Jaipur - capital city of Rajasthan is famous for the Amber Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal.

Also known as the shoppers paradise, you will find jewelry, textile, carpets, handicrafts and lot more.

Capital of Rajasthan also known as Pink City, surrounded on all sides by rugged hills crowned with forts and enclosed by embattled walls. Visit to City Palace which now houses a museum containing rare manuscripts, paintings, and an armoury, the observatory with a sundial 90 ft high, the museum is amidst the Ram Niwas Palace gardens founded in 1876 with a large collections of antiques, the Palace of Winds, a landmark of Jaipur made of Pink Sandstone and of unique design.

Amber 12 kms from Jaipur, lies Amber with an old palace overlooking the lake at the entrance to rocky mountain grove, built in 17th century, the palace is a distinguished specimen of Rajput Architecture.

Fair & Festivals in Jaipur

Elephant Festival
A festival to celebrate Holi, this is a great occasion for the visitor to watch several elephant sports and also play this festival of colors.

Gangaur Fair
A festival devoted to Goddess Parvati. It is time for young girls to dress up in their finery and pray for grooms of their choice while the married women pray for the well-being of their husbands.

Teej Festival
A festival to mark the advent of monsoon. Essentially a women's festival, it is interesting to watch them enjoying in groups and at various bazaars where they turn up to shop in all their finery.

Kite Festival
A festival with a difference - as kites take to the sky all over Jaipur. In the evening, kites with lights in them and fireworks brighten the skies above. If you like kite flyif you like kite flying, you should be here.

Places to See at Jaipur

City Palace
The magnificent City Palace is in the centre of the Pink City of Jaipur, enclosed by high walls and set amidst fine gardens and courtyards. Since it was built by Jai Singh in 1728 it has been the principal residence for the Maharajas of Jaipur and the successive rulers have each added to it. The major attractions in the palace are - Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Diwan-I-Khas, Dilkusha Mahal, Moti Mahal, Sheesh Mahal and Krishna Mahal, all of which are adorned with exquisite colors and paintings.

Amber Fort
Situated on the crest of a hill seven miles north of Jaipur is Amber, capital of the Kuchwaha Rajputs from 1037 to 1728. The city-palace is protected by towering outer walls, a further wall runs for miles along the hills surrounding the palace. For many, the most memorable part of a trip to Jaipur is the journey up the palace ramparts, through a succession of vast gates, on the back of a painted elephant – Maharaja style. Inside are the ruins of a once great palace, a wonderful example of Rajput architecture, with Mogul influences.

Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds)
Hawa is Jaipur’s most remarkable attraction. Built in 1799, it is situated on the edge of the City Palace complex overlooking one of the city’s main streets and was constructed to offer the women of the court a vantage point, behind stone-carved screens, from which to watch the activity in the bazaars below. The five-storey building is shaped like a crown adorning Lord Krishna’s head and contains over 900 finely screened windows and balconies.

Jantar Mantar A stone observatory, known as Jantar Mantar, was built by Jai Singh II, a great astronomer. It is located near the City Palace. It is the largest and the best-preserved observatory of the lot. By means of the instruments here, astronomers could measure the positions of the stars and calculate eclipses.

Jaigarh Fort Sawai Jai Singh built the invincible fort of Jaigarh in 1726. Jaigarh was never captured and is therefore in a pretty good shape. A giant mounted cannon-the Jai Ban, one of the largest in the country are preserved here. The extensive parkotas (wallls), watch tower and gateways of Jaigarh dominate the western skyline.

Govind Devji Temple
The most popular temple of Jaipur dedicated to Lord Krishna. It is located in the central pavilion of the Jai Niwas Garden to the north of Chandra Mahal. The image of the patron deity-Govind Devji,originally installed in a temple of Vrindavan, was reinstalled here by Sawai Jai Singh II as his family deity.

Jain Temple
The exquisite jain temple on the Agra road has some of the most beautiful 19th century paintings in Jaipur style on its walls.

Moti Doongri and Lakshmi Narayan Temple
Moti Doongari is a privately owned hilltop fort built like a scottish castle. The Ganesh Temple at the foot of the hill and the marvellous Lakshmi Narayan Temple built in marbles a few years back, are also noteworthy.

