Explore Jaipur
"The City of Victory", was first intended to be "Sawai Jaipur", named after the boy Prince who commissioned it - Maharaja Jai Singh II - a warrior, astronomer and politician who reigned over the Mughals from 1699 to 1743.
Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, a grand visionary and architect, helped Jai Singh II design and develop his vision of the city. The two began work during the second half of the Prince's reign in 1727. Concentrating on shaping his creative pursuits and passions, Jai Singh's ambition was to make Jaipur one of the greatest cities of his time. He was clearly successful. Within five years a walled city of unparalleled beauty was created.
Jaipur was built according to a plan, with the glittering City Palace in the centre. Spreading around, in tiers, were public buildings, residences of noblemen, and the living and trading quarters of merchants and artisans. At it's simplest, Jaipur was based on seven blocks of buildings, subdivided by straight, wide roads. All of it surrounded, as cities then were, by a high wall for defence into which were set seven gates.
Today's Jaipur is pink, visually described as the city shaded with the autumn colours of a sunset. Although originally the walls were render set and pigmented the colour of red sandstone, Jaipur's universal coat of pink only came in 1876 to coincide with the visit of the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII). Almost the entire city was given a coat of pink paint, thus giving it the name "The Pink City".
Tourist Attractions :
- Amber Fort
- City Palace
- Hawa Mahal
- Jal Mahal
- Jantar Mantar
- Birla Mandir
- Nahargarh Fort
- Jaigarh Fort
- Albert Hall
- Govind DevJi Temple
EXCURSIONS (Near Jaipur)
Sri Khatu Shyam Ji
Sri Jeen Mata Temple Near Pachar in the hills is a rare Temple of Sri Jeen Mata.
Harsh Temple 70km from Pachar,3000 feet above the sea level in the Aravalis,is the Harsh Temple.
Jain Temple of Pachar The Jain Temple of Pachar is decorated with intricate gold leaf and mirror work-'araish' paintings.There are also beautiful stained glass windows and chandeliers.
Sambhar Lake
Jaipur is very fortunate to have such a big source of salt. Salt is an inevitable part of ingredients in a recipe, imagine if it was scarce?
A small town named Sambhar is situated on Jaipur- Ajmer artery. The town is renowned for its lake, which has been a great source of salt for so many years. 'Sambhar' according to Hindi terminology means 'salt'. The city was named as 'Sambhar' due to its saline lake.
Jamwa Ramgarh
Jamwa Ramgarh is an ancient hunting ground that is located near the city of Jaipur and there are numerous attractions that one can see in the place. This was the hunting ground of the Maharajas of the area and the huge lake that is located in the vicinity is the main attraction of the place. The place is known for its natural beauty and the lake is surrounded by pristine hills on all sides.
Tonk and the Persian art
Tonk is located 96 kms away from Jaipur. This is a quiet town which was ruled by 'Pathans' from Afghanistan. The focal point of Tonk is the Suneri Kothi, the Golden Bungalow. A fairly ordinary looking monument from outside, it has stunningly rich ornamental interiors. There are some interesting buildings that accommodated the British office. Tonk is also famous for its leather and felt industry and one can pick up a good bargain from the markets. The Nawab of Tonk was an avid book lover and built a sizable library of Arabic and Persian manuscripts. The Arabic and Persian Research Institute is also located here.