One day in Jaipur

cbegolf

We are visiting Jaipur during the last week of march. We have one fullday there, Please tell us what best we can see there. I would like to know some good places to eat as well.

MrsC_772

It is possible to see the main Jaipur sites in a day: Jantar Mantar (observatory), City Palace (although there is some renovation work going on there at present), Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), and possibly Amber Fort.

Amber Fort is a few miles outside Jaipur: you'd need transport to get there. It's about a 40 minute drive, but traffic in Jaipur can be awful.

Some tourists ride an elephant up the hill to the Fort (not all the way from Jaipur!), but you have to get there early in the morning and there's a big queue. I didn't do the elephant ride (I'd read one or two worrying things about animal welfare).

When I was in Jaipur, the car picked me up from my hotel at about 8.15 am, and I saw Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar and City Palace, and was back at the hotel by about 1.30 (although that was partly due to the fact I had a disappointing guide, who didn't explain half as much as I'd have hoped). I had hoped I'd be out a bit longer, and if you had a better guide, or a good guide book, you would be.

If you need to be back in Jaipur for a particular time in the evening e.g. to get a train, you wouldn't want to do Amber Fort at the end of the day.

If you still had time to kill in Jaipur, there are always the bazaars - block printed textiles and jewellery being the traditional Jaipur souvenirs. And if you didn't have time for bazaar browsing and did want to shop, the Rajasthali govt emporium had a reasonable selection. It's towards the N.E. end of M.I. Road - I think it's just south of the Ajmer gate into the old city.