Ajmer city was founded by Ajaipal Chauhan in early 7th century. It was named Ajaimeru - The Invincible Hill. Ajmer was the seat of administration for the Chauhans till Prithviraj was defeated in 1193 A.D by Mohammad Ghori.

Then the Delhi Sultanate took over Ajmer after which the city until Emperor Akbar took the throne in 1556 and gave Ajmer the status of a full-fledged province and also made it his base for operations in Rajputana. However, this did not ensure a peaceful reign for the city. rajputs, Mughals and the Marathas all had some interest or the other in the place and left their mark each on the place.

Later, it became a favourite residence of the great Mughals. One of the first contacts between the Mughals and the British occurred in Ajmer, when Sir Thomas Roe met Jehangir here in 1616.

The Dargah is the Tomb of a Sufi saint, Khwaja Muinud - din Chishti, who came to Ajmer from Persia in 1192. Construction of the shrine was completed by Humayun and the gate was added by the Nizam of Hyderabad. Akbar used to make the piligrimage to the Dargah from Agra once a year. The saint's tomb is in the centre of the second court. It has a marble dome and the actual tomb inside is surrounded by a silver platform. The tomb attaracts hundred of thousands of piligrims every year on the anniversary of the lunar calendar.

According to legend, its construction, in 1153, took two and half days, as its name imdicates. It was built as a Jain college, but in 1198, Muhammad Ghori took Ajmer and converted the building into a mosque by adding a seven - arched wall in the front of the pillared hall.

Back in the city, near the railway station, this fort was built by Akbar in 1570 and today houses the Ajmer Museum. The collection has some fine sculpture and a rather poor collection of Moghul and Rajput armour. The museum is closed on Friday and charges a small admission fee.

The 'Red Temple' on Prithviraj Marg is a Jain Temple built last century. Its double - storey hall contains a series of large, gilt wooden figures from Jain mythology which depict the Jain concept of the ancient world. It's certainly worth a visit.

Three km and a steep one and half hour climb beyond the mosque in Adhai - din - ka - jhonpra, Taragarh, or 'Star Fort' commands an excellent view over the city. The fort was the site of much military activity during Moghul times and was later used as a sansation by the British.

There are buses from Ajmer to Jaipur every 15 minutes, some non-stop. The 131km trip takes 2 1/2 hours.
State transport buses also go to Jodhpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Kota, Bundi, Ranakpur, Bharatpur and Bikaner.
In addition, buses frequently leave for Agra and for Jaisalmer.
Also available are private buses to Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Mt Abu, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Delhi and Mumbai.