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Jaipur, which has earned the epithet 'Pink City', is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. A historical city, it finds place in most tourist itineraries in India. It is a corner of the famous Golden Triangle tour. The city is like a newly married bride adorned with pink veils. The old city of Jaipur is partially encircled with seven gates - the major gates are Chandpol, Sanganeri, and Ajmeri. The 'pink city' label, applies specifically, to the old walled quarter of the Rajasthani capital, while in the northeast of the town. Magnificent palaces and temples, in an assortment of styles, spanning centuries, are scattered throughout the predominantly urban area.

Fast Facts

Location	258 kilometers from Delhi
Area	200.4 km²
Population	2,324,319
Density	11,598/km²
Languages	Hindi, Rajasthani, and English
Best Time to Visit	October to March
Literacy	57.36%
Area Calling Code	+91- 0141

History of Jaipur
Maharaja Jai Singh, a renowned warrior and astronomer, founded the city of Jaipur. In 1727, with Mughal power on the wane, Jai Singh decided to move down from his capital hillside fortress at Amber, to a new site on the plains. A Bengali architect Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya designed the city, using the principles of town planning, as laid down in the Shilpa Shastra, an ancient Hindu treatise on architecture. He built the City Palace, and the largest stone observatory in the world, employing the same principal.

Places To Explore
Jaipur is a tourist's delight. It is an extremely colorful city with pink and orange color buildings with magical appearance. Camel drawn carts are characteristic of Jaipur's passing street scene. Some of the the most magnificent palaces of the city, are the Hawa Mahal and City Palace.

Hawa Mahal
Rajput Raja Sawai Pratap Singh, owes the honor of building this beautiful five story Mahal. Hawa Mahal is not only landmark of the Jaipur city but it is also an important tourist spot of India. Hawa Mahal is a semi octagonal building having 152 windows, which makes the building unique from the architectural point of view. Building is an excellent example of Rajput's royal style of architecture. The building was built to allow royal ladies to look at the processions and the city from the Zenana Women Quarters. The mahal presents an enormous view of the city from its windows. It is part of the City Palace complex and has a small archaeological museum on the same site. The museum has a display named “Jaipur past and present, which shows us the royal history of the city.

City Palace
City Palace presents a amalgam of Rajput and Mughal architecture. City palace is the home of seven storeyed Chandra Mahal. Maharaja Jai Singh II, built the palace. City Palace complex, is a home to several ornamented building like Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Badal Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace museums. Diwan-E-Am (Hall of public audience) has intricate decorations and collection of manuscripts, Diwan-E-Khas (Hall of private audience) has a marble pawed gallery. Mubarak Mahal has a rich collection of costumes and textiles. There is a Clock Tower near Mubarak Mahal. Sileh Khana has a collection of armory and weapons.

Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar was originally built as a collection of architectural astronomical instruments. It was built in 18th century by Maharaja Sakai Jai Singh II. Maharaja was fond of astronomy, the observatory was the result of his passion for astrology. The masonry instruments in the Jantar Mantar were used to study the movement of constellations and stars in the sky. Splendid sun-dial is still able to provide accurate time.

Central Museum
Central musem is located in the Ram Niwas garden in the south of the old city. The museum houses of the portraits of the previous Jaipur Maharajas. The royal ambience of the ancient palaces can easily be experienced here. A large collection of costumes, and woodwork from various parts of the state, and other miniatures and artworks can also be enjoyed here. There is also a zoo, and an art gallery, located in the Gardens of the central museum.

Around Jaipur
A visit to Jaipur is unending journey of culture and ancient heritage of India. There are many nearby attractions from Jaipur. About 11 kilometres out of Jaipur, Amber was once the ancient capital of Rajasthan. The Amber Fort is a stunning piece of Rajput architecture.

The Cenotaphs of the royal family are at Gaitore, there are cenotaphs of the royal family of Jaipur. Opposite the Cenotaphs, is the Jal Mahal Palace, in the middle of a lake, and reached by a causeway. Nahargarh Fort is 6.5 km away, and is floodlit at night. Jaigarh Fort, built in 1726, is within walking distance of Amber. Some other attractions for the tourists in Jaipur are, the Temple of Sun God at Galta, Sisodia Rani palace and gardens, Vidyadhar's garden, Balaji and Sanganer.

How to Get There
By Air: Jaipur is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Aurangabad, Calcutta and Varanasi by domestic flights.

Bus: Jaipur can be accessed from all the major places in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai by bus. Luxury buses are also available, to make your journey comfortable.

Train: Trains are best means of transport to enjoy the journey as sight seeing is freely and easily available by train. Jaipur can easily accessed by train from any part of India.