Jaipur

Jaipur

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city has been named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.

A view of Jaipur City from Nahargarh Fort

The city is unusual among pre-modern Indian cities in the regularity of its streets, and the division of the city into six sectors by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is one of the World Heritage Sites. Included on the Golden Triangle tourist circuit, along with Delhi and Agra, Jaipur is an extremely popular tourist destination in Rajasthan and India.

 

Forts and Monuments 

Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal, is a palace in Jaipur, India. It was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, and designed by Lal Chand Ustad in the form of the crown of Krishna, the Hindu god.

Hawa Mahal, Jaipur

Its unique five-storey exterior is also akin to the honeycomb of the beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas that are decorated with intricate latticework. The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to observe strict "purdah" (face cover). Besides this, the lattice also provides cool air caused by the Venturi effect (doctor breeze) through the intricate pattern and thereby air conditioning the whole area during the high temperatures in summers. Built of red and pink sandstone, the palace is situated on the main thoroughfare in the heart of Jaipur’s business centre. It forms part of the City Palace, and extends to the Zenana or women's chambers, the chambers of the harem. It is particularly striking when viewed early in the morning, lit with the golden light of sunrise.

 Amer Fort

Amer Fort

Amer Fort is located in Amer, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India. It is one of the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located high on a hill. Amer Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I. Amer Fort is known for its artistic style of Hindu elements. Amer Palace.The palace was lived in by the Rajput Maharajas and their families. At the entrance to the palace near the fort’s Ganesh Gate, there is also a temple dedicated to Sila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult which was given to Raja Man Singh when he had defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. (Jessore is now in Bangladesh). This fort, along with Jaigarh Fort, located immediately above on the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) of the same Aravalli range of hills, is considered as one complex, as the two are well connected by a subterranean passage. This passage was meant as an escape route in times of war for the royal family members and others in the Amer Fort to shift to the more redoubtable Jaigarh Fort. Annual tourist visitation to the Amer Palace in Amer town was reported by the Superintendent of Department of Archaeology and Museums to the Amer Palace as 5000 visitors a day, and 1.4 million visitors were reported during 2007.
With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront. The aesthetic ambiance of this formidable fort is seen within its walls on a four level layout plan (each with a courtyard) in a well turned out opulent palace complex built with red sandstone and marble consisting of the Diwan-e-Aam or the "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas or the "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace) or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over the water cascade within the palace. Hence, the Amer Fort is also popularly known as the

Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort is situated on the promontory called the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) of the Aravalli range; it overlooks the Amber Fort and the Maota Lake, near Amber in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. The fort, rugged and similar in structural design to the Amber Fort, is also known as Victory Fort. It has a length of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) along the north-south direction and a width of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). The fort features a cannon named “Jaivana”, which was manufactured in the fort precincts and was then the world's largest cannon on wheels. The palace complex (Laxmi Vilas, Lalit Mandir, Vilas Mandir and Aram Mandir) located within the fort has a well-tended garden where the royal family resided, the Shubhat Niwas (an assembly hall of the warriors), an armoury and a museum. Jaigarh Fort and Amber Fort are connected by subterranean passages and considered as one complex.
The fort was built by Jai Singh II in 1726 to protect the Amber Fort and its palace complex and was named after him.

Nahargarh Fort

Nahargarh Fort stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the pink city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The view of the city from the fort is breath-taking.

Along with Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh once formed a strong defence ring for the city. The fort was originally named Sudarshangarh, but it became known as Nahargarh, which means 'abode of tigers'. The popular belief is that Nahar here stands for Nahar Singh Bhomia, whose spirit haunted the place and obstructed construction of the fort. Nahar's spirit was pacified by building a temple in his memory within the fort, which thus became known by his name. Built mainly in 1734 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, the fort was constructed as a place of retreat on the summit of the ridge above the city. Walls extended over the surrounding hills, forming fortifications that connected this fort to Jaigarh, the fort above the old capital of Amber. Though the fort never came under attack during the course of its history, it did see some historical events, notably the treaties with the Maratha forces who warred with Jaipur in the 18th century. During the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the Europeans of the region, including the British Resident's wife, were moved to Nahargarh fort by the king of Jaipur, Sawai Ram Singh, for their protection. The fort was extended in 1868 during the reign of Sawai Ram Singh. In 1883-92, a range of palaces was built at Nahargarh by Sawai Madho Singh at a cost of nearly three and a half lakh rupees. The Madhavendra Bhawan, built by Sawai Madho Singh had suites for the queens of Jaipur and at the head was a suite for the king himself. The rooms are linked by corridors and still have some delicate frescos. Nahargarh was also a hunting residence of the Maharajas. Until April 1944, the Jaipur State government used for its official purposes solar time read from the Samrat Yantra in the Jantar Mantar Observatory, with a gun fired from Nahargarh Fort as the time signal.Some scenes of the movie Rang De Basanti were shot at Nahargarh fort.

