Galwar Bagh

Galwar Bagh Review

Known by locals and rickshaw-wallahs simply as Monkey Temple, Galwar Bagh is a popular pilgrimage site and temple complex on the outskirts of town. The temple itself is called Gulta Ji Mandir; it's a 30-minute walk from the ceremonial gate called Gulta Pol, located at the far eastern edge of the city, off Ajmer Road—about five minutes from the Muslim quarter. The walk leads you over a small mountain pass and past, inevitably, at least a few Hindu sadhus (holy men) and small temples. Jaipuri Hindus believe that at the site of the Gulta Ji Mandir, a local saint named Gala Rishi—nicknamed Gulta Ji—brought forth a spring of holy water from the Ganges and filled a tank (water reservoir 18 feet deep. The waters here are said to be spiritually connected to the Ganges—if you bathe here, you get the same benefits as a pilgrimage to the Ganges. The temple, which venerates Lord Brahma, Creator of the Universe, is in violation of a curse by Brahma's wife Savatri; she confined his temples to Pushkar.