12 Best Places to Visit in Jaipur, Rajasthan

Jaipur is the capital of the state of Rajasthan, that has that unusual world of the maharajas, their luxuries, harems, legends, temples, fortresses, and palaces. Jaipur is called the pink city because its buildings and facades have that characteristic tone of color that mimic the sandstone that is normal to see in that area.

The real reason for this pink look is because she dressed up as a pink-salmon-colored dress and became pretty on the occasion of the visit of a distinguished visitor, the Prince of Wales. The majority of its facades, buildings and access walls (there are ten access doors in total) to the old part of the city are of this color. In fact this color symbolizes for the locals, a sample of the hospitality of the city.

The city was founded by the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh who moved with all his court to this new city (formerly lived in the magnificent Amber Fort, about 11 km from the city). It is nicknamed pink city because of the exceptional and distinct color of the buildings. Jaipur is a sparkling city! Jaipur is also known for its extreme weather conditions. So, couples can consider this city among the best honeymoon places during the winter months.

Everything stretches from the heart of City Palace, where the royal family still has its residence. And there’s so much to see: the floating water palace Jal Mahal, the iconic Govind Dev Ji temple with the many Krishna legends, they’re definitely worth a snap. Staring at the stars is fantastic from Jantar Mantar, a UNESCO-listed astronomical observatory.

Need a little more crowds and noise? Then visit the bazaar in downtown Jaipur, or join the noisy crowds at the Raj Mandir cinema — one of the most famous movie rooms in the country. The capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur, is referred to as the Pink City for the trademark colour of buildings in this city. Jaipur is home to historic forts and palaces. Couples can opt for a romantic stroll down the city centre and soak in the Rajasthani folk culture. From fabrics to carpets, one can find various types of handicrafts in the Tibbati market.



Here are the best places to visit in Jaipur.

1. Panna Meena ka Kund

Excavated in the 16th century, this curious and uncrowded palace was a place of social gathering in which to bathe in the pool at the bottom without being seen. This place is especially refreshing, because its architecture maintains the freshness of the water and the locals tell that no one can go up and down the same staircase of this structure that seems to be taken from one of Escher's impossible figures.

2. Amer Fort

Another must-see site in Jaipur is the palace-fortress of Amber, located on the outskirts of the city. The set is really imposing, of enormous proportions and designed as a small citadel. Optionally it can be accessed from the bottom mounted on elephants. The Amber Fort was the home of the Kachhwaha and the Maharaja Sarai Jai Singh for a long time.

It consists of buildings, interior patios, beautiful gardens, viewpoints where the beautiful decorations stand out, the bas-reliefs, the filigree windows and stunning views. Once inside find beautiful rooms such as the Sheesh Mahal or Hall of Mirrors.

The fortress has four levels, built with red marbles and sandstone, the levels consist of the royal legacy of Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-Khas, Sheesh Mahal and Sukh Niwas, who also built magnificent waterfalls that the wind, create an artificial climate of cold and a temple dedicated to Sila Devi. Enjoy the night show there.

3. Albert Hall Museum

The Albert Hall Museum is the oldest museum in all of Rajasthan and functions as a state museum. This striking building is located in the Ram Niwas garden, and stands as the epitome of the conglomeration of Indo Saracen architecture. Inside there is a large collection of numerous objects such as carpets, paintings, stones, ivory, sculptures composed of metals, glass objects decorated with many colors and all the elements that represent the culture of the royalty of Rajasthan.

4. Hawa Mahal

Once you visited almost all the Bazaars you may visit Hawa Mahal. It has 953 small windows (Jharokhas) and amazing piece of architecture. Do visit this place before 5 pm or else you may not have a look from inside of it.

Without a doubt, the Palace of the Winds is one of the things to see in Jaipur that you cannot miss. This building is like a whim, a fantasy building, so narrow, so full of windows, so pink, orange. Without a doubt, the best time is in the morning, because you will have the best light to enjoy photographing the palace from all possible perspectives.