Swargasuli (Isar Lat)
The highest tower dominating the skyline of the western side of the Tripolia Bazaar. It was built by Sawai Ishwari Singh in 1749 A.D. to commemorate a grand victory.

Sisodia Rani Garden
It has tiered multilevel gardens with fountains, water channel and painted pavilions and suites of living rooms.

BM Birla Planetarium (Time 12.00 hrs to 19.00 hrs.)
The Planetarium offers unique audio-visual education and entertainment with its modern computerized projection system. For school groups concessions are available. Closed on last Wednesday of every month.

Galtaji
An ancient pilgrimage centre, lying beyond the gardens amidst low hills temples,pavilions and holy kunds (natural spring and reservoirs) along with lush landscape make it a delightful spot. The small temple of the Sun god, built by Diwan Kriparam on the top of the highest peak is visible from all parts of the city.

Old City
Once a settlement of nobles, craftsmen and common folks, the city of Amer is now in ruins. The remnants of its rich past are the beautifully carved and planned Jagat Shiromani Temple, a Krishna temple associated with Meerabai, an ancient temple of Narsinghji and a magnificent step-well,Panna Mian-ka-kund.

Ram Niwas Bagh
A lush spacious garden with a zoo, an aviary, a greenhouse, a herbarlum, a museum and popular sport ground. It was built by Sawai Ram Singh II in the 1868 A.D. as a famine relief project. The Albert Hall-fine example of Indo Saracenic style of architecture designed by Sir Swinton Jacob, was opened later with an exquisite collection of sculptures, paintings, decorative wares, natural history specimen, and Egyptian mummy and the celebrated Persian carpet.

Statue Circle
The full-length exquisitely carve statue of Swai Jai Singh in white marble in the centre of the circle was erected under the newly planned scheme area to pay homage to the founder of Jaipur.

The Kanak Vrindavan Complex
Complex of fine temples and gardens has been recently renovated to their pristine perfection. To the west of this road is the royal crematorium at Gaitore in a narrow valley with some spectacular cenotaphs of all the Jaipur rulers except Swai Ishwari Singh who was cremated outside the Jai Niwas Garden. Most imposing is the ‘chattri’ of Sawai Jai Singh II with the intricate carvings and a graceful shape.

Ghat ki Guni
Beautifully landscaped gardens, laid out in the 18th and 19th century by king and courtiers dot the narrow gauge in the south eastern corner of the walled city, along the road to Agra.

Excursions near Jaipur

Samode (40 km, north west)
The beautiful Samode Palace, has been rebuilt and renovated and provides a fine example of the Rajput Haveli architecture and is an ideal spot for outings.

Ramgarh Lake (32 km. North east)
A huge artificial lake created by constructing a high bund amidst tree covered hills. White the temple of Jamwa Mata and the ruins of the old fort are some of its antiquities, its beautiful landscape, especially during monsoons, makes it an idyllic picnic spot.

Karauli
Famous for its Krishna Temples, the place is about 185 km South East of Jaipur.

Beautiful memorials to the queens, Maharani-ki-chattri are near the Ramgarh road crossing on the Amber Road. The Island Palace, Jal Mahal built by Sawai Jai Singh, is a fascinating spot at the centre of the Man Sagar Lake.

How to Reach Jaipur

Air: Well connected by air to Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Calcutta, Delhi, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Udaipur.
Rail: Well connected to Delhi, Ajmer, Ahmedabad, Abu Road, Jodhpur, Chittorgarh, Indore, Bikaner, Udaipur by its own railhead.
Road: Jaipur is well connected to all major towns of India by road.

Shopping in Jaipur

Jaipur is famous for precious and semi-precious stones, leather goods (camel-skin), textiles (tie & dye) and handicrafts.

The major markets in Jaipur are along Jauhari Bazaar (jewelry), Bapu Bazaar and Nehru Bazaar (textiles), Chaura Rasta, Tripolia Bazaar and M.I. Raod (Emporiums). Ramganj bazaar is famous for shoes and Tripolia Bazar for lac bangles. Jaipur is alive with bright and lively colors ....go get some.

Hotels in Jaipur

- Rambagh Palace - Jai Mahal Palace - Clarks Amer - Shahpura House - Samode Haveli - Alsisar Haveli - Raj Vilas - Rajputana Palace Sheraton - Jaipur Ashok - Mandawa Haveli - Bissau Palace - The Trident

more...  

more...