Attractions in Jaipur

Top Attractions in Jaipur City

Amber Fort	Birla Temple	Central Museum	Chokhi Dhani	City Palace
Diwan-e-am	Diwan-e-khas	Galta Ji	Govind Devji Temple	Hawa Mahal
Jagat Shiromani Temple	Jaigarh Fort	Jal Mahal	Jantar Mantar	Kanak Vrindavan Garden
Laxmi Narayan Temple	Moti Doongri	Mubarak Mahal	Nahargarh Fort	Ram Niwas Garden
Ramgarh	Royal Cenotaphs	Sisodia Rani Bagh	Statue Circle	Vidyadhar Garden
		Zoological Gardens

Also Visit

Lakes	Wildlife	Excursions		Other Info
Ramgarh Lake	Ranthambore National Park	Abhaneri	Sanganer	Travel Activities
Sambhar Lake	Sariska National Park	Bagru	Sariska	Fairs and Festivals
	Keoldeo National Park	Samode	Tonk	Shopping Areas

City Palace and Hawa Mahal at Jaipur are the finest example of the fusion of Rajputana and Mughal architecture, the City Palace is also one of the very few palaces in India that can boast a perfect exterior symmetry. The seven-storied Chandra Mahal Palace occupies the centre position of the huge city palace complex, which in turn lies in the heart of the Pink City. Worth seeing are its well preserved buildings and courtyards like the Mubarak Mahal, Diwan-e-aam, Diwan-e-khas and Preetam Niwas Chowk. The fascinating complex of large ornamental gates, beautiful arches, columns, corridors, frescoes and paintings houses an incredible collection of Royal costumes, weaponry, manuscripts and miniature paintings, amongst other things. Of particular interest are two silver jugs - the largest silver objects in the world!

Galtaji Beyond the gardens amidst the low hills guarding the city lies the old pilgrim centre of Galtaji. Temples, pavilions and holy kunds of Jaipur do the serene green landscape. 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.

Govind Devji Temple This is the temple of Jaipur's patron deity, and is one of the rarest examples of flat roofed Hindu temples. Of particular interest is the sea of humanity turning up to pray. Here, Lord Krishna is treated as a child and there are several schedules fixed during the day when the Lord is dressed in different costumes to show different stages of his daily routine! The temple occupies a vast garden full of fountains that further lead northwards to the Badal Mahal - the oldest structure of Jaipur. The Badal Mahal overlooks the old water tank known as Talkatora.

Jantar Mantar Across from the City Palace is the observatory or the Jantar Mantar, which Jai Singh began in 1728. At first glance, the observatory appears to be just a curious collection of sculptures, but infact each construction has a specific purpose. These structures are used for measuring the position of stars, altitudes and azimuths, or calculating eclipses. The most striking and accurate construction is the sundial with its 30 meter-high gnomon. The local Jaipur time can be calculated very accurately from here as the observatory has the world's largest sun dial which stills works with precision!

Sanjay Sharma Museum is an interesting personal museum of rare manuscripts with a good collection of leaf, paper and cloth scripts. It is located in a lane off Chaura Rasta.

Sawai Man Singh Museum Located within the City Palace complex and nestled amidst old buildings, temples and the palace quarters, was founded in 1959 by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. The exhibits comprise of the ancestral collections built up by the successive rulers of Amer and Jaipur. A small selection of paintings, manuscripts, weapons and armour is displayed in the 'Pothikhana' (library) and the 'Silehkhana' or armoury (both of these in their present form, were established in 1952) of the palace. The collection remained exclusive and was shown only to selective visitors and dignitaries with the special permission of the Maharaja until 1959, when it was thrown open to public and a new Textile and Costume gallery was added to it. Opening hours are from 9.30 a.m. to 4.45 p.m.

Squares, streets, gates and inner lanes Enter any of the lanes leading from the main streets in town and each one will unfold several interesting facets of Jaipur's traditional lifestyle, architecture, arts, crafts, community living, havelis and temples. Different lanes still largely represent centres producing various crafts which you can watch unfold, live. The massive gates and broad streets of uniform width, shape, size and design, showcases the talent of Jaipur's planners in full splendour. The three choupars (squares) make highly interesting study of community and traffic centres.

Swargasuli (Isarlat) Built in celebration of a battle victory by Maharaja Ishwari Singh in 1747, this minaret towers above everything else. Many consider it an architectural eyesore in Jaipur's otherwise very balanced cityscape, but its still worth a look-see.

