Spiritual Ajmer - Ajmer Sharif Dargah

Reaching Ajmer from Jaipur

Ajmer Sharif is at a distance of about 130 Km from Jaipur & can be reached either by train, bus or car. Tourists visiting Rajasthan generally follow a typical route in a circular manner like:

Jaipur-->Bikaner-->Jaisalmer--> Mount Abu --> UdaiPur-->Jodhpur-->Ajmer/Pushkar-->Jaipur.

Definitely some places can be skipped according to traveller's choice.

Ajmer being near to Jaipur some tend to visit during their stay in Jaipur itself.

We reached Ajmer by train. You need to reserve in advance for a sleeping berth, but it will be a very comfortable journey. The night train will drop you Ajmer at around 5:00 AM.

Places to see - Ajmer Sharif

Dargah Sharif or Ajmer Sharif is a sufi shrine of sufi saint, Moinuddin Chishti located at Ajmer, Rajasthan, India The shrine has the grave (Maqbara) of the revered saint, Moinuddin Chisti.  Its holy traditions are equally replete with Rajput chivalry and Muslim supremacy in the past history of Hindustan. Few cities of India can boast of Ajmer’s religious sanctity for both Hindus and Muslims, its glorious history and it natural beauty. It was in Ajmer that Khawaja Muinuddin Chishti laid the permanent foundation of Islam in India in 1192 A.D. by his spiritual powers and peaceful preachings

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

Where to Stay

Though there are handful of descent hotels in Ajmer, we decided to stay at railway retiring room. Our stay was just for few hours and also we had onward train to Jodhpur. The railway retiring room is at 1st floor & a quite descent one. With some fee get a AC room with toilet to freshen up.

There are few hotels which can be either booked online or after arrival.

Just opposite to station there willl be rickshaw stand. Take a rickshaw & ask them to take us to the dargah. After a little bargaining a deal can be finalized. The paddler generally will agree to wait there & bring you back to railway station.

Inside Dargah

Shoes & photogrphy are not allowed inside dargah. Its better to leave your camera at your hotel room, the guard will not allow to carry the camera inside You can carry you mobile(camera) as few areas inside the dargah are not restricted.

Before entering the dargah you can buy some flowers and few other offering items. Just keep your shoes at the shop where you are purchasing those items.

Dargah in general will be crowded throughout the day, 365 days. You will have to stand in a queue to enter the shrine. Inside will be heavily crowded. Please keep your little ones close to yourselves, or you can leave them outside.

Outside the shrine there will be places where you can sit for sometime and listen to various devotional songs being sung by group of saints.

Once out of the dargah return back to the shop from where you purchased the offering items to return the plate & collect your belongings. There are also numerous shops where you can buy some gift items.

Down the lane you will you find your rickshaw paddler waiting for you.

Where to eat:

Finding a descent eateries may be a challenge. Look for a restaurant near or at your hotel. The look & feel of the eatery can sometime fool you. If you are in a group someone may try an item 1st to have an overall idea of the taste of the remaining items.

Get ready for the onward journey:

If you are travelling onwards, proceed or you can come back to Jaipur. We had Jodhpur as our next destination, so we waited at our railway retiring room til late evening for our onward train journey. View my next post "Majestic Jodhpur".