Visit the 5 Highlights of Jaipur – Rajasthan

Jaipur is the  capital of the Rajasthan State of India and is a 4 hour drive away from Delhi. I went to Jaipur for the second time and still would love to back! If you once go to India you will never get enough of the busy and bustling life on the streets.

What to see in Jaipur?

Where is Jaipur?

Jaipur is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and is over a four-hour drive from Delhi. Jaipur is one of the most visited cities in Rajasthan and I can understand that.

What is jaipur known for?

Jaipur is sometimes called the pink city. Driving through the city, you will soon notice why the city acquired this name. Many buildings and walls are coloured pink. It is abundantly clear that the terra colour predominates in Jaipur. It gives the city a sweet character and a nice feeling I found.

Did you know that the pink colour was applied to mark the visit of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband in 1883.

How long do you need for Jaipur?

The city has many beautiful destinations to visit but I was only there for a day this time and visited these highlights! If you really want to feel the city and visit all the highlights of Jaipur take 2 days for Jaipur.

And let’s face it, a city that calls itself the pink city is one you want to check out, right? Like the blue city of Jodhpur

Jaipur, the Famous Pink City of Rajasthan

Amber Fort

We went to Amber Fort first thing in the morning. It is a great fort that is build just outside the city. Just before we got to the entrance we stopped to get a great view of the fort, one of the benefits of having a driver!

You can go up to the fort with an elephant. I did see a lot of tourist still doing this. I really think that we, as tourist, should not do that anymore! The elephants should not be kept for this purpose and walk up there all day. Last year I pledged to not sit on a elephant again in my life. Will you think about this too and take a stand.

We went up walking and stayed in the fort for at least 2,5 hours. We wandered around all the great squares, rooms and palaces. Everything is made of marmer, white or terra colour. Everywhere you look you’ll see magnificent decorations or you have wonderful views out the windows!

Look at the mountainrange you see in the distance. There is a wall that reminds me a lot of the Chinese Wall. But this one is ‘only’ 11km long..

Hawa Mahal

Taj Mahal is the Palace of Winds and it is really an amazing building. At first it looks like just a high facade. This facade was build so the Royal ladies had a private space to observe the street activities without being seen from the street. It can be very hot in India and the windows are open and the cool wind blows through it!

Picture taken in 2009 with a bright blue sky

Just as I was at Amber Fort 6 years ago I visited the Hawa Mahal also. I got a great picture hanging in my house as a memory about that visit. My Orange Friend and me!

I didn’t went in that time so now I did! There is a whole building behind the high wall. You need to walk a bit to get there, we went through some small streets and alleys. I just love that! It is just the charm of the cities in India the scenes you see in every corner!

 When I entered this building I saw a fountain, going up the stairs to go up and from there you got a great view on this square and its surroundings. This building has got that great pink colour again and is wonderfully decorated.

From this position I had already the Jantar Mantar in sight. When you look in the right upperside of this picture..

Jantar Mantar

This Astrological wonder is build in the early 18 century. It contains 20 observation instruments. When I looked at this area I got this feeling like they’re artistic buildings. As if I was looking to a modern art square.  Walking here I felt small, seeing how long ago this was build to an exact precision is hard to believe. The time is still accurate to the second with correction of winter and summer time. The planets were read so well in those days…how much wiser are we now on that area??

Jal Mahal

The Water Palace, it is build in an artificial lake called the Man Sagar Lake. This palace is also in the great pink colour and build in the Rajput an Mughal style. The palace is a 5 story high building but because 4 of them are below water level you only see a ‘small’ one story palace.

They are working hard on making this lake and the palace nice and clean. Till recently the sewege flowed undrained into this lake. This has changed and the lake will get cleaner. The palace will be renovated and get hotels, art galleries and shops in it. Untill today it is not ready yet and we can only look at it from a distance.

City Palace

This palace is a fusion of different architectural styles. The colour pink / terracotta is yet again the dominant colour. It is a complex of different palaces and you can easily spend an afternoon here wandering around the courtyards and watching the beautiful decorated rooms.

Time and Transportation Jaipur 

We had a private car and driver this day. This is a common way of traveling in India. We had this driver and car for a couple of days and were very flexible. You can easily change your activities when something else comes on your way. I think it is a great way to travel like this.

I arranged this driver and car through a local agency. You can arrange this too if you want and email to syedmirakshahcarrental@yahoo.in for more information. If you arrange your trips and hotels local you’ll save money. But you get other hotels, more local and really great decorated ones if you arrange with Latif from Syed Mirak Shah Car Rental.

Travelling around by public transport is just so cool! Especially in India, this might be the challenge you need to take on. Going further into India by train, bus or flight from Jaipur? Book your trip right away.

Where to stay Jaipur

Dera Rawatsar

I stayed at Dera Rawatsar during my first time in Jaipur. I have super fun memories of that. In their courtyard garden, there was a fun / laughable puppet show in the evening which we had so much fun at.

Nahagarh Haveli

My second time, along with my father, I stayed in this amazing old Haveli. A great property to stay in, worth a recommendation for that reason alone.

If you are travelling around alone and don’t have a private driver at your disposal check out your options for day trips in Jaipur.

Other great spots you need to visit in india:

My Five Hightlights of New Delhi

Dive into the streetfood of Mumbai

Visiting the Periyar Tiger Reserve

Going too Local at a Cookingclass in Varanasi

For all the stories of India go to my India page