Towards Amer (Amber)

Amer (Amber) Fort-Palace Entering the Amer valley is like entering a fairy tale town. Perched over a hill, this massive yet stunningly beautiful fort reflects beautifully in the Maota Lake at its base. The whole of Amber is a reminder of a past, that is even older than Jaipur city. Many crumbling havelis and temples are still seen in the old town of Amber, of which the Jagat Shiromani temple and Sun temple are still in good condition. The Jagat Shiromani temple has very fine carvings. Dilaram garden (in the Maota Lake) and Mohan Bari (adjacent to the lake) are designed like Mughal gardens. Make the steep ascent to the fort on elephant-back and enter through massive arched gates, which open to a vast courtyard known as Jaleb Chowk. A long flight of stairs leads to the palace which has a beautifully columned pavilion that was used as the hall of public audience. The incomparably fascinating Ganesh Pole leads to the inner part of the fort having many chambers, zenana (women's quarters), long corridors and courtyards.

Gaitore Statue Circle Located off the Jaipur-Amber road , Gaitor is the final resting place for the maharajas of Jaipur. Set in a narrow valley , the cenotaphs of the former rulers consist of the somewhat typical chatri or umbrella-shaped memorials. The full-length exquisitely carved statue of Sawai Jai Singh in white marble in the centre of the circle was erected under the newly planned scheme to pay homage to the founder of Jaipur. Of special mention is Jai Singh II's chatri because of the carvings that have been used to embellish it.

Jaigarh Fort Just above Amber Fort, Jaigarh is a massive structure which clearly displays Rajput's kings' strategic preparedness in full glory. One of the most impregnable and unapproachable forts in the world, it has several cunningly designed features to give the forces inside a cutting edge. Huge water tanks and watchtowers are still there. The fort used to serve as a big cannon factory and it also houses Jaivaan - the world's largest cannon on wheels. The fort had also long served as Jaipur's royal treasury.

Jal Mahal Surrounded by greenery and hills, this beautiful Water Palace in the middle of Man Sagar Lake once served as the royal summer palace. Though not approachable today, it's a stunningly beautiful picture from outside.

Kanak Vrindavan A beautiful complex of recently restored old temples and gardens serve as pleasant spot to appreciate the surrounding beauty and take time out from the hustle bustle of other parts of Jaipur.

Maharani ki Chhatri Located very near to the Pink City, it is a separate place for some beautifully carved cenotaphs of the royal ladies.

Nahargarh Fort is a strategic hill-top fort with a palace of several similar-looking quarters. Beautiful paintings, mosaic work and stained glass work are still in extremely good condition and the fort itself offers a sweeping view, particularly rewarding after sunset, of the city of Jaipur.

Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) is one of the best mirror palaces in the world. Light a single match and gape as the entire Palace of Mirrors comes aglow with hundreds of twinkling lights reflected from each piece of glass! The other beautiful chambers are Jai Mandir and Sukh Niwas which have unique natural air-conditioning systems. Also opening to the Jaleb Chowk is Goddess Shila Devi temple, the majestic silver doors of which are beautifully carved.

Gardens (Baghs) in Jaipur

Ghat ki Guni Beautifully landscaped gardens, laid out in the 18th and 19th century by king and courtiers dot the narrow gorge in the south eastern corner of the walled city, along the road to Agra. Amongst others, Vidyadhar-ka-Bagh is the best preserved one, with shady trees, flowing water and an open pavilion. It was built by the planner of the city, Vidhyadhar. Sisodia Rani Ka Garden has tiered multilevel gardens with fountains, water channel and painted pavilions and suites of living rooms.

Jai Niwas Bagh (Garden) to the north of Chandra Mahal is home to the Govind Devji Temple, the most popular spire-less temple of Jaipur dedicated to Lord Krishna. 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.

Ram Niwas Bagh The central garden of Jaipur laid out in 1868 by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh has Jaipur's zoo, theatre, art gallery and central museum in it. The centrepiece is the majestic Central museum. Designed in Indo-saracenic style by Sir Swinton Jacob, the museum's exhibits include an Egyptian mummy and rare Persian carpets.

Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh and Vidyadhar-ka-Bagh These two gardens in the gorge towards the east are designed in Mughal style with beautiful chatris (canopies), terraced gardens and fountains.

In The New Town

Birla Planetarium and Science Centre this attractive building houses a state-of-the-art centre of knowledge on the cosmos and a unique science and technology museum with several self-operated models. If you are travelling with kids, visiting here is a must do activity.

