Jaipur is not a City, Jaipur is a feeling
A bit of cliche I know, but not all cliches are bad, are they? Jaipur indeed is a feeling.
The honking of vehicles on the road, sun shining, Auto walas asking you, the aroma of daal baati and kachori and at the same time magical Rajsthani culture, Royal Palaces and Mahals, pink-hued walls anywhere you look, Jaipur has it all. This blog would be a hitchhiker’s guide to Galaxy, I mean a beginner’s guide to Jaipur.
A bit of history
The king of Jaipur painted the whole city Pink, hence called the Pink City(the city is not exactly pink, it’s Magneta). The king of Jaipur, Maharana Pratap was loyal to the Mughal King and the princess of Jaipur, Jodha was married to Mughal King Akbar. It was a really nice transformation from seeing where Jodha lived her life in a Mughal palace to where she was raised in a Rajputana palace, kind of watching her life in reverse. Fresh back from Agra, I was witnessing a part of Mughal history. And now in Jaipur, the Rajputana history was on display.
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Now visiting Jaipur
I had a two day itinerary planned for Jaipur. I travelled from Agra to Jaipur. The connection to Jaipur is very good from every part of India and a lot of trains are stationed on Jaipur. I felt September/October is the best time to visit Jaipur, the weather is still bearable, clean blue skies and the tourists haven’t started flooding in yet, hence everything is just a bit cheaper and readily available. Jaipur is a treat if you love history. It is a treat, even if you don’t. And hands down one of the most picturesque places I have ever been to. The vivid pink-hued and yellow walls convey a feeling someone placed them there anywhere you turn and boy you should see them during the evenings. Just grab a drink, sit on a balcony and see the evening turn into a night in Badi Chaupar, I cannot think of better ways to spend an evening.
Places to visit
I bookmarked all the places to go, the places to eat, so you don’t have to do it, you’re welcome. You can find the map here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4VXitDgdVW13ppL89
The Hawa Mahal, Amer Palace and the Sunset at Nahargarh fort are not to be missed.
How I managed my itinerary
I feel a 3 days itinerary to Jaipur would be perfect. You would be able to cover a lot of places, and you can also enjoy Jaipur at your pace. If you don’t have much time, as I, you can leave few of the places out and make a 2-day itinerary.
As evident on the Map, the places to go to in Jaipur are roughly divided into inside city and outside City. I planned to go to the places outside of City on day 1, and on the second day, planned to roam around inside the city, taste the cuisine, street food, do some shoppings and what not.
Day 1
Breakfast at Samrat Sweets (link from the map)
Visit Amer Fort
Lunch
Visit Panna Meena ka kund
Nahargarh fort and Museum
Sunset at Nahargarh fort
Dinner at Cocktail Room
Back to the hotel
Places I left out:
You can squeeze in Jal Mahal, as it is on the way to Amer fort while travelling from the city. I see a lot of fuss about it, but honestly, it was nowhere near as picturesque and pretty as other palaces in Jaipur. But if you don’t want to miss out, it is pinned on the map. I also left out Jaigarh fort, as it was inconvenient to reach there by foot and by a jeep was really expensive. Instead, I visited the fort again, and took pictures. I am here only for the pictures.
Day 2
I got a teaser of the inside city, busy streets, pink hued houses, Hawa mahal on the first day on the back of the scooter. So I couldn’t wait to walk on those streets, feel like a local for once. The second day itienary looked something like this:
(Write about these places individually)
Breakfast
Visit City Palace
Lunch
Lassi at Ramchanrdra Kulfi Bhandar
Visit Johri Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar
Evening at Hawa Mahal Cafe
Take Hawa Mahal pictures from every angle possible
Take the night train to Udaipur
Places I left out:
One of the places I bookmarked, but didn’t manage to visit was Patrika Gate. I went to bed a little late on Day 1, so didn’t wake up super early. Patrika Gate is located near the Airport, so it just a bit outside of the City. I think this place is really something, but when you have seen the Amer fort, the City Palace and the streets of Jaipur, I don’t think you’ll see anything different there. But if I had a chance to do it again, I would perhaps wake up a little early and start the day from Patrika Gate. A lot of Youtube videos and blogs, a lot, mark Jantar Mantar as a place to be, but the whole idea of seeing some scientific discoveries didn’t fascinate me. I came to Jaipur to see the palaces and taste the food and that I will.
Getting to Jaipur
- Trains
- IndiGO
Getting around
- Uber/Ola: Please for the love of god, install this app on your phone. You are going to save millions. It feels like Millions the Autowalas dupe from you, even more when you have a tourist look. You can see the price on the Uber to your destination, and bargain with the auto walas accordingly.
- I really liked the option of two-wheelers in Jaipur. It is cheaper than renting an auto or a 4-wheeler, and also you can see more of Jaipur on 2 wheelers. The city is alright clean, so you can just roam around in 2 wheelers, feel the wind on your face and see Jaipur up close, if you will.
- Taking the subway: Maybe most underestimated, but surprisingly cheap and easy way of getting around is taking the metro. There is only one route, so it should be pretty straightforward. The google maps is not very helpful when choosing this as medium, but you can plan your trip from the metro stations. Trust me, it’s easier than it sounds. You got this !!
Stay
I always prefer to stay inside the city and near the happening places. From my experience, you end up paying the almost same amount of money on taxi or vehicles, you cannot stay out until late and you don’t get to see all the happenings. So, I think the few extra bucks is worth it. I stayed near the Buspark, which was reachable on foot from many happening places as well as with the Metro.
The ratings on the Booking.com might not reflect the quality of the hotel since every hotel in India has an “Exceptional” badge, so you might have to look into the pictures, google reviews as well. I booked my stay at: and the hotel was pretty decent.
Suggestions
If I had one more day in Jaipur, I would definitely make time to see some puppet show, see Rajasthani cultural programs and live music. I was not able to fit that into my itinerary, but I am very sure you can find them on the internet or if you asked the locals around. (They will be more than happy to have their say)
Also, seeing the inside of the Hawa Mahal is also some experience, although I didn’t have enough time to do it.
Don’ts
Fall into the whole trap of in-house clothes, paintings and gems, at least I didn’t find it convincing. You can find the same stuffs in Johri Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar at much lower rates.
So that was my 2 day itinerary. I have admired the culture, architecture, the royalness, the beauty, the food, the overall ambiance so much. If you are planning a visit to India, you need to visit Jaipur, trust me on this.
Next on the show is Udaipur diaries. And before I let you go, you know this, you know what’s coming next. This is where I ask you to follow me on my socials, insta and pinterest. If this was of any help to you, I would love to hear it from you. Cheers !
Also, say hi to Jaipur for me.
Khamma Ghani
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Total Word Count
Approximately 1,200–1,600 words, depending on the depth of content and optional sections.