Sikar (Khatu Shyam Ji) Travel Guide: Temples, Forts and Painted Towns

Khatu Shyam Ji is the district's great pilgrimage, but the temples and forts below make good additions, and they double as the main places to visit near Khatu Shyam Ji. Distances are the Rajasthan government's, from Sikar town unless stated.

Khatu Shyam Ji temple

The temple stands in Khatu, a village in Sikar's Danta Ramgarh tehsil, and enshrines the head of Barbarika, worshipped as Shyam, a form of Krishna. Its sanctum doors are covered in silver sheet, its entrance and exit gates are of marble with carved floral brackets, and a small temple of Gopinath Ji stands in the south-east of the complex. Rajasthan Tourism suggests timing your visit to one of the five daily aartis: at the Shringaar aarti the idol is ornamented, and two hymns, the Shri Shyam Aarti and the Shri Shyam Vinati, are sung at every aarti. Our Khatu Shyam Ji temple tour times the visit around darshan hours and the day's crowds.

Shyam Kund

The Shyam Kund is the holy pond near the temple, at the spot where, by tradition, the buried idol was found and dug out. Devotees believe that bathing in it cures illness and restores health, and Rajasthan Tourism notes that a bath here during the annual Phalgun fair is held to be especially beneficial.

Harshnath temple

Harshnath, 14 km from Sikar, crowns the Harshagiri hill in the Aravallis. An inscription records that a Shaiva ascetic, Bhavarakta, also called Allata, built this Shiva temple in AD 973, in the reign of the Chahamana king Vigraharaja I. The temple and its many smaller shrines are now ruins, but the carving that survives is of high quality, including a standing Parvati on the sanctum's west wall. Rajasthan Tourism says thousands of devotees come at Navratri and Maha Shivratri.

Jeen Mata temple

Jeen Mata's temple stands by a hill 10 km from Rewasa village, in thick forest, about 29 to 30 km south of Sikar and 108 km from Jaipur. The goddess is the family deity of many Shekhawati clans, her image is said to be about a thousand years old, and a temple of Harsh Bhairav Nath, held to be her brother, stands close by. Very large crowds gather for its fairs at the Chaitra and Ashvin Navratris, and a number of dharamshalas house the visitors.

Laxmangarh Fort

Laxmangarh Fort, about 30 km from Sikar, was built in the 19th century by Laxman Singh, Raja of Sikar, on a jumble of colossal boulders. It looms over the well-planned town on its western side, and the climb rewards you with a bird's-eye view over Laxmangarh's streets.

Shakambhari Mata temple

The Shakambhari Mata temple, 51 km from Sikar in Sakrai village near Udaipurwati, sits in a basin of the Aravalli hills. It has two images of the goddess as slayer of Mahishasura, Brahmani in marble and Rudrani in black stone; ascetics of the Nath sect have long served as its priests, and its spire is carved with figures of gods and goddesses. Pilgrims come from across India at Navratri.

Fatehpur and Ramgarh, Shekhawati's painted towns

Sikar is part of Shekhawati, the region known for havelis painted between the 18th and early 20th centuries, and two of its painted towns are within reach. Fatehpur, founded in 1508 by the Kayamkhani nawab Fateh Mohammad, who added its fort in 1516, is called the culture capital of Shekhawati; Rajasthan Tourism picks out the Singhania and Fatehchand havelis, the Nadine Le Prince Haveli and the Dwarkadheesh temple. Ramgarh, founded in 1791 by the Poddar family and once counted among the richest towns of 19th-century India, has painted havelis, temples and cenotaphs, above all the Ramgopal Chhatri.

At Khatu, attend an aarti and see the Shyam Kund; the Devasthan Department notes that newly married couples come to pay homage, families bring babies for the mundan, their first haircut, and devotees offer sawamani feasts. Our temple tour also leaves time for a walk through the temple town, with its markets and pilgrim bustle. Beyond Khatu, climb to Harshnath for the carvings and the view, see Laxmangarh Fort, and give a morning to the painted havelis of Fatehpur and Ramgarh. The Shekhawati festival, held in March with a heritage walk, a procession, games and cultural programmes, is the region's showcase, and the Navratri fairs at Jeen Mata draw very large crowds. See all our Sikar tours and experiences and our Sikar tour packages.

The cool, dry months from November to February suit sightseeing best; from April to June the heat makes early starts essential, and July and August bring most of the year's rain, according to the IMD records of the stations either side of Sikar (see the questions below). The calendar matters as much as the weather. The ten-day Phalgun fair at Khatu, in February or March, draws millions of devotees, according to the Devasthan Department, and Rajasthan Tourism also singles out Ekadashi of the bright fortnight, when thousands come; Jeen Mata and Shakambhari fill at the two Navratris, in Chaitra and Ashvin, and Harshnath draws pilgrims at Maha Shivratri. Our best time to visit Rajasthan guide takes the state month by month.