I have heard a lot about the beauty of Jaipur but never been able to make a plan until this year’s January. We used to travel to Rajasthan very frequently as my mother’s family is there. But never explored any place other than Kota. But at least we made it as just after 1 month, the pandemic started. Yes, you read it right. I am talking about January of 2020.
We took a train named ‘garib rath’ from my hometown Ambala to Jaipur.It was early morning and still dark when we reached there. The sight of Jaipur railway station was beautiful. There were colored lights everywhere. And we then booked a uber to reach our relatives staying in Jaipur only. Their house was at a distance from the market area.
In the history, wherever I have read about Jaipur,it is famous by the name “pink city”. But the buildings were colored in a brown shade not pink ,may be they have changed it now. I have listed the places I explored but in the end , I have filtered my recommended ones in the summary section.
Day 1
Most of you would be already familiar with the eye-catching Instagram pictures of the people standing near the marvelous forts. There are many of them in Aravalli range of hills, but it is difficult to cover all of them and if you are not so much into watching forts, then you should cover the best among them.
Amer Fort Jaipur
Ticket price–100 Rs (citizens),500 Rs (foreigners) Timings–8:30am-5:30pm, 6:30pm-9:15pm
Its architecture is spectacular, located at the top of the hill away from the city by a distance of 11 kms. I was amazed by the grandeur entry of the fort starting with a huge gate. And then with the magnificent elephants carrying people. The entry creates a beautiful impression of the palace. There are other entries to the palace too. You can reach there by hiking or taking an animal ride as well but this time I was with my family, so we travelled by taking a jeep (4 by 4) from the bottom of the hill. Local taxi service was cheap. So we booked a taxi for three days instead of booking an uber or ola everytime.Your own taxi will only land you at the bottom of the hill from where you need to book a jeep.
If you love photography, this is the perfect place. There is a lake accompanying the fort. You will meet various artists performing. There was a girl dancing on a Rajasthani music , I felt nostalgic and started dancing with her. I used to perform Rajasthani folk dance in my school days . And I believe that the real enjoyment is in these little things. I have this new interest in photography and spent most of the time capturing the beauty of the fort or asking my cousins to take pictures of me for the blog.
We bought a Rajasthani pagri (turban) from a seller and everybody was excited to click a picture with it.
The fort was huge and you need at least half a day to fully explore it. There are many courtyards designed by Mughals here. But the popular one is “Sheesh Mahal”, full of mirrors to lighten the fort with the help of candles. I also like the gardens designed beautifully. There is a light and sound show at the evening but we did not have enough time.
The weather in Jaipur is extreme hot but we were travelling in winters, so I chose a Luckhnowi suit as my outfit.
There are two other popular forts to visit -Jaigarh and Nahargarh Fort. All these forts are on the same way separated by a few kms. I would suggest booking one day for the forts only as they are distant from the city.
We went to the Jaigarh fort but felt tired so just enjoyed the outside hill view with a kulfi(ice-cream). The main attraction of Jaigarh fort is its beautiful views and a big cannon. Nahargarh one is famous for its panoramic views specially the sunrise and the sunsets. These forts are really tiring so make sure you have time and energy. I have left them for my next visit.
Jantar Mantar Jaipur
Ticket price-50Rs(citizens),200Rs(foreigners) Timings-9:30 am-4:30 pm
It was already 1 pm since we left Amer fort.This jantar mantar was bigger than the one in Delhi with huge time measuring ancient instruments. For those interested in astronomy, they have a video session . The session describe the usage of instruments placed here in the past to determine eclipses and planet movements. I am always curious about knowing new things so we attended the full session.
The huge sundials are also good for photography. This place does not require a lot of time, but it is open only during particular hours. You can skip this place if you have limited time.
City Palace Jaipur
Ticket price-170Rs(citizens) ,500Rs(foreigners) Timings-9:30 am-5pm
This place is like today’s malls where there are courtyards, museums, temples and art exhibition. I think if you are visiting jaipur for one-day, you can visit City Palace. We were interested in knowing the palace history, so we booked a guide. He charged 200Rs which was worth according to me. Let me tell you, this place may appear boring to you without a guide.
The royal family still live here in some of the restricted areas of the palace. If you love art, this is a place for you. There is a blend of Indian and Mughal architecture. It has four beautiful gates quite instagrammable with the beautiful art. They charge extra to bring a camera inside. In the exhibition, you can find textiles, Kashmiri pashminas, silk sarees, kajal, itra(fragrances) etc.We bought a Kajal from there.
The inner courtyard has four beautifully decorated gates each representing a particular season and a Hindu God .You can find below, a picture of one of its gate named Lehariya(spring) dedicated to Lord Ganesha.
Jal Mahal Jaipur
Jal mahal is quite popular by its name but I will not recommend visiting this place as there was little to explore. If you are visiting forts, it is on the way. Due to restricted entry, we kept it for the evening . This is a palace in the middle of a man-made lake half dipped in water. It look amazing in the night lights. You can enjoy only the outside views.
