Jaipur – The pink city

Location – Jaipur

Time of visit – January 2018

Sharing my experience of 2 days in Jaipur

To begin with, What are the points of interest in the city? Can I visit all of them in just 2 days? What are the best places to visit in Jaipur – the pink city? All these questions going through my mind when I was given the opportunity to visit the city in short notice and it being my first sponsored trip, All gratitude to Iceberg Pvt. Ltd.

I left for Jaipur – the capital city of Rajasthan from Mumbai. I had a midnight train to Jaipur (Duronto Express) which was scheduled to reach Jaipur at 1:00 pm the next day, although I reached 3 hours later at Jaipur Junction.
Tired! I rushed to my hotel, freshened up, and off to my first site. I had roughly around 3-4 hours on the train to plan my 2 days or say 1and a half-day Itinerary.
Since it was late in the evening and it was already darkening around, I decided to visit a place nearby to the hotel.

1 – Galtaji temple

The Galtaji mandir which is also known as the ‘Monkey Temple’ is a 16th-century temple built between a mountain pass of Aravalli hills.

This place is magical!

The climate was cool around 7° C. The place was crowded with large tribes of monkeys and langur (Baboon), thus the name “monkey temple’.

This place was even documented on national geographic series as ‘ monkey thieves ‘ also ‘ Rebel monkeys

You can find the history of this temple on Wikipedia or Google anyway.

The fact that intrigued me was that I was told by the pandit (priest) of the temple that these monkeys had a very peculiar pattern of visiting here. They come early in the morning but will leave the temple and into the mountains at exactly 6:00 pm, so I waited and to my surprise, they did leave the temple at that exact time…In packs… This was simply amazing to see.

I planned to ‘call it a day’ and went back to the hotel.

 

2 – Panna Meena ka Kund

On your way to Amer fort, there is a village and a new temple to locate this stepwell which is called ‘Panna Meena ka Kund’

It is the newest amongst all the step-wells that were built in the 16th century. The well is built alongside the temple in the city of Amer, also known as Panna Mian ki Baori.

It is so beautifully crafted with unique architecture and styling.

 

3 – Amer Fort / Amber Palace

I was recommended by a majority of my friends to visit the mighty Amer Fort, and so I did. Not to my surprise, it is mighty and a majestic fort in the Amer, Jaipur. The fort resembled the riches and royalty of the kings in Rajasthan.

I left my hotel around 8 in the morning and reached Amer fort around 8:45 am.

The Amer fort was built between the 15^th and 16^th centuries. It has seen many wars and still stands strong; The Fort was a major attraction among other city kings for its artistic element designs.

 

The mirror reflection of Amer fort in Maota Lake was beautiful at sight.

Grand Amer fort had impressed me with its carvings of palaces and mahals, inlay work, the wide courtyard.

Just imagine living the life of a Rajput king in those days.

The light and sound show is must watch in the night for first-time visitors at the fort. It’s a must-visit heritage if you are in Jaipur, as it’s an experience that shows the olden times at the Fort.

I clicked this from the hall of public audience, the place where the king and the villagers would hold their meetings.

This site was majestic, although surrounded by tourists there was a sense of calmness around the place. The entrance to the courtyard and the mountains in the rear looked a class apart which showed a great class of architecture.

I always want to know what it must have felt at the times of the royals of Rajasthan.

The History of the Architecture

Built-in the honor of Mughal emperors, the creativity of people at those time was absolutely brilliant. I cannot explain the detailing on that architecture, one has to visit Amer fort and has to witness this artwork.
When strolling around, I noticed carvings of Lord Ganesha in the architecture in the middle of the long arch.
One of the seven gates of Amer Fort and built between 1611 and 1667 is a mixture of Mughal and Rajput traditions, painted with vegetable dyes which still remain bright in color, traditional ornaments embedded on the gate and is worth a lot.
The Ganesh Pol is a magnificent structure that leads the way to the beautiful Royal garden. It was built by the Rajaputra clan.

 

4 – Jaigarh Fort

Also known as “hill of eagles” is strategically built to overlook the Amer Fort and Maota Lake.

It was built by king Jaisingh II in 1036 AD, although it was reconstructed in 1726.

Cloudy days over Jaigarh fort… The fort built with thick walls of red sandstone and is spread at a range of 3km in length. Such an overview sight atop the fort.

These walls have been a shield of defense in many battles.

The fort was once responsible for the safety of both Amer and Jaipur city. Jaigarh Fort has a gigantic canon named ‘Jaivana’ which has now become a major tourist attraction of the fort.

There are complexes to store numerous weapons, cannons, arms along with warriors. These workshops where large cannons where made.

I spent around 3 hours exploring both Amer and Jaigarh forts. It was lunchtime and at around 2, I was off to my next location…

 

5 – Jal Mahal

The Jal Mahal in Jaipur is a popular photographic location that has caught the attention of many photographers around.

It is unlikely that most people haven’t heard of Jaipur and its man-made wonder known as the Water Palace. However, it takes nothing more than a quick look at the Man Sagar Lake for one name to become unforgettable.

It’s just the top of the Jal Mahal you see, whereas there are another 4 floors that are hidden underwater.

From the well-preserved hand paintings that fill every hall and room to the stairs and the beautifully designed terrace on the roof, the Jal Mahal palace is definitely one of the greatest Indian creations that remained well preserved until the present day.

You must visit Jal Mahal early morning to avoid traffic, get amazing views, and fewer crowds.

 

6 – Hawa Mahal

Around 4:30 pm, I reached the famous ‘Hawa Mahal’

When I think about Jaipur, the first place that came into my mind is the Hawa Mahal. The history of the place is unique that is to let the royal ladies watch the traditional event in the city without other people seeing them.
The secondary reason was to allow the breeze to blow through the palace in the summer. The Hawa Mahal has over 953 windows. This beautiful architecture was built in 1799.
Since the structure is in the middle of the city, the place during the day is very crowdie.

Moving ahead, I stopped by the city palace around 5:15 pm.

 

7 – City Palace Jaipur

The Jaipur city palace was built during the years 1729 and 1732. It has been listed as a prime attraction in the city. It’s also known that the present-day prince still resides here.

Jaipur City Palace

The city palace consists of gardens, vast complex with buildings and courtyards. It also has a museum. The architecture is a mixture of the Mughals, the Rajputs, and even the European style of designs. A lot to explore at this place but sadly I was running out of time.

These are just examples of architecture at the Jaipur city palace. The history is vast and can be found on Wikipedia.

My next stop was unplanned, while I was in the auto I gazed upon a beautiful building and notice people visiting it in numbers; so I decided to go visit it. The place was known as the Albert Hall Museum.

 

8 – Albert Hall Museum

The Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur is an ecstasy for tourists, as the museum showcases the colonial legacy of India. There are many things to look on here, from war weapons and armor, artifacts to mummification of an Egyptian dated 2300 years ago.

The building was initially built as a concert hall, although in 1881 it was declared as a Museum.

The visit to the museum will take you around 1-2 hours to explore completely.

It was late in the evening as I ended my city exploration and off I went to my Hotel room, relaxed and happy to have witnessed such architectural beauty of my country which has a rich history to go with it.

I hope you can plan your own itinerary better with some help from this blog.

Cheers!

Visit my Jaipur gallery for more wanderlust about the pink city.

Note: There are strict timings and entry fees at each location along with guides available. You can find all the information here – must-visit places in Jaipur.