After a cold night and little sleep, we both woke up at 6 am (very early for us!). We decided to use this opportunity to finally make the planned walk up Ratnagiri Hill, to see the Savitri Temple on top. And moreover, the apparently spectacular sunrise over Pushkar. So, still a bit sleepy, we started our trip.
We left town and on the way up, we already got greeted by all these animals living in the city. The cows searching the streets for breakfast, camels curiously gazing from the sand (the dusty desert area already starts right outside town), and the first monkeys enjoying the sun along the big stairs leading up to the hilltop.
Our early morning start of the one hour climb to the top of Ratnagiri Hill, to enjoy the sunrise over Pushkar
Once you reach the top of Ratnagiri Hill, you find the Hindu pilgrimage site, the Savitri Temple. It is named after the Goddess Savitri, to whom the place is dedicated. Inside the shrine you’ll find marble idols of both Savitri and Gayatri, the consorts of Lord Brahma (both ladies have their own temple in Pushkar, but on hills on opposite ends of the lake).
In case you’re not able to make the hike, you can also use the cable cars up the hill
Pilgrims have to put in quite some effort to visit this temple – the climb includes 200 stairs, – but this is also considered as an important part of the pilgrimage. It is even believed that the harder you work, the more ‘tapas’ are gained (for burning past karma, and liberation).
On the website of Tour My India we found the mythological story behind the origin of the temple (and explanation of the distance between the temples of Savitri and Gayatri):
The story of the origin of the Savitri Temple “Once, Lord Brahma was performing a Yagna (Hindu ritual) on the bank of the Pushkar Lake where the presence of Goddess Savitri was required. But as she was late in arriving and the holy moment was passing by, Brahma married another girl to complete this ritual. When the Goddess arrived she was upset to see someone else in her place and in her anger she cursed everyone present there. Later on, she went to the Ratnagiri hills to sacrifice for her deeds and changed into river. After this incident the temple was constructed in her dedication and still you will notice a small stream flowing beside the temple.” (Source: Tourmyindia.com)
The story goes on saying that Savitri is still sitting annoyed and enraged in her shrine. The other woman, Gayatri – afraid of Savatri’s wrath, – sits at a lower hill at the other, eastern side of the lake.
Despite feeling a bit dizzy because of the early exercise and skipping breakfast, the one hour hike up was definitely worth it!
The view over the city is beautiful, especially with the sun slowly rising over the hills, and overlooking the lake and sand dunes on the west side.
The biggest challenge of the hike: ‘attacked’ by a monkey
The challenge turned out not to be the hike itself, but facing the monkeys on the way back.. looking all photogenic, we couldn’t stop taking pictures of them. And after Jaipur we already got quite used to them.
But then, it happened… when walking down the stairs, one decided to go for my leg. Luckily Rudolph was there to record it all (and nobody got hurt.. ;)).
So after this little monkey adventure, we treated ourselves with breakfast and the lake view at the Coffee Temple.
Savitri Mata Temple, Kharekhari Road, Ganahera, Pushkar, Rajasthan 305022
Breuhuys 
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