The spiritual heart of Rajasthan — where the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti draws millions of pilgrims to a Sufi saint who changed South Asian Islam forever
Ajmer is a city of 600,000 in the Aravalli hills of central Rajasthan, enclosed by the ancient Taragarh Fort and best known for the Dargah Sharif — the tomb-shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who arrived in India in 1192 and founded the Chishti order that would profoundly shape Indian music, poetry, and devotion. The city's old quarter surrounds the Dargah with bazaars of attar perfumes, rose petals, and qawwali music, making it one of the most atmospheric pilgrimage towns in Asia.
Ajmer was founded by Ajayaraja II of the Chahamana dynasty in the 7th century and remained a key Rajput stronghold until the Delhi Sultanate captured it in 1193 — the same era Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti settled here and began his teaching. The Mughal emperors took a particular interest in Ajmer: Akbar walked from Agra to the Dargah on foot as a vow after the birth of his son Salim (later Jahangir), and the city became a Mughal provincial capital from which campaigns into Rajputana were launched. Akbar's grandson Dara Shikoh, the pluralist prince, was a devoted Chishti initiate — the Dargah's in…