside and my camel is playing up, nearly bucks twice and keeps going crazy. Then we get hit by a car (poor camel) he’s ok, only a small hit but I did get scared when one of the camels overtook me and my foot was right by his face ahh!
The handlers sounded tense and I thought he might kick at one point but got away with it.So after a humorous ride (if you’ve ever ridden a camel you’ll know how fun it is!), watching everyone trying to hold on to their camels for dear life, we arrive at the desert camp where we are given traditional clothing to wear.
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Strangest magician show…
After a bonfire is lit, the gypsy dancers putting on a great show, spinning and twirling in their costumes. Then the magician comes out, pulling 2 pidgins out of his basket- no idea how he did that! His English is pretty funny, keeps saying “my little magic trick, this is my challenge, good magic, oh my god”, not quite sure what that means but it makes me smile. Then come out the fire throwers who juggle and shoot fire from their mouths. After an awkward moment where we all have to get up and dance, we eat dinner on the desert floor, before heading back to the hotel to play pool and watch ‘India’s Got Talent’ haha.
The following day we get up super early to climb the stairs of Savitri temple, hoping to catch sunrise. A beautiful setting up high offers views over the holy town and we wait for the sun to rise. There are so many cheeky monkeys around, as I hold on tightly to my bag (I don’t trust monkeys). The sun finally rises and a purple glow spreads over the valley. We are rewarded for our efforts of an early wake up with a peaceful and beautiful start to the day.
Gotta get up before dawn for those views
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Just time for a little yoga…
Back in town a few of us head to the rooftop of a building for a morning yoga session. It’s not quite as relaxing as I had hoped but it was certainly comical. The yoga instructor tells us to make a “moooo!!” sound like your impersonating a cow and he’s really going for it with the body impersonations too, making me giggle. Finding it hard to take it seriously at this point but at least it’s a lot of fun.
We head out to town for some market shopping after yoga and I end up buying more hippy trousers, it’s a cliché but there just so comfortable! There’s so much to buy here from shoes, clothes and souvenirs.
Unfortunately, my time in Pushkar has come to an end. It was a little break away from the much busier cities in India and I say a little thank you to this wonderful little town for refreshing my mind and soul and hope to be back again one day.
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