Royal Jaipur - Places to visit in Jaipur

Our dream came true: 

Our long subdued dream to visit the historic State of Rajasthan had seen the 1st sight of reality in Sept 2012. 4 of us planned for the trip in the month of Oct 2012 & were determined to execute the same. 4 of us means 2 couples : we & our frnd (below,me at right).

Our journey started from Mumbai & we landed in the Pink City Jaipur at around 9:30 PM. Though it was late at night getting a taxi from airport was not a troublesome act. Our hotel was pre booked & we reached our hotel within 20 mins. There are plenty of small, mid & star hotels in Jaipur which you can book either from any booking website or collect the phone number & directly call them.

With few initial hick ups we checked into the room & ordered our dinner. The roti and paneer was delicious & really its difficult to find such soft paneer in any metro cities. We were tired & directly hit the bed without any delay, but did not forget to contact the travel desk to book our cab for the next day city tour.

What to See: 

There's lot to see in & around Jaipur & we decided to start from Albert Hall.. On the way we found a nice statue at a circle & stopped a while for quick photo.

Albert Hall Museum

Even though it was just 9:00 AM the sun was spewing its blistering heat towards us, we had to switch on the AC. The tree shades were cool though. Within few mins we reached Albert Hall. Its a marvellous piece of architecture, we were awestruck by its beauty. You need to get a entry ticket & go in.

"Albert Hall Museum is a museum in Jaipur city in Rajasthan state of India. It is the oldest museum of the state and functions as the State museum of Rajasthan. The building is situated in Ram Niwas Garden outside the city wall opposite New gate and is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The building was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob and was opened as public museum in 1887. It is also called the Government Central Museum. " Source: Wiki

Corridor inside Albert Hall

 

Hawa Mahal

Though named as Pink City, the new Jaipur is not pink at all. The well known heritage is not carried forward in constructing the modern Jaipur. You will find the touch of pink while you cross the gateway & enter the old city. The famous Hawa Mahal lies in the old city & can be entered from the city palace side. We skipped the Hwal mahal & City Palace Entry. Though we stopped a while for few clicks.

"Hawa Mahal (Hindi: हवा महल, translation: "Palace of Winds" or “Palace of the Breeze”), is a palace in Jaipur, India. It was built in 1799 by MaharajaSawai Pratap Singh, and designed by Lal Chand Ustad in the form of the crown of Krishna, the Hindu god. Its unique five-storey exterior is also akin to the honeycomb of the beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas that are decorated with intricate latticework.^[1] The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen." Source Wiki

Main Through Fare (gateway)

City Palace

Hawa Mahal

Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort & Nahargarh Fort

We skipped the Hawa Mahal & City Palace as the historic Jaigarh Fort & Nahargarh Fort & the mouth spread fame of the Jaivana canon was calling us.

Both Nahargarh & Jaigarh fort is on top of the hill and is about 12 km from the city of Jaipur. You should not allow your mind to ever drop the plan of visiting these forts. Both Nahargarh & Jaigarh fort overlook the city of Jaipur, but Jaigarh for was more strategically built to protect the Amer fort which was also the residence of the king. Both the fort had been sighted in few bollywood movies like Rang De Basanti, Jodha-Akbar etc.

Its said that the secret passage between Amber & Jaigarh fort was used by king & his family to escape during any attack & take shelter inside Jaigarh fort which according to history was never conquered. the Jaigarh fort is said to have many secret passage & pathways to maintain regular supply of water & ration even during any disaster.

The famous Jaivana canon, built by Jai Singh resides in Jaigarh fort. 

The myth "About 100 kg (220 lb) of gunpowder fired a shot ball weighing 50 kg (110 lb).

The uses and range of the cannon and cannonballs vary over different sources. Some say the Jaivana Cannon was only fired once by the Jai Singh II, as a test-fire in 1720 and the then Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah is known to have attended the event before ousting the Sayyid Brothers from power. The most exaggerated myth claims that the weapon had a range of 40 km (25 mi), other sources say it is 35, 22 and 11 km (6.8 mi), although the exact range could perhaps never be determined without adequate scientific computation. Most sources agree that it was fired in the direction of Chaksu. The impact is said by many^[who?] to be powerful enough to have caused a depression where a pond can be seen today. The Jaivana cannon is the largest wheeled cannon ever constructed." Source wiki.

Jal Mahal on way to Amber Fort

Amber fort with overlooking Jaigarh fort 

View of Amber Fort from Jaigarh Fort

Nahargarh Fort- Rang De Basanti Shooting Spot

Jaipur from Nahargarh Fort

Jaivana Canon

Water source to be reached via secret passage

Jaigarh Fort - Jodha Akbar shooting spot

Inside Jaigarh Fort

Our eyes were not getting tired and we were not willing to leave the place at all. The cool breeze on top of the hill was enough to energise us to leap few 100 years back to reach the Mughal & Rajput era. The planning & scientific thought of the administrators amazed us. 

But one of the basic instict of human beings brought us to the real world, the hunger. We headed back to our vehicle to find a suitable restaurant somewhere in the city, though it was late. 

Bon apetit, the lunch was awesome. In some eat outs you can even find live performance like below:

Jantar Mantar

Last but not the least how can you stay away from Jantar Mantar, the Observatory, world heritage site. Though inspired from the one in Delhi, the Jaipur observatory is the lastest & best preserved. The observatory consist of 14 major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars' location as earth orbits round the sun.

Jantar Mantar with City Palace & Jaigarh Fort

Chokhi Dhani

With our mind satisfied with the blend of history & science we ended our day and returned our hotel. Took a cool bath & planned for our evening. The unevitable was Chokhi Dhani, which we have heard from all our friends & relatives whoever visited Jaipur.

To us it was most hyped & disappointing spot in whole Jaipur. You pocket will turn up to be a money lending machine for the expenditures of what ever you do. You can easily give it a miss, but can also try it for your satisfaction.

From Jaipur we headed towards Ajmer. Please find my next post "Spiritual Ajmer".

Summary: 

Overall the city will not disappoint you. For fellow travellers there are few tips:

Jaipur : Its connected by bus, rail, flight with many major cities of India.

Season : October to March. Temperature otherwise can be high enough to grill you.

Accommodation : There are many small, mid, star category hotels to suit your budget. book it online or at your convinience. Prebooking is preferred at peak season.

Eat out : There many eateries inteh city. You can either look for local rajasthan cuisine or a continental cuisine of your own choice. My favourite : Lal Mans (red meat with indian bread)

City Tour: Its preferable to book your own car for a day city tour. 1 day is generally enough but if are looking a relaxed tour, split it into 2 days.

Shopping : Local rajasthani handicrafts or dress material are available at any local shop. Do not expect cheaper deals. You can strike better deal at jodhpur.

Drinking Water : Though people say water is safe to drink. But as you are in tour get bottled water, to avoid any medical urgencies.