Jaipur
Currency
INR
Language
Hindi, Rajasthani, English
Timezone
Kolkata
Continent
Asia
Discover Jaipur
Jaipur was drawn in one go in 1727, on a grid, which makes it India's first planned city — and the facades were painted pink in 1876 to receive the Prince of Wales, hence the Pink City. The Hawa Mahal, a screen of nine hundred and fifty-three windows behind which the women of the court watched the street unseen, is its image. The Jantar Mantar, a stone astronomical observatory on the World Heritage list, holds instruments several metres tall that still read true. The City Palace is still lived in by the royal family. To the north, Amber Fort commands its lake from the ridge, and the Jal Mahal sits in the middle of its own.
When to go
October to March: twenty-five degrees by day, cool at night, clear skies. It is also the festival season — Diwali in October or November, the kite festival in mid-January, Holi in March. From April to June the heat passes forty degrees and makes the forts punishing. The monsoon, July to September, greens the desert and fills the lakes, with short downpours.
Getting around
The pink old city is walked, in noise and constant selling. Auto-rickshaw fares are agreed before getting in; Uber and Ola avoid the argument and often cost less. Amber Fort is eleven kilometres north: allow a car both ways and half a day there. A metro exists but serves few sights. A driver hired by the day is the usual arrangement for stringing the forts together.
Where to eat
Dal baati churma — oven-baked wheat balls, lentils and crushed sweetened wheat — is the Rajasthani dish. Laal maas, mutton curry with red chillies, does not forgive. Kachoris and samosas are street food for late afternoon. Lassi is drunk from clay cups thrown away after use. Vegetarianism dominates, and no halal address is listed in our data.
Good to know
The Indian rupee is the currency; mobile payment is everywhere but foreign cards do not plug into it, so carry cash. An e-visa is obtained before departure. Admission has a separate, much higher foreign rate. Selling around the monuments is intense and touts steer visitors to shops that pay them commission. And elephant rides up to Amber Fort raise a real animal welfare problem: walking up or taking a jeep is possible.
Where to Stay in Jaipur
Top Activities in Jaipur
landmarkJantar Mantar
landmarkAmber Fort
landmarkHawa Mahal
landmarkLake Palace
landmarkCity Palace
landmarkJaighar Fort
landmarkJaipur Junction
landmarkJaivan Canon
landmarkSisodiya Rani Bagh
museumAlbert Hall
landmarkBirla Mandir
Bais Godam
Jaipur Wax Museum
Jal Mahal
Free
Nahargarh WLS
Free
Nahargah Fort
Sheesh Mahal
Kesar Kyari
Free
parkRam Niwas Public Gardens
Free