It was built by the Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh and was designed by Lal Chand Usta. At that time it was part of the palace of the city and served as an extension of the zenana or chamber of women, destined for the harem of the maharajah. The multitude of windows are designed so that women could observe the street without being seen from it.

Its shape resembles a peacock, although it was actually designed imitating the crown of Krishna, shaped like a honeycomb, with around 1,000 small windows. Its poetic name responds to the wind that circulated through the windows that served as air conditioner, allowing the palace to remain fresh and airy even in summer. It does not have a normal system of stairs to go up to the highest floors but it is done by means of ramps and it is considered the maximum exponent of the Rajput architecture.

5. Jal Mahal

Taking advantage of the visit to the Amber Fort, do not miss visiting the Jal Mahal Palace, even if only from the walk that borders the lake. It is impressive to see this Rajput style palace rising in the middle of Lake Man Sagar. It was built by Maharaja Madho Singh I, not as a dwelling palace, but to celebrate his hunting parties there when, to entertain himself, he went to hunt ducks.

Jal Mahal means Water Palace and the most impressive of it is not only that it is built in the middle of the lake but also, four of the five floors that the palace has, are under water and thus have remained since its construction. Undoubtedly, a jewel of Rajput architecture, with its perfectly geometric style.

6. City Palace

The City Palace is, without doubt, another of the things to see in Jaipur that you can not leave out during your visit. It was built by Maharaja Jai ​​Singh II. Its architects, Vidyadar Bhattacharya, the chief architect of the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from Sawai himself, who was in love with architecture, managed to capture a fusion of the Indian architecture of Shilpa Shastra with styles of Rajput, Mughal architecture and Europeans.

To this day, it continues to function as a royal residence, so you can only visit Chandra Mahal, the Badal Mahal, the palace museum, the Shri Govind temple or the Mubarak Mahal.

It consists of a large palatial complex that brings together several buildings and/or palaces, gardens, patios that communicate with each other, etc. Although not all spaces are visitable. The family of the current maharaja continues to live there. It includes buildings such as the Mubarak Mahal or the Welcome Palace that houses a display of royal costumes.

There is the Sarvato Bhadra or private audience hall. There is a beautiful inner courtyard that represents the 4 seasons in beautifully decorated beautiful doors in Pritam Niwas Chowk. The Silehkhana has a large sample of swords, pistols and all kinds of armory objects. The beautiful hall of the Maharaja Sabha Niwas has a beautiful decoration where it is forbidden to take photos.

There is also a space, the Baggi Khana that has a collection of antique carriages, palanquins or European taxis adopted in India (baggis).

7. Tripolia Bazar

Well locals actually call the markets situated in between the Char diwari as city. Just look for an E-Rikshaw and visit the nearest Bazaar, you will find many crawling like ants in the streets.

Are you looking to visit a place that is not only stunning but also a shopper’s delight? Are you looking forward to picking up those small knick-knacks that will make you house every more alluring? Well then look no further. The beautiful city of Jaipur is filled with traditional markets that sell some of the most vibrant and most authentic products.

The markets of Jaipur as so popular that a lot of tourists come here just for an exclusive market tour. So, just read below to get lost in the labyrinth of markets that Jaipur has to offer.

The best known of all the bazaars of Jaipur is the Tripolia Bazaar, undoubtedly one of the things to see in Jaipur during your visit, whether you go for 1, 2 or 3 days. The market in front of Tripolia market is called the Chaura Rasta. On both sides of the main market, the buildings were constructed in view of the market and special attention was given that all buildings should have the same height.

8. Johari Bazar

Also famous are the Chandpole Bazaar, where are the shops of spices and legumes, the Johari Bazaar, where are the jewelers and the Bapu Bazaar, where tissue stores are concentrated and where you can buy a beautiful sari. Walking through them even if you do not buy anything is one of the things to do in Jaipur, as they keep the local and traditional air.

9. Jantar Mantar

Another thing to see in Jaipur in The Pink City is the Jantar Mantar observatory, which is easy to recognize because it stands out from the rest of the buildings. Jantar Mantar is one of the five astronomical observatories that were built in India by order of Maharaja Jai Singh, a fan of astronomy. Walking around the different constructions you will be able to know the evolution of the shadows that the sun emits and to learn basic and advanced notions about astronomy.

