So, for the people who have a passion like me to travel and explore all the magnificent cities of the country, I would like to share my tour experience to Jaipur – the capital city of the Land of Kings – home to the temples and forts or to be more specific – the ‘Place of boundless Charm’.
Jaipur being the capital of Rajasthan is also the largest city of the state. It is considered among the ten best cities of the country.
Now, a question which came up to my mind before visiting to the city why not blue or orange, why only is it known as pink city????
And the answer to this which I got after the trip was because of the pink coloured houses, shops and institutions spread all over the city which actually kept me amazed for a while. And after this I became more excited to explore such an ‘amazing’ city.
- Jaipur is a city with splendid palaces, its vibrant markets and a remarkable tourist destination. It is also the ‘first planned city of India’.
- It is a city of great variety with an excellent blend of Mughal and Rajput essence of architecture and culture in old buildings.
- Most palaces here are made up of red and white sandstone and white marble.
- The city is loaded with numerous malls, multiplexes, cinema halls, clubs, fast food joints and coffee shops. Nevertheless, in this fast pace of time, Jaipur has maintained its erstwhile charm which can be observed during the visit of the city.
My Tour:
One day , sitting idle after our exams , me and my sister were giving a thought on the place to visit as our vacations were soon going to be over. Then, after surfing all over the net , and still left being more confused, a splendid idea of a splendid place came from our parents – the place being ‘JAIPUR’. We planned to leave for the place the next morning.
First day of the trip:
All the four of us got up early in the morning, got ready and left for the city to enjoy the leftover vacations to the maximum possible level.
We took up the Delhi- Jaipur highway which is fabulous with many roadside dhabas like the Delhi-Punjab highway. It took a total of 4-5 hours to reach Jaipur.
Due to the instant plan , we were unable to do a prior booking in any hotel but the city encompasses grand palace hotels. The hotels of the city are exquisite and regal, abodes of the Kings and their families , the royalty can still be sensed during the stay in hotels such as Oberoi’s, Raj Vilas, Rajputana and Ram Bagh Palace.
Ram Bagh Palace
We finally made our stay in a hotel named Arch Inn on MI road which was very near to both, the railway station and the famous bus station of Jaipur-‘Sindhi Camp’.
As soon as we got the accommodation, all of us got freshened up quickly and in the meanwhile our dad also made the arrangement of a guide which was provided to us by the hotel itself.
The guide then told us the names of the must visit sights in Jaipur namely –
- City Palace
- Nahargarh Fort
- Hawa Mahal
- Jaigarh Fort
- Jantar Mantar
- Amer Fort
- World Trade Park
- Jaipur Zoological Park
- Raj Mandir
All of us became very excited for the tour after hearing the names of these attractions in the city. We first had our lunch in a restaurant named Townhouse on MI road whose food proved to be very delicious.
Then our guide pointed out the ‘Raj Mandir theatre’ besides the restaurant. When we entered Raj Mandir, we observed that this theatre was not like any other normal theatre. In fact, it was unparallel in terms of beauty and architecture. It had a mesmerizing interior and a magnificent exterior which actually gave a royal essence to the tourists visiting there. Then, our guide told us that this theatre was built in 1976 but it still maintained its beauty as well as cost. Then, after watching a movie there, our guide told us that we are next going to see the ‘City Palace of Jaipur’.
Then we hired a taxi to go to the City Palace and while travelling we saw that the Metro Rail Project was going on in the city which would transform the traditional Jaipur city to an ultra modern high tech city soon.
As soon as we entered the Palace, we got amazed by seeing the beauty it had. Then, the guide told us that this is the place where the King of Jaipur lives till date. The palace also had an incredible museum where the most amazing treasures were held by the Jaipur royal family. The museum is also known as “Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum”. He was the tenth King of Jaipur. This museum also had a giant dress of the King.
The palace was very delicately carved. It had a dancing area where professional dancers used to perform for the King. We roamed all over the palace , exploring much and much for the day. Then ,finally after enjoying the royalty of the palace , we left for the next spot.
The next sight was “Hawa Mahal” which was very near to the Palace. As the name suggests, when we entered the mahal , we actually realised that it was the ‘Palace of Winds’ where cold winds were striking us and making us enjoy and relax.
Our guide told us that this palace was made by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It was made of red and pink sandstone. The information boards inside the palace said that this mahal is dedicated to Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha. This place was used by the Kings to have fresh air and truly speaking this place really enchanted me a lot too.
