Wanderings in India - 4 - Jaipur - "The Pink City"

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Accommodation - Alsisar Haveli Heritage Hotel

Weather - Warm, sunny, blue sky with haze 26C

Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, was built in 1727 by the Rajput ruler, Jal Singh, and is known as the Pink City due to the pink/terracota-coloured walls of buildings throughout the old city.

In the morning we visited the magnificent Amber Fort, the site of the ancient Rajput capital which displays Mughal-style architecture with traditional Rajput influences. What a surprise, the best kept secret of the tour so far, our transportation along the path to the fort was on Shakima, an Indian elephant!! Feeling like (but not looking like) Maharaja & Maharani we entered the inner courtyard through the majestic Sun Gate atop our noble beast.

The Amber Fort was the best fort so far, protected by massive ramparts following the highest contours of the surrounding hills with a total length of 7km, the central fort consists of courtyards, gateways, halls and temples. The Sheesh Mahal magnificent in glittering light from the reflections of thousands of small mirrors and coloured glass inlaid within the walls. The Ganesh Pol a shimmering three-storeyed gateway, decorated extravagantly with mosaics, paintings and sculptures is awe-inspiring and leads through to the inner, third courtyard of the private apartments of the Maharaja. Leaving the fort to return to the tour coach is in a jeep - somewhat less exotic than our arrival at the fort!!

A tour of the city took us passed the Palace of the Winds, a tall high facade in front of the palace complex which is still the home of the Maharaja. Next stop was Sawai Jal Singh'a Jantar Mantar Observatory, an extensive collection of large astronomical constructions to calculate the time, eclipses and astrological signs by shadows cast by the sun - the time was correct when the sun was shining but of no use when cloudy or at night!!

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Photos

Ganesh Pol
The magnificant gateway leading to the private apartmenst

Comments

[Helen and Bob]

Blog 4
On an elephant? How cool is that! Lovely pics. We are green with envy xxx