Jaipur
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Encounters Travel is a small-group adventure tour operator offering lively, good value India Tours, such as Indian Express's highlights, Indian Spice including Amritsar and Dharamsala, Temples and Palaces including Varanasi and Khajuraho and the amazing Rajasthan Explorer! |
A solid silver pot outside the City Palace Museum in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
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Jaipur is a large city, the capital of Rajasthan and one the best planned cities in India - for the time. It was carefully laid out with wide streets in a Mandala grid in 1727 by the Maharaja of Amber.
The whole city was painted pink in 1853 to welcome Britain's Prince of Wales, and has remained that colour ever since.
A typical Jaipur street scene.
Apart from wandering the dusty pink streets Jaipur has a good number of tourist attractions such as
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the spectacular and opulent City Palace complex - that includes the Hawa Mahal and the Peacock Door (see below).
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the water-cooled Jal Mahal summer palace.
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the amazingly advanced celestial observatory of Jantar Mantar built in 1734 (see below).
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the Nahargarh Fort that offers great views over Jaipur but not much else.
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the brilliant Amber Fort and its sparkling interior (most tourists go there by elephant taxi).
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neighbouring Jaigarh Fort for gardens and views; and a handful of little temples.
Jaipur's number one attraction, the City Palace complex.
Inside the City Palace, part of which is the current Maharaja's home.
The famous Peacock Door of the City Palace.
The Hawa Mahal
The Wind Palace, part of the City palace, was created in the shape of Krishna's crown to keep the Maharaja's harem cool. The 953 windows allow in the breeze while permitting the ladies to discreetly observe life on the street. Hawa Mahal was built in red/pink sandstone in 1799.
Jantar Mantar observatory
This hugely impressive and avant-garde astronomical observatory built in 1734 by order of Maharaja Sawai Singh II, near the City Palace. Ten years earlier the same Maharaja had a Juntar Mantar built in Delhi, so this was an improved version, OS 1.2. Click for more Jaipur Pictures.
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