Ever thought to visit a place which has the beauty to charm you in every possible way. Jaipur – fondly known as The Pink City of India holds one such reputation that will take you back in an era & then will bring you back to its modern charm. Certainly, the city still maintains the intricate balance of history & modernity. We spent three days in Jaipur and wished if we could plan our trip for more days and with an empty suitcase, if you know what we mean. But that is for later. So lets get started
View from Nahargarh fort overlooking the City of Jaipur, Rajasthan
Getting There
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is touted to be one of the most popular tourist destinations to visit when in India by foreigners and Indians alike. We took an early morning flight from New Delhi to Jaipur which just took one hour and fit our budget as well
By Air: Jaipur is easily accessible and almost all the domestic airlines fly in and out of Jaipur. The Jaipur airport is located around 12 km from the city center and one can easily get prepaid taxis at the airport to reach the city
By Road: If driving to Jaipur, Courtesy Rajasthan tourism, the highways in Rajasthan are decent and make for a smooth ride
By train: Jaipur is well connected to almost every part of India through the means of Indian Railways. It has direct trains running to Jaipur from all major cities in India. A special mention to the ‘Palace on wheels’ which makes a scheduled stop at Jaipur
Where To Stay in Jaipur
Being quite a popular tourist destination for foreigners and Indians alike, one can easily find a lot of options among top hotels, resorts, vintage Havelis, budget hotels, hostels & Airbnbs. We picked Hilton Jaipur for our stay. We did the booking through Make my Trip and got a good deal as they were running some promotions on the Hilton Hotels. The hotel lived up to its standards and the staff was very hospitable and always wore a smile but we particularly loved the hotel for it’s location as it is located in the city center with some of the popular sightseeing spots & markets within 8-10 km of the hotel. It was a very good decision as we could easily come back to the hotel midday to get some rest before resuming back
The King Room in Hilton Jaipur
Enjoy Jaipur with Zoom Car
One decision which really made our trip super comfortable and enjoyable was booking the car with Zoomcar. We booked a Ford Ecosport with Zoomcar, picked the car from the parking site with ease, which was pretty close to our Hotel (at the time of writing the blogpost, Zoomcar in Jaipur didn’t offer airport pick and drop facility) The car was well maintained, clean, comfortable and had all the necessary papers. Having the car at our disposal meant that we could go out for drives at our ease, stop wherever we wanted to, Shivani shopping to her heart’s content without having to worry to carry the stuff around 🙂
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Places to visit in Jaipur
We would suggest taking at least more than 2 days to enjoy and soak in what all the Pink City has to offer. One can easily get distracted, such is Jaipur’s charm. So let us make it easier for you and share the list of top places that you should definitely make time for
Amer/Amber Fort:
Just 11 km drive from the Jaipur city, Amber fort is located on the Aravalli range of hills in Amer and is one the most magnificent forts in the entire state of Rajasthan. Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard. It consists of the Diwan-e-Aam, the Diwan-e-Khas, the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace) and the Sukh Niwas
The Amer Fort in Jaipur
The stairs leading to the main entrance of the fort
To fully admire the beauty of this fort, one must make a visit in the evening to see the lit up palace. The Light and Sound Show is not to be missed if you are interested in the history of the Amer Fort. The Show is quite fascinating with Amitabh Bachchan narrating the stories (in Hindi) of the valor of the Rajput kings with the exterior of the fort providing a perfect backdrop for the lights.
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Show Timings*
- English Narration: 6:30 PM (Oct-Feb); 7:00 PM (Mar-Apr); 7:30 PM (May-Sept)
- Hindi Narration: 7:30 PM (Oct-Feb); 8:00 PM (Mar-Apr); 8:30 PM (May-Sept)
*subject to change -based on general day-light conditions
The entry fee of the show: INR 250 per head
Contact: +91 141-2530844, 93516 17799 for any further information
Our 2 cents:
- Wear comfortable shoes: as you will have to climb around 450-500 steps to reach the entrance of the fort.
- Hire a guide at the fort: We hired Mr. Naresh for the guided tour. He took the time to know us and tailored the fort tour based on our interests. He was very knowledgeable of the Amer Fort History and we thoroughly enjoyed the way he weaved in the anecdotes while giving us the tour. We would definitely recommend him for the guided tour of the Amer Fort. You can reach him at +91-9352396697
- Park your car at the parking spot: There is a 300 meters walk from the parking lot to the light and sound show premises. Park your car at the parking lot and you can get a shared auto easily from there to the point (charge of INR 40- 50 per head) or you can choose to walk as well
City Palace:
Yet another jewel in the crown of Jaipur, where you would want to spend at least 2-3 hours to fully admire it’s beauty.
