Pushkar! A breath of fresh air! What a quirky, magical little place. Nestled in the mountains and set around a holy lake, Pushkar is known as one of the most sacred sites and holiest of towns in India, a major Hindu pilgrimage site. It's also, apparently, where a million and one Israeli backpackers come to holiday, where cows come to roam, where holy men come to bathe in the ghats at sunset, where monkeys try to steal your shoes, and where its prohibited to consume meat. It's an odd mix of spirituality and tourism, but one which is enchanting none the less. There are a few mountains to climb up nearby, many silver rings and bracelets to purchase, over 400 temples to see, and, if you need a break from curry, plenty of falafels to be found. I told you, it's an odd mix of a town!

We stayed in a great hotel called the Third Eye Hotel, which was a 5 or so minute walk out of the main town. There are a bunch of lovely hotels right in the middle of the town, but we actually preferred the peace and quiet that we found just outside of it. In terms of food, pretty much all of the restaurants are super tourist-focused and as a result were a little disappointing. However, Sunset Cafe (right on the lake near the eastern ghats) had some killer curries, and they were obliging when we asked them if it was possible to cook without ghee. I highly, highly recommend the aloo gobi, the potato mushroom and the aloo jeera, of course with rice and some missi roti! We also found an adorable cafe called Honey and Spice which had a bunch of vegan options and served up hearty and wholesome food. We shared a couple of bowls for lunch one day and were a little disappointed, mainly because we were expecting some kind of fresh brown rice/millet/salady/roast veg type bowls, but it was actually more like a... casserole type dish? Bit weird. But the smoothies were tasty, the teas were great, and the breakfast options were great. We also went to a place called Radhe Je a couple of times because they had masala dosa and uttapam on the menu, the cure to our South Indian cravings.

Here are a bunch of photos I took in Pushkar on my Olympus OM-D.