Pushkar

On the borderlands of the Thar Desert, Pushkar glimmers and shines between the dunes that oscillate from beige to bright green with the coming and going of the Indian monsoon. Whitewashed Hindu temples converge on a mirror-like lake at its centre, humming with the echoing sounds of mystical incantations and the familiar noises of camel herds (one of the town’s greatest exports and commodities). Thought to be one of the oldest continuously settled cities in all of India, this fascinating town in Rajasthan is crowned by the scarlet domes of the Brahma Temple (and around 500 other religious shrines and 52 bathing ghats besides!). Each year, on the occasion of Kartik Poornima thousands of pilgrims converge here to plunge into the purifying waters of Pushkar Lake, validating its status as one of Hinduism’s most religious spots. Pushkar tour guides can help with the complete immersive experience here, organising evening viewings of aarti (prayer times) at the city ghats, camel safaris into the sands around town, and day trips to the bigger, more bustling town of Ajmer to the south-east.