Birla Temple Picturesquely located on a hillock beneath the Scottish style Moti Dungri castle, this huge temple is made entirely in marble.

Central Museum Earlier known as the Albert Hall Muesum, this building was built to welcome the Prince of Welcome during his visit to India in 1853. The building is located in sprawling Ram Niwas Garden and houses precious collections of metal-ware, miniature portraits, and other pieces of art.

Doll Museum Every little girls dream this houses a fascinating collection of dolls from all over the world.

SRC Museum of Indology Here visitors will find a collection of folk and tantric art including manuscripts, textiles and paintings.

Rambagh Palace The sprawling residence of the governess of Maharaja Ram Singh, it became his favourite retreat and later, a hunting lodge. Designed by British architects as a formal palace, Rambagh came to embody princely chic when Maharaja Man Singh and Maharani Gayatri Devi occupied it. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, the sprawling palace embodies good taste and is one of the country’s premier palace hotels.

Rajmahal Palace A small palace when compared with Rambagh, Rajmahal was established in 1729 for one of the Sisodia princesses so she could distance herself from the intrigues of the Kachchawaha zenana. It later became the Residency occupied by various British Residents. In that status, it also played host to visiting dignitaries from around the world, whether Queen Elizabeth II or Jacqueline Kennedy, as private guests of the Jaipur royals. Today it is a palace hotel.

Narain Niwas is a garden house set in a mango orchard, built by Thakur Narain Singh of Kanota as a personal residence. Narain Niwas is not particularly impressive as far as its architecture goes, though it has a restful ambience characterised most obviously by the deep verandah where guests now lounge. Its fortified family home at Kanota, a 40-minute drive from Jaipur, has more definitive architecture and visitors can call ahead if they wish to visit, or even stay there.

Abhaneri is an excellent spot to view great ancient ruins dating back more than 1,000 years and includes temples, excavations and superb step-wells. It is located about 95km from Jaipur.

Bagru can be found 35 km west of Jaipur, on the Ajmer highway. Like a number of areas near Jaipur Bagru is famous for textile printing. The colours used here though are earthier in hue than those found elsewhere.

Balaji An extraordinary Hindu exorcism temple can be found here about 1.5 km off he Jaipur/Agra road about 102km east of Jaipur. Most exorcisms take place on a Tuesday or Saturday...remove your shoes before entering. Photography here is banned.

Bairath is an important historical place with excavated remains of a circular Buddhist temple - unique in Rajasthani and the earliest known temple in India. Bairath also has relics of the Mauryan, Mughal and Rajput periods. A mint constructed by Akbar, a beautiful Mughal garden and a remarkable monument with painted chatris and wall built by Jahangir are other attractions.

Sambhar India's largest saltwater lake is a popular stop-over for migratory birds. To get there go west of Jaipur, on the Ajmer highway.

Samode is a quaint Rajasthani village nestled among rugged hills and it has a fairy tale like palace now running as a luxury hotel. There are few old havelis having beautiful paintings and can be found about 40 km north of Jaipur, on the Sikar highway.

Samode Palace About 40 km north of Jaipur this is one of the many heritage hotels of Rajasthan converted from the famous ‘havelis’ or mansions. Samode has been immortalised in movies like ‘The Far Pavilions’ and makes for a perfect city getaway, far from the hustle-bustle of sightseeing and travelling.

Sanganer just 16 km from Jaipur is a small town, it is famous for its block printing using only vegetable dyes and the equally famous Jaipur blue pottery. Sanganer produces some of the best hand printed cotton and silk textiles in Rajasthan. Visitors enter the town through the ruins of two 'Tripolias' or triple-gateways that lead to a ruined palace and a group of Jain temples with fine carvings. (Entry to the temples is restricted). To get there drive 16 km south of Jaipur, near the airport.

Sariska Tiger Reserve just over a 100 km from Jaipur has dry deciduous forests, sheer cliffs and a rocky landscape interspersed with the ruins of medieval buildings providing an appropriate setting for many animals especially the majestic Royal Bengal tiger. Apart from the tiger, a variety of deer including herds of sambar, chital, nilgai, four-horned antelope, wild boar, hyena and jungle cats are found in the park. The best time to visit the park is between February and June.

Tonk The Islamic influence over the town is visible in the Sunehri Kothi of the Nawab which has stunningly beautiful gold painted chambers. It can be found about 90 km south of Jaipur.