Jaipur Tours

Fact Files : Jaipur Location : About 336 km from Jodhpur in the north Indian state of Rajasthan Popular As : Capital City of Rajasthan State, Pink City Established By : Sawai Jai Singh Major Attractions : City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Blue Pottery To See :City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Laxmi Narayan Temple Famous Festival : Elephant Festival, the festival of colours is held on the day of holi. Do Not Miss :Cultural events, puppet shows and traditional dances at Ravindra Manch, Jawahar Lal Nehru Building and Choki Dhani Village resort. Getting Around : Amber Fort - 11 km, Nahargarh Fort 13 km, Jaigarh Fort, Samode Palace, Sanganer Village - 20 km. To Shop : Shop for Precious Gems, Block Printed Fabrics, Tye-Dye Fabrics, Ethnic Lac Jewelery, Brass Figurines and Marble Carvings. Getting There : Air : Jaipur's Sanganer Airport – 14 km / ½ hr. Rail : Well connected by Ajmer Shatabdi Express to Delhi. Station is connected to Mumbai, Kolkata, Ajmer. Road : Route NH 8 – 256 km, 5 hr drive from Delhi. Inside Tip : Eating out in restaurants having themes of Rajasathani Village life - Apna Gaon and Chokhi Dhani. Important Distances : Delhi-265 km, Ajmer:205 km via Beawar Agra: 570 km via Ajmer, Jaipur Delhi: 636 km via Ajmer, Jaipur, Alwar Mumbai: 1013 km via Ahmedabad Bikaner: 256 km via Nagaur Jaisalmer: 285 km via Osian, Pokaran Udaipur: 318 km. Shopping Destinations : Bapu Bazaar and Nehru Bazaar – Textiles, Local perfumes, Sandals. Tripolia Bazaar and Chaura Rasta – Textile, Ironware. Simple Watching Firsthand Artists working here. Saganer Village – Block Printing, Hand Made Paper, Blue Pottery. Khajanewalon ka Raasta for Marble Cravingas and Maniharon ka Raasta for Lac Bangles. Staying Options : Rambagh Palace, Mahal Palace, Rajmahal Palace, Narayan Niwas, Alsisar Haveli, Mandawa Haveli, Shahpura House.

About Jaipur

The story of Jaipur city begins with the magnificent medieval fort of Amber, just outside its city limits. Amber and the royal city of Jaipur built in the eighteenth century are a wonderful introduction to the desert kingdoms of Rajasthan. Lured by the romance and charm of these cities, many will yearn to see the more distant castles and palaces of Bundi, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer. They all have a special beauty concealed within their landscape (for they have been created out of local stone) and majestically embrace the hillside, jealously protecting their sand-dunes and barren dominion. They forts are so well camouflaged that their tall towers are barely visible from afar and their serene appearance gives no hint of the splendour and wealth to be found within the palace walls.

This capital of the present state of Rajasthan gets its name from its illustrious founder Jai Singh II, a direct descendent of Jai Singh I and Man Singh I of Amber. It is said that the Mughal emperor gave him the title of Sawai Maharaja, literally meaning one and a quarter, or more poetically a term used to denote that he was more (valuable) than one. The new city was founded in November 1726 by Sawai Jai Singh II. It was designed as a spacious residential and commercial center, a model of its time, by a brilliant Bengali architect Vidhya Bhattacharaya.

The city was designed on a system of grids, and even today the squares and market complexes are lined with jewellery shops and wholesale stores, each one often confined to specific areas determined by their trade and produce. Important local families were invited to the new city to build their city palaces there. Jaipur boasts of hundreds of lovely havelis and palace apartments that line the broad avenues and tiny side streets, each one constructed in a blend of Rajasthani and Mughal style.

Tourist Attractions in Jaipur

Amber Fort
A lovely wooded road runs north of Jaipur (11 kilometers away), winding around the low hills and suddenly, quite unexpectedly, the fortified palace of Amber looms into view. It stands on a high terraced plateau at the foot of the south-west face of the Jaigarh Fort hill overlooking the Maota lake. The location is superb, surrounded as it is by low hills covered only with scrub and bushes, their ragged crests silhouetted against a never-ending line of fort walls and watch-towers. The history of this site goes back several centuries. It was inhabited by the Susawat Minas and then in AD 1106 the Kachhwaha clan occupied this territory when they moved away from central India.

Jaigarh Fort
Jaigarh Fort is accessible by a road leading a few kilometers off the main highway to Jaipur. It is an enjoyable place to visit. There are cannons (in working condition?) and a little museum of artifacts that tell the story of the fort and its vast, well-protected treasury.

City Palace
A series of gateways and courtyards bring you to a complex of office buildings and temporary stalls. The first apartment encountered is the Mubarak Mahal, the welcome which stands at the center of a courtyard. It is a two-storey building in marble inspired by the Diwan-e-Khas of Akbar's Fatehpur Sikri. The little showpiece gem was constructed by Madho Singh II in 1900 as a guest-house and is now the Royal Wardrobe Museum. The collection is well worth seen to capture a glimpse of the fine muslins, prints, and silk brocades that once were produced in this region, and even though the exhibits are a bit dusty it does suggest that matching contrasting colors was the fashion of the time. Amidst the clothes and textiles on display are some rare and beautiful pieces of glassware and an assortment of huqqa stands.

The Mansions of Maharajahs
Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Amber Fort...and the list is endless. The Pink City of Rajasthan surely holds anything and everything to enchant its visitors. Visit the colossal forts and ambrosial palaces - a perfect blend of Indian, Mughal and of course European architecture, that make the perfect travel attractions in Rajasthan.

The Outdoors In Jaipur
While on Jaipur tourism in India, indulge yourself in some princely games and enjoy your hearts out while for a holiday vacation in Jaipur. Watch a polo match, the splendid Vintage Car Rally or enjoy a round of polo on the greens of the Pink City, but whatever you do, you will never be short of the Rajput charm that lingers in its atmosphere.