Then, as the day was coming to an end and we all became very tired , the guide suggested us to end the day by having our dinner near the World Trade Park or at the GT complex. Then, we went to WTP (World Trade Park) and were mesmerised by seeing its mesmerizing exterior of the complex. The guide told that WTP is an immense infrastructural transformation taking place in the city.
It was a shopping cum business centre with retail outlets, exhibition halls, offices and an art gallery.
After buying some of the amazing and unique things from the art gallery, we had our dinner in the Gaurav Tower complex. Again, the food served their was very good to have after an excited as well as a tiring day.
After this, we came back to our hotel and slept early so that we all be perfecty refreshed for the next day.
Second day of the trip:
The next morning after having our breakfast in the hotel, we left for visiting the Forts of the Royal City.
First, we went to the Amer or Amber Fort. This place was quite crowded because of the fact that it was a popular tourist attraction. There was a ‘Sheesh Mahal’ or a ‘Mirror Palace’ in the fort which I liked the most.
This also helps in creating a cool climate all around in the hottest weather. There is also a Sila Devi Temple inside the fort which was very nice. Our family also enjoyed an “Elephant Safari” in the fort which was once in a lifetime experience.
I enjoyed visiting the fort thoroughly. Then, we went to the Jaigarh Fort whose path was from within the Amer Fort only. Amer Fort had a canal or tunnel type thing which led to the entrance of Jaigarh Fort. It was told to us that this tunnel was made by the fighters of the ancient time so that they can get help from either of the two forts hiding from their enemies during a fight. Walking through this passage was actually an adventurous and a remember able experience for all of us. Then, finally we reached Jaigarh Fort which appeared to be a rugged fort. It was situated in between the hilly areas. This fort had a wonderful water storage system. It had the largest canon on wheels in the whole world which is known as ‘Jai Van’.
Then, after seeing this fort, we next went to the Nahargarh Fort . But, as we all became very tired , we admired its beauty from outside only. The guide told us that this fort was named after a local deity-Nahar Singh. He also told us that the speciality of this fort was its lighting during the night time. This fort looks very beautiful and lighted on the Diwali night and the people from far away including the foreigners come to see and appreciate its beauty that day.
Then, after this we went back to the hotel to take some rest because our evening was planned to visit the bustling Bazaars of the city.
After getting relaxed in the afternoon, we all got ready to visit the “Jowhri Bazaar” near Hawa Mahal. Jowhri Bazaar was very colourful and crowded. That market was famous for Rajasthani jewellery as it had a lot of gold, silver and studded jewellery shops. It also had Jaipuri quilts,bedsheets,bandani dupattas,etc. The visitors of these bazaars can never return empty handed, as the captivating artifacts, abundantly colourful textile and various other products are so irresistible and therefore, these bazaars enchant every heart of the city.
Jaipur is also known for the traditional handicrafts, leather items, etc. which are available here in the best quality at very cheap rates. At last, we had the delicious street food of the market as our dinner to have a taste of the western side food of the country. We ate Rajasthan’s famous- ‘Dal, bati and churma’ without which our trip would have been incomplete. I would like to tell you people that the food in Rajasthan is “rich in oil and spices”. After having the yummy dinner, we came back to our hotel and packed our bags as we had to leave for Delhi next afternoon. This thought was not so good for sure but we had no options as our vacations came to an end and we had to join our school back soon.
Third Day of the Trip:
On the third and the last day of the trip , we got up early and got ready as we had two more places to visit that day. First,we went to “Jantar Mantar” which as its name suggests had a very brilliant but a little confusing infrastructure. Me and my sister enjoyed that place a lot as, to us it appeared a place from where getting out appeared impossible which we also wanted(not to go home back from such a marvellous city). Jantar Mantar was actually a scientific place, which had gadgets to measure the time, latitude and longitudes. This place same as the other sights of the city proved to be unique and a great experience for all of us.
Finally, the time came to leave the ‘City of Royalty – Jaipur’. We all bid a goodbye to the city and took the Delhi-Jaipur highway to reach back home again.
I am sure that after going through this article, you will also plan a trip to Jaipur. If you are still confused, do not think , just plan a trip to Jaipur next vacation. I assure you that you will really remember the trip to Jaipur forever.
This is a guest port written by Simran Gupta
Simran from New Delhi, an engineering student by profession. You people might have heard the crowd being shopaholic, foodaholic, etc., but she is the person who is a ‘travelaholic’ or to be grammatically correct- a ‘Backpacker’.