I’ll be upfront: the lake is the whole reason I went to Pushkar. Every photo I’d seen of Pushkar showed the same thing: still water, white ghats, soft morning light. So that’s exactly what I packed my bag for. What I didn’t expect was to fall completely for the lanes wrapped around it instead.

Fifty-Two Ghats and a Lot of Quiet Mornings

There is more than just one waterfront at Pushkar Lake. It is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats and numerous small temples to offer you an infinite number of options for new places to sit. My first stop was Varah Ghat, one of Pushkar’s well-known gathering places for the evening aarti, with some of the best photo opportunities in the area, as well as being relatively empty before dawn. 

I made my way to the most popular ghat in the area, Gau Ghat, where Gandhi’s ashes have been spread into Pushkar Lake on two occasions. Sitting on the ghat as the priests prepared for their morning prayers was like observing a routine that has been followed for thousands of years. 

Then the Lanes Took Over

Upon my arrival, as soon as I stepped off the ghats and entered the bazaar, I felt an immediate change in the surroundings. The lanes here are narrow, bustling and an absolute delight to walk through, with shops tightly packed together all along them. The space you share while walking is filled with tourists or locals who may be passing by, and it can be very unique compared to many other places you may have been.

The assortment of items for sale at each shop will truly amaze you. There is a great variety to choose from, including clothing, jewellery, handicrafts, and local souvenirs that were made by artisans in this area. I didn’t go into the bazaar with a shopping list but came out with a block-printed kurta and a leather-bound journal that I still haven’t used for fear of messing up the first page.

Roses, Not Just Trinkets

One thing I genuinely didn’t know before arriving is that Pushkar is known as the rose garden of Rajasthan, and its rose products are sent out across the world. So alongside the usual jewellery and fabric stalls, half the shops had little bottles of rose water, gulkand and rose oil lined up on tiny wooden shelves. I bought a small bottle of rose water mostly out of curiosity, and I now put it on basically everything.

The Food Was Better Than I’d Planned For

Being a sacred town, the food here is entirely vegetarian, which I had expected. What I hadn’t expected was how good it would be. I tracked down a plate of malpua, a popular local dessert, consisting of a pancake soaked in sugar syrup with nuts on top.

A Hilltop and a View Worth It

The start of day two included climbing to reach the top of the Savitri Temple, located on the hill behind the Brahma Temple. The stair climb is steep, but worth it as there are panoramic views of the lake, the temples surrounding it, and the dunes beyond. I ended up staying up at the top longer than I intended because I really wasn’t looking forward to the thought of all those steps when I started to walk back down them.

The Town Behind the Postcard

Pushkar holds the title of Tirtha Raj, the king of pilgrimage sites, and no Hindu pilgrimage is considered complete without a dip in its waters. That single fact explains a lot of what I saw, why people travel for days just to sit by this lake, why the rituals at the ghats feel unhurried and sincere, why the whole town moves at the pace of something sacred rather than something built for tourists.

If you’re planning your own trip, go between October and March, since the heat outside that window makes the desert nearby feel a lot less charming. And if you land during the Camel Fair in November, book your hotels in Pushkar early. Rooms near the ghats and the main bazaar go fast once the crowds arrive.

I still think about that bottle of rose water more than I expected to. Not because it’s special, but because it’s the one thing I bought without meaning to, in a lane I wandered into without any plan or itinerary. Sometimes that’s the most unique part of a trip.