Jaipur
Capital of Rajasthan Jaipur was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh in 1728 A.D. It is also called Pink City because most houses in old city ar
e pink
colored. The city is surrounded by thick wall 20 feet high and 9 feet wide
with eight gates. Ajmeri gate and the Sanganeri gate in the south, Chand
Pole gate in west and the Ghat Darwaja in the east are the main gates. The
city is surrounded by the hills except in the southwest. Fort and the temples
can be seen on the hills.
How to reach Jaipur By Road: The city is situated 261 km from Delhi. Jaipur can be accessed from all the major places in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai by bus. Rajasthan roadways runs excellent regular service of AC and Deluxe Coaches from Delhi.
By Rail: The train service to Jaipur is available from all the major parts of the country. An excellent connection from Delhi is Shatabadi Express that provides a fast, air-conditioned rail service. Other direct connections to Jaipur are from Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Secunderabad, Agra, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta.
By Air: Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and domestic carriers operate regular flights to and from Jaipur. Jaipur is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Aurangabad, Calcutta and Varanasi by domestic flights.
Places of tourist interest
Hawa Mahal -This impressive Palace - 'Hawa Mahal' is standing in the middle of the city. It was built by Maharaja Pratap Singh in the year 1798 AD. The architecture of this building is unique. It is pyramid shaped five storied building with semi octagonal overhanging balconies placed symmetrically one over the other with small domes and curvilinear roofs. In the era gone by the queens used to sit in the small windows of this palace to see the processions of the kings during festivals.
The City Palace - There seven gates of this palace. The main gate is called ' Sinha Dwar'. The name of second gate is Dunabubhir Pole. The southern gate is called Tripoliva and the eastern gate is callede Sirah-ki-Dyodhi. The Mubarak Mahal was built by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh.
The Chandra Mahal - The seven-storied Chandra Mahal is a fine example of Rajput architecture. In this palace there are some good paintings of the Rajput school and glass architecture. The famous temple of Govindji is in front of the palace.
Ram Niwas Garden - Built by Maharaja Ram Singh in 1815 AD this
Observatory - Maharaja Swai Jai Singh was very interested in astronomy. He built the astronomical observatory just outside of Mubark Mahal. It is also called 'jantar-mantar'.
Nahargarh - Situated on a hill this fort was built in 1732 for defense against the attacks of the Marathas. Hawa Mandir and Madhvendra Bhawan are the some of the examples of the beautiful architecture inside this fort.
Sanganer -The town of Sanganer is about 14 km in the south of Jaipur. There is a Jain temple of Sanghiji, which is about a thousand year old. Mughal Empror Akbar used to stay in the royal palace of Sanganer
