Pushkar –ajmer

[a]-The  dargah;

At the foot of a barren hill, is situated india’s most important pilgrimage centre for people from all faiths. It is the splendid tomb of the sufi sant khawaja moinuddin chisti more popularly known  as khawaja sahib or khawaja sharif.  The shrine is next only to mecca or median for the muslims of south asia. Akbar used to make a pilgrimage to the  dargah from agra once a year.  The mausoleum has gigantic gate, which was built by  the nizam of hyderabad .

Shahjhan’s  mosque ;

In the corner of the inner court of the dargah, is a magnificent building in white marble with a long [30.5mts] and narrow court having low arcade and delicate carvings with trellis –work . it is the most marvellous of all the sanctums with in the sanctuary of the dargah.

Adhai-din-ka-jhoupra;

As the legend goes ,its  construction took two and a half  days [adhai- din ] to  complete. It was originally  a Sanskrit college , built with in a temple . in 1193 A.D.  mohhamed ghauri conquered ajmer and converted the building in to a mosque  by adding a seven arches wall infront of the pillared hall in just  two-and – half days [adhai-din] and hence the name. the distinct pillars and arched ‘screen’ with its ruined minarets make it a splendid  architectural master piece.

Taragarh fort ;

A steep one and a half hour climb beyond the  adhai-din-ka-jhopra leads to the ruins of the taragarh fort, perched on a hill. One can have an excellent view of the city from here . the fort was the site of the  military  activity during the Mughal period , later used as a sanatorium by the british.

[ b]- The ghats ;

You can have a great spiritual experience at the numerous ghats of  pushkar   running down  the lake . the holly lake has 52 ghats  and piligrim taking a ritual dip in the lake is a common sight .

The lake ;

The pushkar lake is considered no less sacred that the holy ganges . the lake has a mythological significance associated with it . on the  auspicious occasion of kartik purnima ,devotees from all over the country through the lake for a holy dip, which is believed to wash away the sins…

Pushkar fair ;

Although a peaceful town, puskar bustles with life with the arrival of much awaited joyous celebration held on kartik purnima . every year thousand of devotees pull in to the town and throng the lake  around the full moon day of kartik purnima in October- November to take a holy dip in the lake .a huge and colourful the pushkar camel fair, is also held during this time . the festival is marked with dance , music and cultural events with several colourful shops  springing up around to add more colours  to this fair . also on sale are mouth-watering traditional delicacies. Colourfully attired village folk enhance the fun of the occasion .cattle auction and camel races are also a part of the festivities.

                    Sawai  madhopur

The fort;  ranthambhor’s royal past manifests itself in the well-preserved imposing  fort, built in 994 A.D.  atop a steep high creek 200mts above sea level. Ruined pavilions, walls,  chhatris  and splendid mouments are interspersed with in the majestic fort . an 8th century A.D.  ganesh temple on an open land attracts thousands of devotees and is the venue for an annual fair held on .bhadraped sudi chaturthi, fouth day of the bright half ,in the month of bhadra .

Ranthambore national park ;  the 392sq.kms. park  comprises of dry deciduous forests sprawling over an undulating terrain of the aravalli  and vindhyan ranges . the park is one of the finest tiger  reserves in the country under the project tiger. The majestic predators, assured of protection, roam freely during the day time and can be seen at close quarters.. ranthambhor sanctuary has a large number of  sambhar, chital, nilgai, chinkara, langur, wild boar and  peafowl.

A system of three pretty artificial lakes –padam talab, rajbagh and milak talab, along with a number of anicuts are part of the biosphere.besides enhancing the scenic beauty of the park, they are an important  source of water for the inhabitants of the park . while  deer congregate here to drink water ,fresh water crocodiles can be seen basking in the winter sun to regulate their body  temperature .the lake also attracts a large  number of migratory and local birds. The local fauna of the park includes leopard, hyena, jackal, jungle cat, sloth bear and a little population of pythons, the lovely jogi mahal overlooking the pretty padam talab at the foot of the fort has a forest rest house. Other accommodation out side the fort also ensures a comfortable stay . the best time to visit is between November and april .jeeps are available to take you around the park