Jaipur, golden triangle, India

The holiday at the capital city of Rajasthan - Jaipur is an absolute must on the itinerary of any tourist to India. Along with the dashing Delhi and the amazing Agra it forms the Golden Triangle of Indian Tourism. The day is going to be an experience in itself. Jaipur, the Pink City, known for it's colorful and fascinating Architecture. Your tour begins at the Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Winds, followed by a visit to the Amber Fort, riding on canopied elephants in pomp and royal style of ancient maharajas. After indulging oneself in shopping at Rajasthan, the state's handicrafts emporium for souvenirs and crafts, an exotic and sumptuous lunch awaits you . The home of the erstwhile rulers, The City Palace, now a museum, full of royal splendor and the amazing Jantar Mantar - Astronomical Observatory, are to be explored at leisure.

In the evening after a cultural program of enthralling dance and music, dinner is a celebration under the canopy of the starlit skies at exotic Jai Mahal Palace.

Undoubtedly, Jaipur is a fascinating city. Look you may from whichever way, houses, shops and havelis - they are all pink. The long walls protecting the city and the huge gateways guarding the entrance to the city are all in pink. Even the women who come to the city market from their neighboring villages are dressed in pink, gorgeous yellow, red and blue. Men dressed in white dhoti and shirts carry huge magnificent turbans - mostly pink, red and yellow. Jaipur, like the entire Rajasthan, loves color and pink more often than not.

Attractions of Jaipur
Hawa Mahal - The Palace of Winds
The City Palace of Jaipur is the royal residence, the tallest structure in the whole complex and received additions from various maharajas till all further additions were ruled out. But even before this, within sixty years of its construction, the City Palace had to accommodate a new extension of the zenana quarters. It was originally conceived to enable ladies of the royal household to watch everyday life on the streets and royal processions. This was the Hawa Mahal. As against the popular belief, it is not really a palace. Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) is a five-storey building in pink splendor with carved trelliswork and lies on the main street of the old city.

Approached from the City Palace side, you would find yourself in a spacious courtyard guarded by a stately deorhi (door). Today it houses a small museum to present a mini jharokhas of art and craft. But above these two storeys, only the eastern wing has three storeys of small intimate chambers. These apartments have only small windows for admitting light and air. This arrangement looks curious from the roadside. "Come to the window, sweet is the night air" as John Keats would have said to these charming little windows.

Amber Fort
Amber Fort in Jaipur is a beautiful complex of palaces, halls, pavilions, gardens and temples built over a period of two centuries. From the base one can either walk up or ride a caparisoned elephant. Ready to be completely overawed by the magnificence of the grand fort. Amber is the classic romantic Rajasthan fort-palace. Built in 1592 by Man Singh its walls depict painted scenes of huntg with precious stones and mirrors set into the plaster.

In the foreground is the Maota Lake with breathtaking reflections of the magnificent Amber Fort-Palace. The Kachhwajas built the Amber palace when they rose in eminence and power under the Mughals. Diwan-I-Aam has a double row of columns with elephant-head brackets, which had to be covered with stucco to escape the jealous eye of Jehangir. Ganesh Pol, entrance portal to inner palaces, is the most magnificent portal in Rajasthan. Amber is undoubtedly the grandest achievement of Rajput architecture.

After the memorable visit to Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort, the two world renowned attractions of Jaipur, we will proceed for shopping in Jaipur, the place to shop until you drop !

Shopping in Jaipur
And yes, how can you miss the shopping in your Jaipur tour. Jaipur is the place to shop until you drop ! It has a plethora of handicrafts ranging from grimacing papier-mache puppets to exquisitely carved furniture. You will have to bargain hard though - this city is accustomed to tourists with lots of money and little time to spend it. Shops around the tourist traps, such as the City Palace and Hawa Mahal, tend to be more expensive. Jaipur is especially well known for precious stones, which seem cheaper here than elsewhere in India, and is even better known for semiprecious gems. There are many shops which offer bargain prices, but you do need to know your gems. Marble statues, costume jewelry and textile prints are other Jaipur specialties. Popular attractions of shopping in Jaipur.

Lunch
After a jubliant and excellent shopping experience in Jaipur, a land steeped with heritage, picturesque with exquisite architecture. Then we will proceed to Palace Hotel, Jaipur for lunch. After the lunch program in palace hotel, we will further proceed to view the other best known attractions of Jaipur that include Jantar Mantar and City Palace.

Jantar Mantar
The Timekeeper Of Celestial Bodies
The Jantar Mantar was conceived as a quest for discovering the mysteries of the Cosmos. The Jantar Mantar is a corruption of the Sanskrit word yantra mantra meaning instruments and formulae. It was built not only to verify astronomical observations made at Jaipur, but also to stimulate interest in astronomy, which had become enmeshed in theory, superstition and religious jargon. Following the style of an observatory at Samarkand, huge masonry instruments were built, keeping in mind the rules of astronomy, the position of the equator, latitudes and longitudes.

Commissioned by Emperor Muhammad Shah, to correct the existing astronomical tables and fix planetary positions anew, Sawai Jai Singh-II, accomplished the task in seven years and for this task, built the first stone observatory in Delhi in 1724 and in Jaipur in 1728. Apart from being a permanent memorial to his genius, is secured for him a place along with such distinguished observatory builders like Prince Ulugh Beg, Tycho Brahe and John Flam steed.

City Palace
The City Palace is the core of the royal residences in Jaipur. Each new Maharaja made his own additions to Sawai Jai Singh's original city palace. Chandra Mahal, private palace of the ruler, is approached through a number of courtyards. Mubarak Mahal, in the first courtyard, is a guesthouse now used as a textile museum. A magnificent gateway with a grand door in brass is to be crossed to reach the Diwan-I-Khas in a stately courtyard. It is an open hall with a double row of columns with scalloped arches. On display here are two gigantic silver urns used by Madho Singh II to carry water from the holy Ganges on board the ocean liner when he traveled to London in 1902. These are the largest silver vessels in the world - 242.7 kilograms of silver was required to cast each urn, which could contain 8182 gallons of water. These urns figure in the Guinness Book of World Records.