The story goes that when Brahma needed a consort at short notice for the yagna at Pushkar, and Savitri was late, he married Gayatri instead. Savitri arrived, found the ceremony done, and withdrew to the highest hill above the town — where her temple stands to this day, looking down on the lake and on her rival’s temple below.
Whatever you make of the story, the climb is the best thing you can do in Pushkar with an hour of daylight. It is around 650 steps up Ratnagiri hill, or a few minutes on the ropeway that opened in 2017. From the top you see the whole lake, the tight white grid of the town, the Mela ground to the west, and the Thar running out to the horizon.
Top things to do at Savitri Mata Temple
Climb for sunrise
Start 45 minutes before dawn and you will have the summit, the cold air and the first light over the lake largely to yourself.
Take the ropeway
The cable car cuts the climb to a few minutes and is the sensible option in the heat, with small children, or if you want to walk down but not up.
Stay for the view, not just the temple
The shrine itself is small. The reason to come is the platform outside it, which gives the definitive view of Pushkar.
Spot Gayatri’s temple opposite
From the top you can pick out the Pap Mochani (Gayatri) temple on the facing ridge — the two hills tell the other half of the story.
How to get to Savitri Mata Temple
- On foot: the stepped path starts at the western edge of town, about 20 minutes’ walk from the bazaar, then 45–75 minutes of climbing.
- By ropeway: the lower station is near the foot of the same path; cars run through the day with a break around midday.
- By auto-rickshaw: a rickshaw to the base of the hill costs very little and saves the walk out of town in the heat.
- Carry water, and do the climb at dawn or after 16:00 — between 11:00 and 16:00 in any month except December and January it is genuinely hard work.
- Langur monkeys live on the steps. They are used to people but will take food from an open hand or bag, so carry snacks out of sight.
- There is a small tea stall at the top. Bring a little cash — there is no card payment on the hill.
Best tours & tickets for Savitri Mata Temple
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to enjoy Savitri Mata Temple and its surroundings:
Full-day trip from €62 From Jaipur: Pushkar Temple Town Day Trip with Camel Safari
If Pushkar has to fit into one day of a Rajasthan itinerary, this is the shape that day should take. You are collected from your Jaipur hotel, driven the roughly three hours west, and given the two things Pushkar does better than anywhere else: the temple-and-ghat circuit around the holy lake, and a camel ride out into the sand at the town’s edge. Lunch and shopping time in the bazaar sit in between. You are back in Jaipur the same evening, which makes it the best-value way to see Pushkar without moving hotels.
- Door-to-door day trip from Jaipur by private air-conditioned car
- The Brahma Temple, Pushkar Lake and the ghats with a guide
- Camel safari through the dunes on the edge of town
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