City Palace

City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces and other buildings, is a palace complex in Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan state, India.

It was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a museum but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The palace complex, which is located northeast of the centre of the grid patterned Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers right up to the 20th century. The credit for the urban layout of the city and its structures is attributed to two architects namely, Vidyadar Bhattacharya, the chief architect in the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from the Sawai himself who was a keen architectural enthusiast. The architects achieved a fusion of the Shilpa Shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, Mughal and European styles of architecture.

Jantar Mantar

The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king served Emperor Aurangzeb and later Mughals.

The title of (King) and Sawai was bestowed on him by Emperor Mohammad Shah. Jai Singh II of Amber built his new capital of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. It is also located in Ujjain and Mathura.
It is modeled after the one that he had built at the Mughal capital of Delhi. He had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. The Jaipur observatory is the largest and best preserved of these. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as "an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period". Early restoration work was undertaken under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer, during his appointment as Assistant State Engineer for the Jaipur District. The jantar mantar was made by sawai jai singh as he was particularly interested in learning about the sky above his head.

Jal Mahal

Jal Mahal (meaning "Water Palace") is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city, the capital of the state of Rajasthan, India.

The palace and the lake around it were renovated and enlarged in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber. "The Jal Mahal palace has got an eye-popping makeover. Traditional boat-makers from Vrindavan have crafted the Rajput style wooden boats. A gentle splashing of oars on the clear lake waters takes you to Jal Mahal. You move past decorated hallways and chambers on the first floor to climb all the way up to the fragrant Chameli Bagh. Across the lake, you can view the Aravalli hills, dotted with temples and ancient forts, and on the other side, bustling Jaipur. The most remarkable change is in the lake itself. The drains were diverted, two million tonnes of toxic silt were dredged from the bottom, increasing its depth by over a metre, a water treatment system was developed, local vegetation and fish reintroduced, the surrounding wetlands regenerated and five nesting islands created to attract migratory birds

Rambagh Palace

The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan is the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur and now a luxury Taj Palace Hotel, located 5 miles (8.0 km) outside of the walls of the city of Jaipur on Bhawani Singh Road. Preferred by celebrities and sport stars across the globe, Rambagh Palace, is widely considered to be one of the best hotels around the world.

Albert Hall Museum

Albert Hall Museum is a museum in Jaipur city in Rajasthan state of India. It is the oldest museum of the state and functions as the State museum of Rajasthan.

The building is situated in Ram Niwas Garden outside the city wall opposite New gate and is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The building was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob and was opened as public museum in 1887. It is also called the Government Central Museum. Maharaja Ram Singh initially wanted this building to be a town hall, but his successor, Madho Singh II, decided it should be a museum for the art of Jaipur and included as part of the new Ram Nivas Garden. The museum has a rich collection of artefacts like paintings, carpets, ivory, stone, metal sculptures, colourful crystal works etc. It is named after King Edward VII (Albert Edward), during whose visit to the city as the Prince of Wales, its foundation stone was laid on 6 February 1876.

Temples and places for worship

Chool Giri parasnath Jain Mandir, Ghat kiguni

Govind Dev Ji Temple

The Hindu temple Govind Dev Ji is situated in Jaipur in Rajasthan state of India.

It is located in the City Palace complex. The temple is dedicated to Govind Dev Ji (Lord Krishna). The image of the deity (murti) was brought from Vrindavan here by Raja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. According to popular legend, Lord Krishna's image in the temple looks exactly like Krishna's form during his incarnation on Earth.The deity originally belonged to Srila Rupa Goswami who was a disciple of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.




Galtaji

Galtaji is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site in the town of Khania-Balaji, about 10km away from Jaipur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The site consists of several temples and sacred kunds (water tanks) in which pilgrims bathe. It is believed that a Saint named Galav lived here, practiced meditation, and did penance (tpasya).

Lakshmi Narayan Mandir commonly known as Birla Mandir

Birla Mandir, Jaipur is a Hindu temple located in Jaipur, India and is part of one of the several Birla mandirs located all around the country. The grand temple is located on an elevated ground at the base of Moti Dungari hill in Rajasthan. The temple is sometimes also referred to as the Laxmi Narayan Temple.

Garh Ganesh Temple

Garh Ganesh Temple is an ancient temple of Lord Ganesh in the city of Jaipur. It is located on the hills near Nahargarh Fort and Jaigarh Fort.

Panchayti Temple

Panchayati Hall is a Hindu temple devoted to the goddess Durga and Lord Shiva, located in Jaipur, India.

Akshardham Temple

Sri Sri Krishna Balram Temple, Jagatpura

Moti Dungri Ganesh Mandir

Akshardham Mandir

Kanak Vrindavan

Kanak Vrindavan is a garden in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. It is built in a valley surrounded by Shri Govind Deoji Parisar. The garden has a temple, a series of fountains and intricate marble decorations. It is managed by the Government of Rajasthan.

