Insight Guides Rajasthan by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Rajasthan
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2017-05-10T16:00:00+00:00

A camel decorated within an inch of its life at the Pushkar mela.

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Within the old walled city, off Station Road is Akbar’s red sandstone palace, the Daulat Khana (Abode of Wealth). Built in 1570, it served the British as the Rajputana arsenal between 1818 and 1862, and was subsequently restored in 1905. The central audience hall is now the Government Museum (Sat–Thu 10am–4.30pm; entrance and camera charge except free Mon). It is especially rich in arms, both Mughal and Rajput, sculptures from the 4th to the 12th centuries, and Bactrian and Kushan coins.

Glimpses of Ajmer’s colonial past can be seen at the Edward Memorial Hall and Golden Jubilee Clock Tower, both on Station Road, as well as the Ajmer Club situated near the spacious Kalka Bagh.

At the junction of Station Road and Kutcheri Road is the ornate 19th-century Nasiyan (Red) Jain Temple (also known as the Soni Temple; daily 8.30am–5.30pm; charge). Although the shrine is closed to non-Jain visitors, the remarkable hall next door has a huge representation of the Jain universe, which can be viewed from a series of different galleries.

A little over 2km (1.2 miles) from the Tourist Bungalow, past Subhash Bagh, is the tranquil Anasagar Lake, situated between hillocks. It is almost 13km (8 miles) in circumference and its beauty is enhanced by Shah Jahan’s white marble embankment and pavilions.

Pushkar

Just 11km (8 miles) northwest of Ajmer, the small town of Pushkar 2 [map] is the region’s other great pilgrimage destination and is also home to the world’s largest annual camel fair. For Hindus the sanctity of the lake here is equal to that of Mansarovar in Tibet and, according to tradition, a bath in its waters is as purifying as pilgrimages to Badrinath, Dwarka, Ramesvaram and Puri, traditionally the four essential places of pilgrimage for devout Hindus.

The Pushkar Camel Fair

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