Jaipur
Jaipur is the bustling capital of India’s largest state, the desert region of Rajasthan, and has a population of nearly 3 million people. It is often referred to as “The Pink City” as many of the historic buildings in the old town are painted in this colour that traditionally signifies welcome, and was originally done to mark the visit of Queen Victoria’s son Albert Prince of Wales (Later Edward VII) in 1876. The old town is surrounded by a town wall with seven gates, all of which are still in use, and houses many beautiful, spectacular buildings that draw thousands of tourists here from all over the world.
Among these the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is perhaps the most famous and most photographed. This building in not a palace itself, merely a facade with 953 windows built as an extension of the zenana, or women chambers, of Jaipur’s City Palace, to allow the royal ladies to observe everyday life without being seen. The beautifully decorated City Palace is still home of the Royal Family and is not just an architectural attraction, it also houses a museum and a fine observatory dating back to the early 1700s.
On a hill top approx. 11km north of Jaipur lies the impressive Amer Fort in the small town of the same name. This large, very beautifully decorated and very well preserved fortress has been included on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites, together with five other fortifications in Rajasthan. Many tourists make the last part of the climb up to Amer Fort on elephant back, but here at Askari Tours we recommend simply walking up as we believe elephants should not be kept under the conditions that are imposed on them here, where many elephants are housed close together in urban surroundings in a hot, dry climate.
Highlights:
- The incredibly beautiful facade and many windows of the Hawa Mahal - the Palace of the Winds
- The fantastically decorated City Palace, which houses both a museum and an observatory
- The impressive, very well preserved Amer Fort, just north of Jaipur
High Season: October to May