Aravali hills and is located on the way to the Amer Fort at the bottom of the Nahargarh hill. The place is approx 8 km north of the Jaipur city. The garden complex is having many nearby tourist attractions as the Amer fort Palace, Jaigarh fort and Nahargarh fort along with lots of lush greenery. The garden was coined by Kachchwaha Rajput Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur, approximately 275 years ago, at the time when the complex was built. It includes term 'Vrindavan' as the garden resembles the descriptions of a the place, where God Sri Krishna had performed MahaRaas near Mathura, and word Kanak came from Maharaja’s one of the Maharani Kanakde. This garden is compared to the valley of Vrindavan and the maharaja, consecrated an idol of Sri Krishna in a temple in the Kanak Vrindavan valley.

Gardens

Ram Niwas Garden

The historical garden is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of 33 acres (130,000 m²), and was built by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh in 1868.

Within the garden which originally spread over 76 acres (310,000 m²) in early 20th century is the Albert Hall Museum (now known as Central Museum), named after King Edward VII (Albert Edward), during whose visit to the city as the Prince of Wales, its foundation stone was laid on February 6, 1876. Apart from that it also has a bird park, the Zoo, Ravindra Rang Manch Theatre, art gallery, exhibition ground, gymnasium and several cafes and picnic spots are housed in the garden.

Sisodiya Rani Bagh

Sisodia Rani Garden and Palace is a palace garden 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Jaipur city in of Rajasthan state in India. It was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1779.

The place consists of tiered multi-level gardens with fountains, watercourses and painted pavilions. A double storeyed palace occupies the top terrace of the garden. The palace has many galleries, pavilions and beautiful murals depicting scenes from the life of lord Krishna. The palace lies on JAipur Agara highway.
The palace garden derives its name, Sisodia Rani Garden and Palace, from the rani (queen) for whom it was built. She hailed from the Sisodia line of Suryavanshi (Sun-Dynasty) Rajputs, who ruled and now nominally rule the region of Mewar in Rajasthan.
The palace was featured in the 1991 Indian film "[Lamhe]", as the home of actor [Anil Kapoor]'s character Viren. [Rambagh Palace], near Jaipur, also served the same function. The film's song "Mohe Chedo Naa", pictured on actress [Sridevi]'s character Pallavi, was filmed at the palace as well.



Jawahar Circle
Jawahar Circle is the biggest circular park in Asia developed on highway. It is situated along Malviya Nagar near sanganer airport on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg.
The diameter of the circle is 452 m and the circumference measures 1420 m. This park was fully developed by JDA (Jaipur Development Authority), and is one of the favorite leisure places. There are multiple concentric tracks in the park. It is surrounded by Rose Gardens. A number of attractive features like musical fountains, modern play equipments, jogging tracks are being added to it.

Central Park, Jaipur

Central Park, constructed by the Jaipur Development Authority is the largest park in Jaipur.

Central Park is located, as its name suggest, in the centre of Jaipur city. Having a big lush green beautiful garden and Rambagh Polo Ground and golf club nearby makes it a perfect enjoyable place in Jaipur. Central Park Garden also has a long 5 km jogging and walking track which is the best place for many Jaipurites for walking and jogging. Central Park is also a bird watchers paradise as a number of migratory and native birds visit it round the year.
Central park also has a 206 feet high first day and night monumental National flag with the flag of 28 feet wide and 72 feet in length. This national flag looks magnificent when high voltage light falls on it at night time. It is the tallest tricolour of the country. Musical fountain, temple and stone states are some of the attractions in the Central Park, Jaipur. Central Park is located in the heart of Jaipur city near the Statue Circle and Dr. Ambedkar Statue.



Kanak Ghati, Jaipur

 Other Places of Interests include

Chand Bori Jaipur
Chand Baori is a stepwell situated in the village of Abhaneri near Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Chand Baori is one of the oldest and most attractive landmarks in Rajasthan. It was built by King Chanda of the Nikumbha Dynasty between 800 and 900 AD and was dedicated to Hashat Mata, Goddess of Joy and Happiness upon completion. The state of Rajasthan is extremely arid, and the intent and final structure of Chand Baori was intended to conserve as much water as possible. At the bottom of the well, the air remains 5-6 degrees cooler than at the surface, and Chand Baori was used as a community gathering place for locals during periods of intense heat.


Kathputhli Slum
The Kathputhli Slum Area is an urban slum in Jaipur, India, with a population of approximately 10,000 people.

Raj Mandir Cinema

Raj Mandir Cinema
Raj Mandir Cinema is a famous movie theater in Jaipur in Rajasthan state in India. Situated on the Bhagwan Das Road, near M.I. Road, the meringue-shaped auditorium opened in 1976, and over the years has seen many movie premieres of Hindi films, and has become a popular symbol of Jaipur, it is often referred as the Pride of Asia.



Nehru Garden