Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Quote of the post: "A perfect destination for a traveler. From the top of the fort, witness the pink city Jaipur and its rich history." - Quote about Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur by Sachin Kumar Gupta

Jaigarh Fort is approx 15 km away from Jaipur city, and famous for the largest canon on wheels of the early modern era. This was our next destination after visiting Amer Fort. One our way to the hill, we were compelled by the beautiful scenery to take moment pauses; and pauses couldn't go without we clicking the pics. Yes, we took a lot of snaps covering the panoramic view of the pink city Jaipur and mesmerizing Jalmahal with the green hills behind.

The fort was built by Sawai Jai Singh II to protect Amer Fort, and was named "Jaigarh" after him. This is also called the Victory Fort of Rajasthan. At the entrance, Dungar Darwaza stands strong to depict the power and love for art, the king possessed. One would be startled as we were to see the layout plan covering the fort with thick walls of red sandstone. 

Jaigarh Fort (B in map below) Timings: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Entrance fee: INR 35 for Indian Tourists and INR 85 for Foreign Tourists.

Jaipur Forts Map

The highlights of the Jaigarh fort are its cannons, palaces, greenery,  cannon foundry, several temples, a tall tower, etc. The fort also houses a collection of weapons, puppets and ancient coins; but the best attraction of the place is that it is the home for the largest cannon on wheels in the world. One can also get the personal vehicles inside the fort with extra charges, saving some time, covering all points and avoiding walk by foot. But we opted by foot. There are approx 30 points within the fort complex with adequate signs.

*Jaivana Cannon: The canon named "Jaivana" was built in precincts of Jaigarh fort weighing 50 tons. A plaque at the entrance to the enclosure where the Jaivana Cannon is displayed gives relevant information on the history of the Cannon, its size and use. It is mounted on wheels and has the mechanism to turn it 360° enabling it to fire in any direction. A tin shade was built to protect the cannon against weather. There's even a notice here which proudly says, "because of the strong defense system, management and the foresightedness of the rulers, the enemy never dared to enter the fort." One more important caution - Beware of the black-faced monkeys  :p

*A central watch tower on a raised ground provides excellent vistas of the surrounding landscape.

*Tanks and Water Reservoirs: The water supply for fort facilities is met by stored water via Rainwater Harvesting. These tanks were searched for hidden treasure stashed for gemstones and jewelry. However after a three-month search by army unit had found no treasures. It was then conjectured that Sawai Jai Singh probably used the treasure to build the city of Jaipur.

*Rajasthan Handicrafts Center:  See and shop arts & crafts of Rajasthan for more on block printing. Shops at the complex also sell gems, jewelry, textiles, antiques and other handicrafts. However, prices are quite high here. By the time we completed visiting the tanks, it started raining and were quite hungry. To our rescue, we found one and only restaurant in the premise.

*Armory and Museum: The Armory's interesting part to see a 50-kg cannonball. This also houses a collection of guns, weapons, ancient coins and some cannon inside. The museum exhibits of photographs of the Royalty of Jaipur, stamps and many artifacts.

*There are two vintage temples within the fort complex, one is the Rama Hari Har temple of the 10th century and the other one is the Kal Bhairav temple of 12th century vintage. We spent 10-15 minutes at the temples. At that time we found unique combination of pigeons, parrots, and other birds flocking together. We also a few camels roaming around.

*Cannon foundry: It is one of the few surviving medieval foundries in the world. It has a furnace, lathe, tools and a collection of cannons. Most of the canons inside were massive. Because of the abundance of iron ore mines in the vicinity of the fort, it became one of the world's most efficient cannon foundries. One of them is famous Bajrang Ban.

*Jaigarh Tunnel: This subterranean passage was meant as an escape route in times of war for the royal family members and others in the Amer Fort to shift to the more redoubtable Jaigarh Fort. It is said that now it is open from Madho Singh Than near Rang Mahal (Amer) to Ganesh Pol in Jaigarh fort. 

*There are various other structures that we checked out too, such as open halls. After that we entered through another gate, and go through Subhat Niwas, Lakshmi Vilasa, Puppet House and zig-zag rooms. 

*From the top corner of the fort, One can easily mark the amazing Amber (Amer) Fort and Maota Lake near Amer village in Jaipur. While from another courtyard we see the panoramic views of pink city Jaipur and mesmerizing Jalmahal. We took many snaps from the top corner of the fort. The fort was never conquered in battle, and was also the strongest of the three forts - Amber, Jaigarh and Nagargarh in Jaipur (A, B, C in the map). 2.5 to 3 hours are enough to explore this full-fledged citadel. The Jaigarh Fort is definitely worth a visit, if you are in Jaipur. We couldn't enjoy the light and sound show because of time constraints. Next moving to Nahargarh Fort.