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The ‘Diwan-I-Khas’ or the ‘Hall of Private Audience’
The most resplendent & gorgeous sections of this palace are the Mubarak Mahal, Chandra Mahal & above all the most enchanting Pritam Chowk which is a courtyard with 4 most stunning and elaborately carved 18th-century gateways each representing a season- Peacock Gate that represents Autumn; Lotus Gate that represents Summer; Rose Gate that represents Winter; Leheriya Gate that represents Spring
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A part of the palace is still being used as a residence by the royals. If you see the Sawai flag hoisted, it means that the king is currently in the palace, Isn’t that cool. There is a very interesting anecdote to the title of Sawai used in the honour of the Maharajas here. Impressed by his wit, Jai Singh II of Jaipur was given the title of Sawai (worth one and a quarter person) at the age of eleven by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb
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Nahargarh Fort:
Visit this fort before the dusk & enjoy the beautiful sun setting in the back drop of the Pink City. Moreover, the night views of the “Pink City” Jaipur are spectacular from the fort. Situated around 6 km from the Jaipur City, this fort was used as a defense fort to the city of Amer in its days
Fort Timings: 10 AM – 5:30 PM
Entry Fee: Overseas Tourists – 300 INR and Indians – 25 INR
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The famous stepwell at the Nahargarh Fort
Shivani playing around with the stone wings at the Nahargarh Fort
The spectacular night view of the Jaipur City from the Nahargarh Fort
After touring the Nahargarh Fort , we stopped by at the restaurant ‘Once upon a time’ for some good beer and fascinating night views of the Jaipur City
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- The setting sun
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- Intricate door architecture
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- Local entertainer at the fort
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- The Restaurant – Once Upon a Time
Patrika Gate
Patrika gate is yet another example of symmetrical and intricate architecture and not to be missed. Standing tall right in the middle of Jawahar circle, this Pink color gate symbolizes the rich heritage & vibrant culture of Rajasthan. You will find all the famous temples, forts and landmarks of Jaipur hand painted on the walls and ceilings of the gate
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An Early Sunny morning at the Patrika Gate
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The Gorgeous Patrika Gate in the Gorgeous Jaipur
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal to Jaipur is exactly like Eiffel Tower is to Paris, such is it’s charm. The five story fort was built in 1799 & was designed in the shape of Lord Krishna’s crown. It was built for the Royal Rajput ladies so that they can enjoy every day street scenes to royal processions on the street without being seen by people. Hawa Mahal, Jaipur has 953 honeycomb-shaped windows on the outside walls, which allow the breeze to blow through the palace making it perfect for summers
The Iconic Hawa Mahal in Jaipur
Gatore Ki Chhatriyan
Undoubtedly one of the most underrated attractions in Jaipur is the Gatore ki Chhatriyan (Royal Gaitore Tombs). We hardly found any tourists here and thus ended up spending quite a lot of time exploring, photographing and playing with the pigeons in this complex of temples and tombs surrounded by the hills
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Albert Hall Museum
As luck would have it, This one place we couldn’t visit from inside as we had we planned to visit the Albert Hall Museum on a Tuesday (which was our last day in Jaipur as well) & once we reached, got to know that from October to March, it remains closed every month’s last Tuesday & April to September Every Monday for maintenance work. But nevertheless we spent quite a good time in front of the museum playing with pigeons, feeding them and framing and capturing the spectacular architecture and design of the building
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Albert Hall Museum, An Abode to the Pigeons in Jaipur
Finally a picture of us together
We were just spell bound by the Spectacular night views of the Albert Hall Museum gleaming and changing colors every minute. We’d suggest to take a stroll around the museum at night to enjoy the outstanding view at leisure
Jaigarh Fort:
Perched on Cheel ka tilla (hill of eagles) and located on one of the peaks of the Aravalli range of Hills, Jaigarh fort has some stunning views of the Jaipur City & boasts of having the world’s largest cannon on wheels
Anokhi Museum of Hand printing
As the name suggests The Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing is a museum dedicated to the art of block printing. The museum also houses a shop that carries a selection of hand-crafted merchandise including clothing, furnishings, jewelry, books and cards. The museum is located in Amer & you can club your visit to this place with the Amber Fort
Timings:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM; Sunday: 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM. Closed on Mondays
Treat yourself with shopping of some really beautiful and comfortable Indian wear
Anokhi Cafe next to the store
Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal is located around 4 km from Jaipur and is located on the main Amer-Jaipur road. We made a quick stopover at this place for some photographs while returning from the Amer fort as it lies on the same road.
The night view of the Jal Mahal was prettier than what it may seem from the picture
Last but not the least, do make time for driving around the city to enjoy the night views. The charms of Jaipur wrap themselves in different colors be it the Albert Hall Museum, Jal Mahal, Hawa Mahal or Amer Palace
Hope you enjoyed this post. If you are headed to Jaipur anytime soon, do read our detailed blog on where to shop in Jaipur. Let us know in the comments or by sharing on social media. We’d love to keep sharing travel tips so feel free to subscribe by e-mail. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook
2 Comments
JAIPUR – THE SHOPPING GUIDE TO THE PINK CITY – TheTravellerLens
September 1, 2019 at 8:23 am[…] Jaipur […]
Shades of Words
March 21, 2019 at 6:33 pmHi – Nicely written blog with lots of information. Lovely pictures too. We didn’t do some of the things on the list – so maybe next time!