Moreover, you can come anytime to visit it as you can only watch it from a distance.There is an open park nearby, so we ate our packed food there. There is a boat ride also but at particular timings.
Birla Mandir Jaipur
Timings-6am-12pm,3pm to 9pm
The temple was made of marble , perfectly white. It was already 8:30pm when we reached there. Completely illuminated with the white lights at night , temple was giving a different kind of peace to eyes .The floor was perfectly clean and cool. We spent a little time in the temple and left after taking the Prasad. This was the end of Day1.
Day 2
Hawa Mahal Jaipur
Ticket price- 50Rs(citizens),200Rs(foreigners) Timings-9am-4:30 pm
After a hectic day, it was difficult to travel in the morning. At 1 pm ,we went for the Hawa Mahal. This building should be appreciated for its elegantly carved architecture. That is a mix of Islamic and Rajput culture. It is also a good spot for photography and not time consuming at all. It is located in the main city area near to the markets.
There is an entry for reaching the top floor of this mahal and the view from the top is commendable. The whole city appeared small. We did not book a tour guide for this place though it was available.
There were hundreds of windows (jharokhas) made in history for women. So they can watch what was happening on the streets of Jaipur. It was part of the purdah culture according to which women should hide themselves. I still wonder how women could tolerate such a nonsense in the past.
Albert Hall Museum Jaipur
Ticket price- 20 Rs(citizens),150Rs(foreigners) Timings-9am-5pm
We were running late; I still remember me running from the ticket area towards the main hall because it was closing soon. But still we managed somehow to make an entry to this museum .It had a huge collection of metal, jewelry items, paintings, guns etc. We covered these fastly as these things are boring without a guide. We quickly headed to its main attraction , “the Egyptian mummy”. There is a whole area reserved where you can find a mummy preserved. They have also shown the procedure to create mummies in the past and the reason behind creating them.You can skip this place if you have shortage of time.
We were feeling hungry and there is a famous place named Masala Chowk at the exit of the museum. There were all varieties of food present there. I tried “Dal Baati”, a famous Rajasthani dish but I would say it was ok in taste. The street food is better to explore.
Day3
Galtaji Temple Jaipur
Timings- 5am-9pm
It is a Hindu temple far away from the city of Jaipur. If you love photography and scenic views apart from religion, this is a place for you. You will find hills surrounding you and a temple in the middle. The vibe was calm.
The thing I found interesting about this place is the scene of the natural spring . This spring fills further seven large pools and it is a source of water for the nearby areas. Also in the pools as per their beliefs ,you can come here to wash your sins . This is considered equal to doing a chaar dhaam yatra( visiting four other temples) as per the Hindu culture .This is an alternative option.
I was like why people prefer chaar dhaam instead of this temple, may be because they want to do more travel .There are monkeys all around so be careful.
I would recommend this place as this is budget friendly, beautiful and something different from the palaces and the forts. They also have a garden to sit and enjoy the hill view.
Bapu Bazaar Jaipur
Timings- 10:30am-7:30pm
I am a kind of person who can walk the whole day for shopping. This street market is also a must to visit. There is another one with the name Johari bazaar which I have left for my next visit. You can find Rajasthani fabric like bandhani at a cheap price. I bought kurta sets of approximately 1000Rs and people have asked me about its source many times . I picked lots of oxidized jewelry of which I am a fan. There is a good variety of jewellery particularly “lac” available at cheap prices. You can find local handicrafts, stoles, Rajasthani juttis(slippers) at low prices.I bought a pair of Jaipuri espadrilles for me.
The other thing I bought was a silk blend ruffle dupatta at only 600 Rs. I totally loved it.
I also loved the night view of Bapu Bazaar designed with the ancient architecture and decorated with the yellow lights. The city hustle gave it a lively vibe.
We also visited Akshardham temple as it was near the place where we were staying. It is also beautiful but small in comparison to the Delhi one.
Summary
Amer fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal ,Galta ji temple and Bapu Bazaar are must to visit places in Jaipur according to me. But if you have time then you can explore the other mentioned places.
There is a lot of walking everywhere so be prepared. Carrying water bottles is suggested. There are particular timings to visit each and every place, make sure you plan accordingly. Jaipur is beautiful to capture even with mobile phones.
I would love to know about your experience in the comments. Also, if you have any other questions for me let me know in the comment section. Thanks for reading.
Also Read:-
Trip to Mount Abu
https://www.theexplorerdiary.com/mount-abu-living-in-the-clouds/(opens in a new tab)
Explore Kashmir
https://www.theexplorerdiary.com/kashmir-the-heaven-part-1/
https://www.theexplorerdiary.com/kashmir-the-heaven-part-2/(opens in a new tab)
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