Jaipur

Jaipur the City of Victory was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727. It is the only city in the world symbolizing the nine divisions of the Universe through nine rectangular sectors sub-dividing it.

The architect who formalized the city’s plans on the Shilpa Shastra, the epic Hindu treatise on architecture, mixed it with the Mughal and Jain influences of those times.

The city was painted pink in 1853 in honour of the visit by Prince Albert. Except for the busy traffic of bicycles, cars and buses, little seems to have changed.

Jaipur Highlights

Old City
A cluster of historic monuments, the old city is perhaps the most happening place for tourists, bursting with fascinating sights and sounds. 

Jantar Mantar
Open daily from9 am to4:30 pm, the Jantar Mantar is equipped with futuristic scientific instruments and is the best among the five observatories pioneered by Maharaja Jai Singh II, 'Newton of the East'. 

Hawa Mahal
Near Jantar Mantar stands thePalace ofWinds, more commonly known as the Hawa Mahal, welcoming the onlookers. The 500 windows are reminiscent of the furtive glances of royal women who had resigned themselves to a veiled existence within the havelis. 

City Palace
Enter the palace from the Sireh Deorhi Gate where two elephants extend a warm welcome. Mubarak Mahal in the outer courtyard hosts a museum that flaunts rich silks and brocades alongwith musical instruments from 17th century onwards. The magnificently painted ceiling of the Diwan-e-Am (the public court) in the inner courtyard houses the second largest chandelier inIndia. There are many other displays of intricate artwork here. 

Sheesh Mahal
Sheesh Mahal inAmberPalace is known for its multiplication of a single ray of light into billions of stars. TheKaliTemple's silver door is 400 year old while theJagatShiromaniTemple is a fine example of exquisitely carved marble. 

Jaigarh Fort
A stark change from the glamorous interiors of theAmberPalace, the rugged and stocky Jaigarh Fort is perched on a hilltop near the palace. It houses the largest wheeled cannon in the world, the Jai Bana. The view of theAmberPalace and the city ofJaipur from here is stunning. Jaipur is renowned for its herbal beauty parlours where you can pamper yourself with a body massage or turmeric facial. 

NEAR TO JAIPUR 

Sanganer
Sanganer (14 km) boasts of some very beautifully carved Jain temples. Known for the largest handmade paper factory (Salim's Paper on Gramudyog Road), Sanganer also offers lovely block prints on paper as well as textiles. 

Bagru
It is located 30 kms away from Jaipur on the south west Ajmer Road 30 km. Bagru is a very small town but People from all across the world come here to take a look at this traditional craft of the town. Also attracts a huge number of tourists.

In Bagru Chippa Mohalla famous for all textile printing, this mohalla near the Sanjaria River. Its attraction is hand printed cloth industry. Well known for its Bagru prints. This technique simulates a wooden block on which the required design is first carved, and then the carved block is used for transferring the motif in the desired color on the fabric. The Bagru prints are include less range of colors which are usually deep and dark shades. This process is most effective on ethnic floral patterns and for printing in vegetable dyes in traditional Bagru Prints. Bagru prints are very famous in whole world.

Abhaneri
About 100 km from Jaipur, along the Agra-Jaipur highway, is Abhaneri. It is a simple village with awesome step-wells known as baolis in the local dialect. The temple of Balaji, a mile further up is known for its exorcisms that are scheduled on Tuesdays and Saturdays.