Situated in western India, Jaipur, together with Delhi and Agra, forms the popular tourism golden triangle, with Jaipur located 260 km from Delhi and 240 km from Agra. It is a bustling capital city and a business centre with all the trappings of a modern metropolis but yet strongly-flavoured with an age-old charm that never fails to surprise a traveller.

The old Jaipur painted in pink can grip any visitor with admiration. Stunning backdrops of ancient forts like Nahargarh, Amer, Jagarh and Moti Dungri are dramatic testimonials of the bygone era and a reminder of their lingering romance.

In 1743, 16 years after Jaipur was founded, Jesuit Father Jose Tieffenthalar visited the city and was charmed by what he saw. He wrote: “The city, while it is new, is assuredly the most beautiful among the ancient cities of India, because in the latter everything is old, the streets are unequal and narrow. This on the contrary has the splendour of the modern, with equal wide and long streets.”

Three centuries later, its reputation as a beautiful, well-planned city is something that Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh II’s beloved creation, has to constantly live up to. Rajasthan’s capital does this without difficulty for the most part: its enchanting bazaars wear 200 years on their sleeves with pride, its perfectly laid-out streets are easily navigated and the uniform pink that the city sports inspires and enthralls visitors in equal measure.

The best time to visit Jaipur is from October and March.

Sightseeing in Jaipur is like the city itself — neat and well- planned. This is because most of what Sawai Jai Singh, a king who was also an astronomer, built in 1727 still stands in a very good condition. Apart from the major monuments that are located within the walled city of Jaipur, the forts of Amber, Jaigarh and Nahargarh are must-visits for tourists. The last three will require an entire day. Keep at least four days for Jaipur.

City Palace
Palace architecture in Rajasthan is simple in design, elaborate in execution and magnificent in appearance. The City Palace complex, an integral part of the Walled City, is a fine example of this pattern. It is a sprawling enclosure with many courtyards, gateways and gardens.

Today, the former maharaja and his family occupy a part of the City Palace. Enter from Atish Pol, and go on to Mubarak Mahal, which has an exquisitely decorated marble and sandstone exterior. Designed by Sir Swinton Jacob, it was originally a royal guest house that was later turned into the Mahakama Khas or the Royal Secretariat.

Hawa Mahal
Also called the Palace of Winds, Hawa Mahal is Jaipur’s most famous monument. All ornamentation is confined to the rear portion of this five-storey structure. The façade has semi-octagonal overhanging windows with perforated screens, curvilinear roofs, domes and finials. Sawai Pratap Singh built this rather unusual palace in 1799 for the royal women to watch processions and other activities on the streets below.

Block-printed and tie-and-dye textiles, quilts, ethnic silver and traditional gold jewellery will top your list of buys here. Gopalji ka Raasta in Johari Bazaar is a good place for jewellery; quilts are available opposite Hawa Mahal. Go to Sanganer for hand block-printed fabric.

Over the years, Jaipur has emerged as a fine dining destination. Fast food outlets are on MI Road, and there are numerous places that serve the local speciality of dal-baati-choorma.

Spice Court, in Civil Lines has traditional Rajasthani food such as keema baatis (mince stuffed wheat balls), safed maas (white mutton) and sulas (barbecued mutton. Surabhi on Amber Road serves authentic Rajasthani non-vegetarian food — try their lal maas, garlic naan and chicken tikka butter masala. An added attraction here is the interesting Turban Museum for guests.

At Chokhi Dhani, food is served in the traditional style, with seating on the floor, and an array of delicious Rajasthani dishes such as gatta, ker sangri, bajra roti and lahsun mirch ki chutney will leave you asking for more. The rural ambience is also to be found at Sharma Dhaba, which has the best butter naan, chutney and paneer masala in town and Apno Rajasthan, which serves delicious Rajasthani dishes such as khaata, ker sangri and rabdi. Both are on Sikar Road.

Plane
Jaipur’s Sanganer Airport is just south of the city (14 km/ 1/2 hr). Taxi to the city centre charges RS200.

Train
Jaipur Station is well connected to Delhi by the Ajmer Shatabdi and Delhi-Jaipur Expresses, to Mumbai by the Bombay Central-Jaipur and Aravalli expresses, and to Kolkata by the Howrah-Jaipur Express.

Road
NH8 links Jaipur to Delhi (256 km) via Shahpura and Dharuhera, and to Mumbai (1,202 km) via Ajmer, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bharuch, Pardi, Talasari and Manor. RSRTC operates deluxe coaches from Bikaner House (Tel: 011 2338 3469) in Delhi near Pandara Road. Bus fares: Volvo RS460 (AC), and Silverline RS270 (non-AC). Excellent bus connections are also available from Jaipur’s Sindhi Camp Central Bus Terminal (Tel: 014 1511 6031) to other destinations in Rajasthan and beyond.

GMT/UTC +5.30

200.4 km²

Local Area Code: 0141

3,324,319

English (official), Hindi and Rajasthani

Indian Rupees (RS)