Desi Things to Do in Ajmer (September 2026)

TL;DR

• 🕌 Dargah Khwaja Saheb hosts the city's most atmospheric evening qawwali — arrive after sunset
• 🪔 Ganesh Chaturthi falls on 14 September; pandals brighten every neighbourhood for ten days
• 🌊 A sunrise walk along Ana Sagar Lake's Mughal marble pavilions costs nothing and beats any alarm clock
• 🛕 Soniji Ki Nasiyan's golden Jain diorama is five minutes from the main bazaar and worth every minute
• 📅 Ekadashi (7 Sep) and Pradosh Vrat (9 Sep) open the month's devotional calendar

Ajmer sits quietly at the meeting point of Hindu, Jain, Muslim and Sufi devotion. It is a city that layers faith like sandstone — one tradition built atop another, each still alive. September arrives with the Bhadrapada calendar in full swing, meaning the city is not just a place to visit but a place to observe and participate. The monsoon is easing, the Aravalli hills are green, and the temple corridors smell of marigolds and rain-damp stone. Here is how to spend the month well.

Dargah Khwaja Saheb: The Sufi Heart of the City

The shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti — known to devotees as Khwaja Garib Nawaz — sits at the base of the Taragarh hill and has drawn pilgrims from across the world for over eight hundred years. Built in the 13th century around the grave of this Sufi saint, Dargah Khwaja Saheb is not simply a pilgrimage site; it is a living institution that belongs to no single faith. The inner courtyard holds two enormous cauldrons called degs, used on special occasions to cook sweet rice distributed as prasad. The architecture, accumulated over centuries, mixes Mughal arches with older sandstone carving.

September is not Urs month — the annual death anniversary festival draws its largest crowds in spring — but the shrine never sleeps. Evening qawwali fills the marble courtyard after nightfall. Go on a Thursday if you can; the gathering is more intense and the music often continues well past ten at night. Bring a dupatta or scarf to cover your head, dress modestly, and leave your footwear at the gate. Entry is free to all visitors regardless of faith.

Insider Tip: Enter through the Nizam Gate and walk to the right of the main tomb. A smaller courtyard sits where resident musicians often rehearse. The acoustics and the intimacy beat the main performance platform.

Ana Sagar Lake: Mornings Before the Crowd

Ana Sagar Lake was built between 1135 and 1150 CE by Anaji, grandfather of Prithviraj Chauhan, by damming the Luni River. Centuries later, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan added five marble pavilions — the Baradari — along the eastern embankment. Those pavilions now stand in a small garden, and early morning is when the lake looks its best: still water, egrets, and the faint rose of the Aravalli hills in the background.

The promenade along the lake is a gentle two-kilometre stretch. Street vendors set up chai and poha stalls from around seven in the morning. Bring the kids, bring the elders, and allow a good two hours. The lake comes alive again in the evenings when families arrive for walks, and the vendors restock. During Purnima — the full moon on 26 September — the lake is particularly atmospheric after dark.

Soniji Ki Nasiyan: The Golden Temple

Five minutes on foot from the Dargah stands Soniji Ki Nasiyan, also called the Lal Mandir for its vivid crimson facade. Built in 1865 by a wealthy Jain merchant named Seth Moolchand Soni, the temple is dedicated to Lord Adinath, the first Tirthankara of Jainism. The ground floor is a place of active worship — quiet, shoe-free, and cameras asked to wait. The real surprise is the Swarna Nagari hall upstairs: a two-storey chamber packed with gold-plated wooden figures depicting scenes from Jain cosmology. Artisans spent around 25 years constructing it. No photograph quite captures the scale or the patience the work required.

If you have a second day in Ajmer, the Nareli Jain Temple on the city's outskirts is worth the trip: newer, larger, set against open hills, with a serenity that rewards those who make the effort.

Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra and the Old City

A ten-minute walk from Soniji Ki Nasiyan brings you to the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, one of the oldest mosques in the subcontinent. Its name — meaning shed of two and a half days — comes from a legend that Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak had it built in sixty hours. The site originally housed a Sanskrit college, and you can still see repurposed columns with carved Hindu and Jain motifs now integrated into the mosque's prayer hall. The Archaeological Survey of India maintains the site, entry is low-cost, and the crowd is small.

Around the Dargah Bazaar, the streets that feed the shrine district offer halim stalls opening in the late afternoon, vendors selling chadars, rose petals, and attar, and a line of mithai shops where Ajmeri Kalakand — a chhena-based sweet — is made fresh daily. Buy it warm.

September's Devotional Calendar

The panchang shapes September in Ajmer, and if you time your visit to specific dates the temples take on a different character entirely.

7 September — Ekadashi: Temples fill early. Fasts are observed across the city and the temple corridors are more crowded than usual at dawn.

9 September — Pradosh Vrat: Dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shiva temples in the old city conduct evening abhishek rituals. The Gol Doongri area has small Shiva mandirs tucked into residential lanes worth finding.

11 September — Amavasya: The new moon day. Pitru tarpan rituals take place at Ana Sagar Lake and at nearby Pushkar, fifteen kilometres away. The ghats at Pushkar are busy with families in white.

14 September — Ganesh Chaturthi: This is September's centrepiece. Ganesh pandals go up across the city, idol processions begin, and the ten-day festival opens properly. The markets around Naya Bazaar and Station Road sell clay Ganesh idols in every size from the week before.

24 September — Pradosh Vrat: A second round of temple visits and evening rituals.

26 September — Purnima: The full moon. Pushkar, fifteen kilometres away over the Nag Pahar pass, is especially atmospheric on full moon nights. Many Ajmer residents make the short drive after dinner.

Day Trip: Pushkar

Ajmer and Pushkar are so close — connected by a mountain pass through the Aravalli hills — that visiting one without the other feels like arriving at a story's midpoint. Pushkar holds the only major Brahma temple in the country, along with a sacred lake ringed by 52 ghats. The market around the lake specialises in silver jewellery, block-print fabric, and spices. The Pushkar Camel Fair is in November, but September is actually a better month to visit: post-monsoon green, uncrowded, and the ghats are calm enough to sit at.

FAQ

How far is Pushkar from Ajmer? About 11 to 15 km by road depending on the route. The drive through the Nag Pahar pass takes around 20 to 25 minutes.

Is the Dargah Khwaja Saheb open to non-Muslim visitors? Yes. The shrine welcomes visitors of every faith. Modest dress and a head covering are expected for everyone.

When does Ganesh Chaturthi start in 2026? Ganesh Chaturthi falls on 14 September this year. The festival runs for ten days, concluding with the Visarjan (immersion) procession.

Is there an entry fee for Ana Sagar Lake? The embankment promenade is free to walk. Entry to the Mughal Baradari pavilions within the garden may involve a nominal fee.

What is the best month to visit Ajmer? September to March covers the cooler, drier period. Post-monsoon September brings lush hills and fewer crowds than winter peak season.

Bottom Line

Ajmer rewards the visitor who slows down. The Dargah after dark, the lake at dawn, the riot of Ganesh Chaturthi pandals, the Jain gold of Soniji Ki Nasiyan — these are not things you rush. The city's spiritual layers are unique: Sufi, Hindu, Jain, all within walking distance, none of it staged for tourists. September's calendar gives you a legitimate reason to be here at a specific time. Use it.