Jaipur in a day

Quote of the Post: "A historic and beautiful Pink City Jaipur is the world-wide admiration place to visit for all ages and groups." - Quote about Jaipur by Sachin Kumar Gupta

'Pink City' Jaipur is 'the city of victory', which was built in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh-II. Jaipur was the first planned city of its time. A strong wall encircles the old city, which was built with an aim to protect it. Jaipur city is arranged in nine rectangular city sectors through different gates. It has wide straight avenues, roads, streets and uniform rows of shops on either side of the main bazaars. The city itself is an attractive creation worthy of word-wide admiration. Jaipur offers an array of attractions for tourists. Mesmerizing palaces and monuments, comfortable and luxurious hotels, parks, gardens, etc make Jaipur a tourist's paradise.

Pink City Jaipur view from hill near Jaigarh Fort

For us it was nice time with family as we reached Jaipur city by train, and stayed near Railway station next to Polo Victory Mall in Golden Hotel. We spend there 4 days including visit to Ajmer and Pushkar. This is quite different post of mine, that will help Jaipur visitors to plan better. 

If you just have one day to visit Jaipur, book the taxi (or car) for the day and leave by 8 a.m. after breakfast. (as most of the places open by 9 a.m.) Keep putting +/- 10-15 minutes as per group's freedom as per timings mentioned below. Below are the must see places in Jaipur in a day. 

Places to visit in Jaipur in a day

1- 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Jaipur to Amer Fort drive.

2- 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. visit the fort

$$ Amer Fort for morning elephant ride, you may have to book this in advance in peak season. Beautiful palace adds values to it.

or

Jaigarh Fort for the world's largest canon on wheels and the views of Amer and Nahargarh fort from here.

3- 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from fort back to Jaipur city

On the way Observatory Jalmahal visit for 15 mins.

4- 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

$$ Jantar Mantar [Evening light and sound show 7:30 p.m. English and 8:30 p.m. Hindi; only if you are interested.]

5- 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. lunch timings

$$ Observatory Hawamahal from outside only

6- 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

City Palace of Jaipur, a historic landmark

7- 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Birla Temple or Govind Devji Temple during Janmastmi or festive times.

8- 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Drive to Choki Dhani that includes drive and 3 hrs entertainment with Rajasthani dance and dinner.

or Watch the latest movie in the famous and royal "Raj Mandir Cinema".

$$ Composite ticket that includes entry fees for:

[A] Amber Palace and Fort

[B] Nahargarh Fort

[C] Albert Hall

[D] Hawa Mahal

[E] Jantar Mantar

If you have two days to visit Jaipur, Click here.  

Amer Fort View from Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur

Jalmahal Jaipur

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Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Quote of the post: "Along with Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh once formed a strong defense triangle for the city. From the top of the fort, enjoy the breathtaking views of the hilly milieu like balloon ride located in a scenic backdrop of the Aravalli Hills" - Quote about Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur by Sachin Kumar Gupta

After visiting lavish Amer and Jaigarh Fort, we approached towards the 'Nahargarh Fort', which formed a strong defense for Jaipur city. It is built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1734. Nahargarh Fort is connected to the Jaigarh Fort through its fortifications. This Place was a picnic spot for the Royal family. One can easily reach Nahargarh Fort of Rajasthan from the city by taking local Buses or by hiring local Taxis. Hire an autorickshaw from Amber Fort (A) and take a round trip of nearby places like Nahargarh Fort (C) and Jaigarh Fort (B). It might set you back by about INR 250-300, but the views are going to be worth every penny.

Pink City Jaipur Forts Map

Nahargarh Fort Timings: 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Entrance fee: INR 20 for Indian Tourists and INR 50 for Foreign Tourists.

*On the left of Tadigate exists the holy shrine of "Lord Sudershan" or Govind Devji. Initially the fort was dedicated to him and named as Sudershangarh. Later, it was given a new name, Nahargarh which means 'abode of tigers'.

*The awe-inspiring palace "Madhavendra Bhawan" built by Sawai Madho Singh exists within the center of the fort. This palace is excellent mix architecture of Indian and European styles. From top of the roof you can enjoy the views of Man Sagar lake and the vast sprawling city of Jaipur like the balloon ride. The two storied palace is divided into nine similar apartments. Each apartment is a double storied building which contains a lobby, bedroom, toilet, store, kitchen etc designed as per the needs of royal families. The walls are beautifully decorated with paintings and minutes of information which are clear even today. 

The Nahargarh Fort of Rajasthan was used as a retreat for the ladies of the royal household. The Women quarters were set up in a tricky way that the Maharaja could pay a visit to any queen’s room without the familiarity of the other queens. Other structures inside the palace include Diwan-I-Aam, an open air enclosure where the king met the common men and listened to their problems and complaints. 

*Terrace of the Fort: This was the best part of the fort to visit. Once you are on top of the fort, enjoy the breath taking views of pink city Jaipur from Nahargarh Fort. Jantar Mantar is one of the five astronomical observatories in western central India. Other places worth visiting nearby are the City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jalmahal, Jaigarh Fort and Amer Fort. We can easily finger point these places from this fort-top. I could not resist myself from clicking the views in the frames, neither could Meenal and Tanuj.

*The Nahargarh Fort, in contrast to the other forts of Rajasthan, is neither very massive nor very crowded. As such it offers a perfect retreat for all those who wish to spend some quiet moments with themselves. The tranquility offered by the fort draws many tourists from far and wide. This pleasure palace of Rajasthan is one of the most loved picnic spot today. It looks most classy when floodlit at night. The fort overlooks the city and presents a glittering view of the city lights. 

*Bawdi is the water tank, Though the water inside is quite dirty. 

*Durg cafeteria is located just above the entrance and provides refreshment for the tourists. 

*The Padao restaurant situated in the western part is open only in the evenings and sells drinks to its customers. You can enjoy classy and glittering views when floodlit at night. 

The wonderful trek from the foot of the hill to the top, where the fort is located, is truly a great experience. Some famous scenes of the Bollywood movie 'Rang De Basanti' were shot at Nahargarh fort. 1.5 to 2 hours would be good enough to explore this fort by foot. What I saw was interesting enough to write about.. I would recommend a visit here if you are ever in Jaipur, specially for 2 days visit in Jaipur!

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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.

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