Jaipur is popularly known as the “Pink City” and is the capital and largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. In 1876 many of the buildings were coloured in terracotta pink to welcome the British Prince Albert and thus the name “Pink City” was born.

Jaipur was one of the finest planned cities in India and now has a population of around six million.

Our first visit for the day was to be the Amer Fort and to get there we had to drive north along a major street where all the buildings were terracotta pink. One of the more impressive buildings in this district was the Hawa Mahal (“Palace of Winds”). This iconic five storey palace was dedicated to Lord Krishna and was built in 1799. It was designed to allow the ladies of the King’s harem to watch the lively streets below whilst remaining unseen. The Hawa Mahal is presently undergoing a major renovation and is smothered in bamboo scaffolding but even so, the tiered Baroque-like structure has the appearance of a crown fit for Krishna’s head.

We drove about 11 km north of Jaipur and parked adjacent to Maota Lake where the grandiose Amer Fort towered above us perched on the Aravalli Hills.

Amer Fort was effectively the ‘capital’ of this whole region from 1037 until 1727 when the capital then moved to Jaipur.

To get to Amer Fort we were driven in an old ‘jeep’ from Maota Lake level to the main entrance called Chand Pol (Moon Gate) where we were immediately pestered by masses of people with souvenirs to sell.

The large courtyard we’d now entered was on a lower level to the fort complex and we were able to see the Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) that is the entrance formerly used by royalty only.

From the Chand Pol we walked up a series of gentle ramps to access the Amer Fort Complex through the Shila Devi Temple’s ornate entrance.

Diwan-e-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) from courtyard

We first visited the “27 Sattais” with its elaborate marble pillars and arches making this a stunningly attractive building.

From the windows of these offices for recording revenue petitions we could look down and see the Kesar Kyari Bagh, a square garden of star shaped flower beds built in Maota Lake. We were informed that it was once a garden for the production of saffron.

Kesar Kyari Bagh (square garden) on Maota Lake viewed from Amer Fort

We spent some time observing the intricate marble and sandstone carvings of the multiple columns in the Diwan-i-Aam courtyard. The architecture here in this so called “Hall of Public Audience” is a blending of Hindu and Islamic elements.

We then moved up a level by passing through the magnificent three storeyed gateway of Ganesh Pol built in 1640.

There was again so much to take in visually but most memorably was our time spent in the Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace).

In the mid 1640s the Maharajah imported many mirrors from Belgium to have as decorations for this palace. The effect is dramatic and despite their age, many of the mirrors and mirror ‘mosaic’ fragments are still in near perfect condition. Many photos were taken but the fisheye shots were especially effective in showing the opulence of this grandiose structure.

Nearby we photographed Aram Bagh which was the palace’s pleasure garden.

Palace garden viewed from Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace)

We moved next to a further inner courtyard where the king’s wives had their private living quarters around a central pavilion. The King (Maharajah) could look down from his private suite on the level above and watch his twelve wives relaxing or dancing in the courtyard. From this elevated point he would decide which particular wife would accompany him for the evening!

Despite the King having never lost any of his 110 battles/wars, he met his death in an accident when he fell from the high upper tower just along from his bedroom.

Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) and Garden, Amer Fort

We were mentally exhausted with the amount of information to take in at this point and with the heat of the day ever increasing, we decided we’d had enough and departed the Amer Fort after an intriguing couple of hours.

On leaving, we photographed a musician playing a type of ancient sitar. The music was hauntingly attractive but excessive exposure may have been hard to take.

We then had a brief but interesting visit to the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing. The museum is located in a restored haveli or mansion.

Our group visiting the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing sign, Jaipur

The museum displayed a varied selection of block printed textiles alongside equipment used for hand printing. Two of the museum’s craftsmen demonstrated their skills with one making a small printing block and the other showing how five different colours were added in sequence with five separate blocks to make a final coloured picture on cotton material. This short encounter with this ancient traditional art was most enlightening.

On our return to Jaipur we stopped briefly at the Man Sagar Lake to photograph the Jal Mahal (Water Palace).

Built in the 18th century by Madho Singh I when no water was present, the king then had this artificial lake formed by damming the river such that the depth of water made it look as if the palace was floating on water. The palace is not accessible to the general public.

We next arrived at the City Palace Museum which lies in the heart of the city and has been the home to the rulers of Jaipur since the 19th century. The Palace is a sprawling complex of open-air public buildings involving a blend of Rajput (Royal) and Mughal (Mongolian) architecture. The museum comprises a complex of several palaces, gardens and courtyards. We were fortunate to be able to enter the recently opened Sabha Niwas or Durbar Hall. The hall has a major collection of royal portraits and regal artefacts but the crowning glory is the vast chandelier in the central gallery.

Chandeleir, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum

We briefly viewed the seven storeyed Chandra Mahal (Moon Palace) completed in 1734 which is not open to visitors because the building is continually occupied by the descendants of Jaipur’s former Maharajas.

With limited time we took photos in one of the main courtyards where, strategically positioned around the yard were four finely painted gates; each one representing a particular season. The peacock gate dedicated to Lord Vishnu represents autumn.

Peacock artwork above Autumn Gate, City Palace

For a change of diet we made our final visitation to the ancient astronomical observatory of Jantar Mantar.

It was built in the early 18th century by Sawai Jai Singh II in order to follow and predict the movement of the sun, moon, planets and constellations across the kingdom.

The equipment is beautifully presented and extreme care has been taken to ensure the many astronomical instruments offer precise, accurate and sensible information. The data from the different and complex sun-dials offer accuracy to within 20 seconds. Some of the equipment helps predict monsoonal intensity and the possibility of floods and famine. The tracking of the celestial arc of the sun from horizon to zenith throughout the year is used in the ‘Yantra’ to monitor the twelve signs of the zodiac and hence provide horoscopes!

Jantar Mantar (Astronomical Observatory)

We finished the day with a quick trip to a fancy and expensive jewellery outlet and then to a textiles shop selling amongst other things nice hand-made carpets and rugs.

We returned to our hotel at 15:00 for rest and preparation for packing. Tomorrow we have a seven hour drive back to Delhi airport to commence the long journey home to Australia.

DAY 25: Sunday 25th May 2025 JAIPUR; INDIA

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