Pushkar has two hills and two goddesses, and the visitors mostly go to one of them. Pap Mochani Mata — widely known simply as the Gayatri temple — sits on the ridge opposite Savitri, and where Savitri gets the sunrise crowds, this side gets the sunsets and almost nobody else.
The climb is shorter and gentler, twenty to thirty minutes on a rough stepped path from the eastern edge of town. The name means "remover of sins". What it removes in practice is the feeling that Pushkar is crowded: on most evenings there will be a handful of people on the terrace, a sadhu or two, and a view of the lake turning copper.
Top things to do at Pap Mochani (Gayatri) Temple
Time it for golden hour
Start the climb about an hour before sunset. The light across the lake, the ghats and the Aravalli ridges in the last thirty minutes is the best photography in Pushkar.
Look straight across at Savitri
The two temples face each other across the town, and standing on one while looking at the other is the clearest way to understand the local mythology.
Stay after the sun goes
Twenty minutes after sunset the town lights come on below and the ghats begin their aarti — you can hear the drums from up here.
Walk down through the lanes
The descent puts you at the quieter eastern end of town, a good route back to the bazaar past temples most day-trippers never reach.
How to get to Pap Mochani (Gayatri) Temple
- On foot: the path starts behind the eastern side of town near the Mela ground; ask for "Gayatri Mandir" and any local will point you up the right lane.
- By rickshaw: take one to the foot of the path if you would rather not walk across town first.
- With a guide: the private walking tours will build the sunset climb in if you ask when booking.
- The path is rougher than the Savitri steps and has no lighting — bring a phone torch for the descent, and do not leave it until full dark.
- There is no ropeway on this side and no shop at the top, so carry your own water.
- Women travelling alone generally report this climb as fine in the early evening when others are heading up, but it is not a place to be after dark on your own.
Best tours & tickets for Pap Mochani (Gayatri) Temple
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to enjoy Pap Mochani (Gayatri) Temple and its surroundings:
Private walking tour from €5 Pushkar: Afternoon Walking Tour of Temples & Bazaars
The daylight counterpart to the evening walk, and a private one — useful if you would rather ask a lot of questions than share a group. Your guide threads the lanes between the Brahma Temple, the smaller shrines most visitors walk straight past, and the ghats, explaining what is happening at each and why Pushkar matters to the millions who come here on pilgrimage. The second half is the bazaar, where a local eye is worth real money: you learn what Rajasthani block-print, camel leather and Pushkar rose oil should actually cost.
- Private guide, so the pace and the questions are yours
- The Brahma Temple, Varaha Temple and the lakeside ghats
- Sadar Bazaar: textiles, silver, leather and rose products
Private tour from €5 Pushkar: Private Walking Tour with a Local Guide
A simple, low-cost private guide for however much of Pushkar you want to cover. Because nothing is fixed, this is the option to take if you already know roughly what interests you — the temple circuit, photography around the ghats, the Brahmin quarter, or the market. It is also the friendliest way to visit a town where a lot of first-time visitors feel a little unsure: having someone alongside you who knows which ghats welcome outsiders and which rituals are private removes almost all of the friction.
- Entirely private and shaped around what you want to see
- Temples, ghats, bazaar and the quiet corners in between
- Great value for what a private guide normally costs
