Jaipur travel guide

The City of Jaipur was founded in 1727 AD by King Sawai Jai Singh. Jaipur City is popularly known as the Pink City. The pink color was used at that time of making to create an impression of the red sandstone buildings built by Mughal rulers. Jaipur has lots to offer visitors, some of the popular attractions are listed here along with a shopping guide for Jaipur. Also listed on this page is a shopping guide for Jaipur.

Popular attractions in Jaipur are:

• Sanganer
• Hawa Mahal
• Jantar Mantar
• City Palace

Sanganer Jaipur

Tourists visiting Rajasthan should make it a point to visit Sanganer, a small township situated approximately 16 kilometers away from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Known for its Jain temples and hand-printed textiles, Sanganer is a old-fashioned town with a charm of its own. Sanganer travel can involve journey by rail, road or air.

The Sanganer Airport is actually the same airport where passengers flying to Jaipur land which is about 15 Kms from the main city. On your Sanganer tour, you will get to see the grand Shri Digamber Jain Temple where intricate carvings representing an old school of architecture adorn the walls of the temple. In Sanganer you will also get a close look at their popular hand-printing textile industry.

Handmade paper is the biggest industry here. In fact, Sanganer is known all over the world for its expertise in this field. Block printing and screen- printed fabrics of Sanganer are also very famous.

Hawa Mahal Jaipur

• Hawa Mahal is also known as The Palace of Winds. It was built by Maharaja Sawai Partap Singh in 1799.
• The Palace of Winds is five stories high with small windows and screens with decorated arches.
• The Palace of Winds screens are said to be built so the women who traditionally stayed behind a veil in public could look out in privacy from behind the screens.
• Hawa Mahal is very close to the City Palace.
• While the front of the Palace of Winds is decorated in detail, the back is quite plain compared to the front.
• The Palace of Winds is best viewed in the early morning when the sun shines directly on the Palace making it glow.
• Take a camera along as you have an excellent view from the top stories.
• Admission charged from foreign tourists is Rupees 30, whereas Indian citizens are charged Rupees 10 only.

Amber Fort Jaipur

Amber Fort is located on a hillside and overlooks Lake Maota. Within the Fort lies the famous Jai Mandir with its renowned Sheesh Mahal. The walls and the ceiling of the Sheesh Mahal are covered with a beautiful display of mirrors which reflect streaks of light around so as to illuminate the entire room. The Fort can be accessed by road or by an elephant ride also which can be slow but a memorable experience.

City Palace Jaipur

The City Palace in Jaipur is also known as the Chandra Mahal or Moon Palace. It is here that the Son of the last Maharaja and his family still live in a part of the palace. Some of the buildings around the Chandra Mahal that are open to the public.

The Sawai Man Singh Museum occupies the lower floor and is open to the public. The Krishna Temple a well known temple in Jaipur is located in the Jai Niwas Garden to the north of the City Palace. The City Palace is open to visitors from 9 am to 4:30 pm.

Jantar Mantar Jaipur

The Jaipur Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observatory similar to the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. It is a collection of solid geometric shapes that were used in the past for measuring time using the position of the shadows on the geometric shapes. The observatory was also used for predicting eclipses and tracking stars.

Zoological Garden Jaipur

The Zoological Garden in Jaipur is a century old and is the oldest in India. There are a good number of birds and animals as well as a crocodile breeding ground here. The famous Zoological Garden is also known as the Jaipur Zoo.

It provides visitors with a unique opportunity to watch fascinating wildlife from close quarters. Those interested in bird watching will love this place. Over 70 species of different birds and animals from all over the world can be seen at this garden.

The Zoological Gardens are open to visitors 6 days of the week and are closed on Tuesdays. Timings in summer are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm and in winter from 9 am to 5 pm.

Tips on Shopping in Jaipur - What visitors buy and specialties made in Jaipur

What to buy

Jaipur is one of India's great shopping cities, with a cluster of crafts that are either unique to the region or at their best here:

• Kundan and Meenakari jewellery — Kundan is a method of gem setting that inserts fine gold foil between the stone and its mount, producing the richly set, flat-faceted pieces Jaipur is famous for. Meenakari is its enamelled back, often in blue, green and red.
• Precious and semi-precious gemstones — garnets, emeralds, rubies, topaz, amethyst, tourmaline and citrine, sold loose and set. Jaipur is the world's largest cutting and polishing centre for coloured gemstones.
• Block-printed and tie-dye textiles — the famous hand-block prints from Sanganer village (about 16 km from the city on Tonk Road, near the airport) and Bagru, both printed on cotton, silk and crepe. Sold as bedsheets, table linen, dress material, dupattas, scarves and running fabric.
• Bandhani and leheriya — Rajasthani tie-and-dye on silk and cotton.
• Blue pottery — Jaipur's signature Persian-influenced glazed ceramic, in cobalt, turquoise and white; vases, bowls, tiles, door-knobs and decorative plates.
• Lac bangles and lac jewellery — coloured resin bangles set with glass or semi-precious stones; Tripolia Bazaar is the traditional street for these.
• Jutis — the curled-toe leather slippers, plain or heavily embroidered.
• Hand-made paper and miniature paintings.

