Jaipur, (pink City) the capital city in the tone of an autumnal sunset, literally blushed pink when Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria, stepped on its soil in 1883. Interspersing the play of red and pink were white borders and motifs, painstakingly outlining the architectural highlights of Jaipur's buildings. Jaipur has been like that since 1727 when Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II had it built that year.

Interestingly, the royal family's earlier residence at Amber, was only 11km away, and had been since the 10th century. Seven hundred years later, the Maharaja chose to raise a "City of Victory", and aptly christened it Jaipur. Co-incidentally, the name also incorporated the first name of the Maharaja thus immortalizing the builder both through his nomenclature of dynasty and concept of ideals.

Jaipur City was and remains the only city in the world symbolising the nine divisions of the universe through nine rectangular sectors dividing it. A young Bengali architect, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya formalised the city's plans on the "Shilpa Shastra": the epochal Hindu treatise on architecture, tempering it with the sublimity of Mudhal and Jain influences of the times.

Jaipur's past is never too far from hand. The palaces and forts of the yesteryears that were witness to royal processions and splendor are now living monuments, accepted quite naturally into the lifestyles of the people of the pink city. Except for the busy traffic of bicycles, cars and buses, little seems to have changed. There is a timeless quality to Jaipur's bazzar's and of it's colorful people. Could the women drying chillies under the sun, in the shadow of the fort, have been there a hundred years ago? Could not the jeweller, so carefully crafting the gold and precious stones of his trade, be equally its vision of the future?

Jaipur is a royal city, and this is its most noticeable aspect. Buildings testify to it. Festivals testify to it. Its palace hotels testify to it. The life style of its society testifies to it. And very, obviously, tourists testify to it as they pay homage to the grand capital of princes and kings, a city of the past that belongs to India's future.

Tourist Places in Jaipur

City Palace of Jaipur:

The City Palace is an architectural marvel that presents a perfect blend of Rajasthani and Mughal art and architecture. The City Palace has projecting balconies, arches and the entrances. The palace covers one-seventh of the area in Jaipur. The City Palace also has a museum with an exclusive collection of Rajasthani costumes, miniature paintings, carpets and royal paraphernalia.

Jantar Mantar:

Sawai Jai Singh who also built the five observatories in India built the largest stone observatory in the world, Jantar Mantar. Its complex instruments are excellent for predicting the figures related to the Indian astronomy.

Hawa Mahal:

The Hawa Mahal or Palace of Winds is the major landmark in Jaipur, which was built in 1799 AD. This five-storey building hued in pink has the well-arched semi-octagonal windows.

Jantar Mantar:

A not to be missed tourist attraction in Jaipur, the Jantar Mantar is a wonderful observatory, built in 1718 by the astronomical king Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city. Built in stone and marble, it has numerous scientifically designed instruments to study the movement of stars. The "Ram Yantra," used for gauging altitudes, is the most remarkable of all the instruments here.

Amber Fort:

Your tour to Jaipur will be incomplete without a visit to the magnificent Amber Fort, situated on the outskirts of city on a sandstone hilltop. Though, its construction was started by Raja Man Singh in the 16th century AD, it was finally completed by Sawai Jai Singh in the 18th century AD. Built in red sandstone and white marble, the Amber Fort represents a fine blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture. One can enjoy a beautiful view of surrounding areas from the Fort.

Ram Niwas Bagh:

Built as a famine relief project by Sawai Ram Singh II in 1868 AD, it houses a well-kept spacious garden with a zoo, an aviary, a greenhouse, a herbarium, a museum and a sport ground. Other must see tourist attractions in Jaipur include the Sheesh Mahal, Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh Fort, Rambagh Palace, Jaipur Museum, Birla Planetarium, Amber Palace, Govind Devji Temple, Sisodia Rani Garden, and the Laxmi Narayan Temple.

How to Reach Jaipur

Jaipur is 262 kms. from Delhi, and is well connected by road, rail and air from all over the country. There is also a special luxury train, the Palace on wheels,which starts from Delhi every Wednesday from September to April, on a round trip of Rajasthan, the first stop being Jaipur. Regular luxury buses are available round the clock and speical trains like the Shatabdi Express and Intercity Express ply regulary.

By Air
Jaipur is well connected by air transport to the rest of India. One can take a flight from any of the major cities across India to reach Jaipur. The Pink City is very well connected by air to Delhi and Mumbai. The airport is about 15 kilometres from the Pink City and it takes about 25 minutes to reach the city.

By Rail
Indian Railways connects Jaipur with other cities of India with a number of trains. From Delhi the Pink City express connects Jaipur, the train leaves Delhi at 6 in the morning and reaches Jaipur at 11 am. There are a number of other trains that connects Jaipur from different parts of India.

But if you want to enjoy the royal ride, Palace on Wheels is the train to choose. The Palace on Wheels leaves Delhi every Saturday and passes through a number of tourist destinations in Rajasthan.

By Road
Jaipur is well connected by road to major towns in India. Jaipur Hub provides all the information on tours to Jaipur and if you want to drive down to Jaipur, Jaipur Hub also offers all Indian tourists permit vehicles.