India: Pushkar's view — laced with monkeys!

Savitri is that little shack at the top. I followed that path up.

View from partway up, with monkeys in foreground!

Pushkar has a couple mountaintop temples located just outside town. (Does it count as a mountain if you can walk up it? Perhaps this is technically a large, rocky hill.) I woke up before sunrise when morning to make a trek to the farther one, Savitri temple.

First, I realized the door of my hotel was padlocked. At this point it was about 6:15, so it was actually later than I had planned to leave and the sun was on its way up. I had to wake up the guy sleeping on the cot inside the door so I could get out. (Yea, I felt bad, but I had no other options.)

Man with big stick poking monkeys off his tent.

This little monkey was ready to fight back.

Pushkar was so peaceful in the morning. The usually busy street lined with shops was quiet. As I neared the edge of town, I saw a shopkeeper who had a tent under some trees. He was chasing away the monkeys, and it was excellent entertainment. He had a big stick that he poked up into the bottom of the tent. Then, the monkeys jumped into the tree. Then, he screamed at the monkeys in the tree and shook the tree to get the monkeys to go farther away.

As I approached the "mountain," I saw the bottom of the path was large steps. Not such a bad way to climb. I started up. After a little while, though, the path turned rockier. It was still a semblance of steps made of stones, but these were not smooth, not large and not easy. And the sun was now partway up. It grew warmer and more difficult as I approached the top.

A monkey chills on the rocks along the path.

Luckily, the views of Pushkar and the lake were breathtaking. Also I could see surrounding mountains and villages. And I ran into an excellent area of monkeys. They were climbing on the rocks, hanging from the trees and (at one point) eating the remains of some sugary offerings another pilgrim had left. And there were lots of babies, too! I'm not sure many experiences can beat watching baby monkeys play and wrestle on the rocks in the early morning sunlight. I took LOTS of photos, and monkey-watching gave me an excellent excuse to stop climbing and take a break.

Baby monkeys at play!

A baby and its mother.

When I reached the top, I saw another great view, the temple and a common Pushkar sight: a group of hippies smoking. The temple itself was fairly unremarkable. But the view and the entire experience were so amazing. I almost returned the next morning, despite the exhausting climb. (My legs ached for a few days afterward.)

Hanging onto the gateway at the top.