If you have the opportunity, do not miss it, because besides being one of the things to see in Jaipur, it is a World Heritage Site. Try to travel as much as possible with rickshaws in the city, you will be fascinated by the views.

10. Nahargarh Fort

If you want to take a leave from the office and go on a short trip to enjoy the monsoon, then Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur can be a better option for this. Nahargarh Fort and the surrounding areas become very beautiful during the monsoon season. Nahargarh Fort is built on the banks of the Aravalli hills.

Here you must go in the rainy season because in front of this fort is a very beautiful lake, whose view is made in view of the monsoon and yes, there is a place nearby charan temple. That is a trekking route about 2/3km. You should also try that place. It’s name is hathni kund and in rainy season, you can get the chance of waterfalls over there.

This is a great place to spend your whole day. There is also a Sheeshmahal and Jaipur Wax Museum inside this fort. Nahargarh Fort was discussed a lot amidst the release of Deepika Padukone's film Padmavat. Nahargarh Fort is one of the favourite locations for shooting for big Bollywood filmmakers. Scenes of many films like Rang De Basanti, Shuddh Desi Romance and Jodha Akbar have been shot here.

The fort was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in 1734. This fort is connected to the fort of Jaigarh by a huge wall. Although there is an influx of tourists throughout the year, the number of tourists increases during the monsoon season. The huge fort of Nahargarh displays the magnificent and rich history of this city.

In historical times, the Nahargarh Fort served as an impregnable fortress along with its two neighbouring Jaigad and Amer Forts as strong watchmen of the city. Fine carvings on pink stones and beautiful cuttings of stones represent the Jaipuri civilization. History is witness that this fort was never attacked.

Maharaja Jai Singh used this fort as his palace in summer. The fort has been the site of major historical events such as signing treaties with Maratha forces in the 18th century. In history, this fort was used to shelter many Europeans. It is said that this fort was built by Sawai Raja Man Singh for his queens. But after his death, this fort was considered as haunted.

People here believe that the king's ghost comes in this fort. Local people say that there are sudden strong winds here and sometimes the glass of the windows breaks and falls. Sometimes it starts feeling hot and cold.

There is also an organic garden which is one of the major attractions of this fort. Spread over an area of ​​7 square kilometres of the Nahargarh Sanctuary, the organic park is finely decorated with granite and quartzite rocks. The park is known for its rich flora in which you can see many animals in their natural surroundings. The Asian lion, Bengal tiger and Indian leopard are also found in this organic park.

The most important thing is that 285 species of birds are also found in the park. Although the monsoon season is also considered good for coming here, if you talk about the best time to come here, it is from October to March. This is the best time to travel in Jaipur city. At this time, the weather of the day is excellent, but the mercury falls to 4 degrees at night.

The best time to visit the fort is in the evening to watch the sunset. Thereafter, hang around to catch the visual treat of the city which gets all lit up. Note that entry into the fort is closed after 5 pm and you will need to hang out to enjoy the weather and some quiet time.

Having said the above, note that the fort can be visited anytime during the day as well. The fort forms a perfect location to spend an entire day. You can visit the two nearby forts like Amer and Jaigarh if time permits. Month-wise, October - February is a perfect time to visit this majestic fort.

11. Jawahar Kala Kendra

The Kalakendra by Charles Correa is a standing example of sophisticated Architecture that is deeply spiritual and humane. The plan was prepared by the noted architect Charles Correa. The plan is inspired by the original city plan of Jaipur, consisting of nine squares with central square left open. The Jawahar Kala Kendra adapts and applies concepts from ancient architectural principles called the Vastu Vidya.

12. Iswari Minar Swarga Sal

Located next to the Tripolia gate, one of the gates of the pink city, it is one of the landmarks, one of the things to see in Jaipur. It was built by Iswari, the son of Jai Singh, to commemorate the victory against his half-brother Madho Shing and to dominate and control the city. You can climb it and enjoy some beautiful views of the city.