The main bazaar runs through the centre of Pushkar in a long street of small shops and stalls. It is everything you might expect from a Rajasthani market town and a few things you might not: the usual silks, spices, and silver jewellery are all here, but so is a notable concentration of shops catering to the long-stay backpacker market — tie-dye clothing, Israeli food, chai served in clay cups. Pushkar has been on the hippie trail since the 1960s and this layer of the market has become as authentic as everything else.
The bazaar is technically dry — no alcohol sold in the old town — and strictly vegetarian. This gives the market a different energy from Jaipur or Jaisalmer; there are no touts offering cold beer, and the food stalls serve thalis and lassis rather than meat dishes. The rooftop restaurants overlooking the lake are the most atmospheric places to eat, particularly in the evenings.
Pushkar is known for its rose gardens and is a significant producer of rose essence and rose water for the Indian cosmetics industry. Rose products — soaps, oils, attars, incense — are widely sold in the bazaar and are generally good quality and fairly priced by comparison with tourist markets elsewhere.