Taxi For Jaipur Tour
Jaipur is the capital of India’s Rajasthan state. It evokes the royal family that once ruled the region and that, in 1727, founded what is now called the Old City, or “Pink City” for its trademark building color. At the center of its stately street grid (notable in India) stands the opulent, colonnaded City Palace complex. With gardens, courtyards and museums, part of it is still a royal residence.
Hawa Mahal
Located alongside the City Palace at the heart of Jaipur, Hawa Mahal is another significant palace to visit in this Jaipur Sightseeing Tour. Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, the grandson of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh built this palace in 1799. It is a five-storey building built in pyramidal shape, which is a symbolic replica of the crown of the Hindu god, Lord Krishna.
A combination of Mughal and Rajput architecture, Hawa Mahal has 953 windows called 'jharokas'. These jharokas were built in such a way that they enabled the royal women to view the outside world, while restricting the outsiders to have a glimpse of these women.
Designed in the pattern of a honeycomb, the windows of Hawa Mahal are arranged in a way that they always allowed cool breeze into the palace. Fountains in front of the palace helped in enhancing this cooling effect and thus it was one of the favourite palaces of Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh.
Jal Mahal
Standing elegantly amidst the Man Sagar Lake, Jal Mahal or the Water Palace boasts of its unexplained stories. Built in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II, it is a five-storey building with a stately pavilion and a terrace garden. Out of the five floors of Jal Mahal, the first floor remains underwater when the lake is full.
While some believe this palace to be one of the recreational palaces of the kings, yet others believe it was the favourite place of the queens for their engrossing royal parties. Stories also relate that this palace was the favourite duck hunting destination of the young princes. Though a lot of speculation has arisen, the exact story behind this palace is still unknown to the world.
The graceful Aravalli Hills, dotted by scenic temples and forts add to the captivating beauty of this palace, while the bustling city of Jaipur balances the modern outlook of Jal Mahal.Within the Jaipur sightseeing tours, a trip to Jal Mahal will be arranged. Traditional boats are available on the banks of the Man Sagar Lake, which carry visitors to the palace.
Nahargarh Fort
The Nahargarh Fort is one of the magnificent forts in Jaipur. Located amidst the breath-taking Aravalli Hills, this fort was originally named as Sudarshangarh Fort. However, the name was later changed to Nahargarh Fort which literary means 'abode of the tigers'.
This fort has seen the maximum number of tiger hunts by the kings and royal families. Nahargarh Fort plays an important role in Jaipur Sightseeing Tours.Built in 1734 by the legendary Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, this fort served as a place of retreat for the royal families. Whether then or now, this fort is still serving an integral role in Jaipur's glorious history as well as in the Jaipur sightseeing packages.
Though this fort was constructed to magnify the safety and protection of Jaipur, it never faced any major attacks from the enemies. In fact, the warmth and friendliness of Jaipur's kings never offered any reason of threat to this fort or Jaipur. Nahargarh played an important role in providing shelter to the wives of the British during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.
Amer Fort
Built by Raja Man Singh I, the Amer Fort, often called the Amber Fort, is the prime location for Jaipur city tour. Located on a hilltop, this fort is rooted with a series of gates and paved paths. The Maota Lake lies beneath this fort, which makes the craggy location of the fort more enticing. Location of the fort itself mesmerizes the visitors.
Presence of some of the magnificent halls like Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Aam, Sheesh Mahal and Sukh Niwas made this fort one of the favourite places of the Maharajas. While the Diwan-i-Aam used to hold all the public meetings for the kings, Diwan-i-Khas used to hold all the royal meetings.
Maota Lake on the bottom edge of the fort helped in maintaining a pleasant ambience around the fort. Due to all these reasons, this fort is also called as the Amber Palace.
Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar, one of the renowned observatories in the world proves the scientific and astronomical abilities of the Rajput kings.
The maharajas of Jaipur, who were undoubtedly the best architects and planners of their times, also demonstrated their expertise in scientific calculations by constructing Jantar Mantar in five different places of India: Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi. Among these five observatories, Jaipur is the home to the largest and the best preserved of these observatories.
Jantar Mantar is an important site within these Jaipur sightseeing tours. While sightseeing in Jaipur, especially around the City Palace, the visitors can explore this immemorial astronomical observatory.Jantar Mantar, which means 'magical instrument' was designed in a unique way which helped in calculating time, predicting monsoons, eclipses and tracking the position of the sun, the moon and the stars. It is a collection of 14 geometric devices and the Samrat Yantra is the largest among these devices. It is also the largest sundial in the world.