Where to shop

• Johari Bazaar — the traditional jewellery and gemstone bazaar; rows of established family jewellers for Kundan, Meenakari, silver and set stones.
• Bapu Bazaar — textiles, jutis, fabrics, perfumes, trinkets. One of the most enjoyable walk-through markets in the old city.
• Tripolia Bazaar — lac bangles, brass and iron work, utensils.
• Chandpol Bazaar and Kishanpole Bazaar — textiles, marble carvings and local goods, less touristy than Bapu and Johari.
• MI Road — mid-range to upmarket shops for block-prints, crafts, branded jewellery and the government emporia.
• Sanganer village — the block-printing centre itself; printing workshops and direct-from-printer shops.
• Government emporia — Rajasthali (the state-run handicraft emporium) and similar fixed-price shops are a useful price and quality benchmark even if you plan to bargain elsewhere.

Shopping tips

• Driver and guide commissions — shops that your driver or guide "recommends" typically add 20–40% to your price as their cut. Ask to be taken to a specific named shop or to the government emporium instead, or shop independently in Bapu/Johari/Tripolia on foot.
• Gemstones — get them independently valued. Anything serious should be certified by a recognised independent lab (GIA, IGI or the Gem Testing Laboratory, Jaipur) before you pay. "Certificates" issued by the shop itself are not independent. Gemstone scams in Jaipur historically include the old "take a parcel home to sell for me" — do not agree to this under any circumstances.
• Real vs. machine-printed textiles — genuine hand-block prints have small registration imperfections, a slightly fuzzy edge where the block met the cloth, and the print shows on both sides of the fabric; machine prints are crisper, perfectly aligned and faint on the reverse. Genuine Bandhani has small, irregular tie-dyed dots raised slightly from the ground; screen-printed imitations are flat.
• Silver — insist on a BIS hallmark (92.5 sterling or higher) and an authenticity certificate on any substantial piece. Check the stamp in good light.
• Bargain at the street bazaars and private shops; opening counters of about half of the first quote are normal. Shops that say "Fixed Price" usually mean it in the government emporia and some upmarket boutiques; in other shops the sign is decorative.
• Invoices — insist on a proper tax invoice for expensive purchases, especially gemstones and silver, in case of a customs query or an insurance claim.

Tips for visitors

• Best time to visit:
  • November to February — the prime window: sunny, dry, pleasant daytime temperatures (15–25 °C) and cool nights.
  • March — still manageable.
  • April to June — brutal in the Pink City: 40 °C is routine and 45 °C common in May and early June.
  • July to September — monsoon; cooler but humid with intermittent heavy showers.
• When to sight-see in summer — if you are in Jaipur in April–June, do your outdoor sightseeing (Amber Fort, Nahargarh, Jaigarh, City Palace courtyards) at sunrise to mid-morning and again from late afternoon; take a long midday break indoors or at a pool.
• Getting around
  • App taxis (Uber, Ola) work well across Jaipur and are usually cheaper than flagging a taxi.
  • Auto-rickshaws are metered in theory — either insist on the meter or agree a fare before you start. A reasonable drop charge for short in-city hops is the usual benchmark.
  • Hired car with driver for a full day is the easiest way to combine Amber, Jaigarh, Nahargarh and Jal Mahal.
  • Cycle-rickshaws work in the old city for short hops.
  • Metro — Jaipur Metro runs along a single line through the city; useful for a few specific routes but not a full sightseeing solution.
• Amber Fort elephant rides — the elephants carrying tourists up the ramp have attracted significant criticism on welfare grounds, and many visitors now prefer to walk up or take the jeep service to the top. It is a short walk or a quick jeep ride; choosing that avoids the ethical issue.
• Common gotchas
  • "Gem scam" — a friendly local suggests you can help export gems tax-free and make easy money. Walk away. There is no genuine version of this.
  • Unofficial guides at the major forts — hire only ASI/tourism-registered guides who display a photo ID.
  • Photo charges at some viewpoints and inside the City Palace — the ticket and the camera permit are separate.
• Women's safety — Jaipur is reasonably comfortable for women visitors by Indian-tourist-city standards. Normal precautions apply: dress modestly especially around temples and the old city, avoid poorly-lit areas at night, use app taxis rather than unmarked cars after dark, and consider a prepaid counter at the railway station on arrival. The Rajasthan Tourism helpline and the women's helpline 1090 are available.
• Etiquette — remove shoes at temples and dargahs; cover shoulders inside religious buildings. Photography is restricted or charged at some palace interiors — check the signs.

Traveling from New Delhi to Jaipur by Train

Jaipur is only 262 Kilometers from Delhi and well connected by road, rail and air. The best option we found to visit Jaipur from Delhi is to travel by train. If you decide to use the railways then take the fast Shatabdi train from Delhi to Jaipur and back.

Shatabdi (train number 2015) leaves New Delhi station at 6:10 am and arrives in Jaipur at 10:45 am. The train is Air Conditioned and the cost of a first class ticket is Rupees 905 (US$ 20) and includes a free breakfast. For the return trip to Delhi Shatabdi (train number 2016) leaves Jaipur Station at 5:45 pm reaching New Delhi at 10:45 pm.

These trains run daily except on Wednesdays.

Jaipur by Air

The name of the Jaipur airport is Sanganer Airport. It is about 10 kilometers from the main city. Taxis are available at the airport.

Other Jaipur attractions

• Amber Fort
• Jaigarh Fort
• Zoological Garden
• Devji Temple