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Jaipur
Capital of Rajasthan Jaipur was founded by Maharaja Sawai
Jai Singh in 1728 A.D. It is also called Pink City because most houses in
old city are pink colored. The city is surrounded by thick wall 20 feet
high and 9 feet wide with eight gates. Ajmeri gate and the Sanganeri gate
in the south, Chand Pole gate in west and the Ghat Darwaja in the east are
the main gates. The city is surrounded by the hills except in the
southwest. Fort and the temples can be seen on the hills.
How to
reach Jaipur
By Road: The city is situated 261 km
from Delhi. Jaipur can be accessed from all the major places in Rajasthan,
Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai by bus. Rajasthan roadways runs excellent
regular service of AC and Deluxe Coaches from Delhi. By Rail: The
train service to Jaipur is available from all the major parts of the
country. An excellent connection from Delhi is Shatabadi Express that
provides a fast, air-conditioned rail service. Other direct connections to
Jaipur are from Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Secunderabad, Agra,
Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta. By Air: Indian Airlines, Jet
Airways and domestic carriers operate regular flights to and from Jaipur.
Jaipur is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Aurangabad,
Calcutta and Varanasi by domestic flights.
Places of tourist interest
Hawa Mahal -This
impressive Palace - ‘Hawa Mahal’ is standing in the middle of the city. It
was built by Maharaja Pratap Singh in the year 1798 AD. The architecture
of this building is unique. It is pyramid shaped five storied building
with semi octagonal overhanging balconies placed symmetrically one over
the other with small domes and curvilinear roofs. In the era gone by the
queens used to sit in the small windows of this palace to see the
processions of the kings during festivals.
The
City Palace -
There seven gates of this palace. The main gate is called ‘
Sinha Dwar’. The name of second gate is Dunabubhir Pole. The southern gate
is called Tripoliva and the eastern gate is callede Sirah-ki-Dyodhi. The
Mubarak Mahal was built by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh.
The
Chandra Mahal -
The seven-storied Chandra Mahal is a fine example of Rajput architecture.
In this palace there are some good paintings of the Rajput school and
glass architecture. The famous temple of Govindji is in front of the
palace.
Ram
Niwas Garden -
Built by Maharaja Ram Singh in 1815 AD this place now
houses a zoological park.
Observatory -
Maharaja Swai Jai Singh was very interested in astronomy.
He built the astronomical observatory just outside of Mubark Mahal. It is
also called ‘jantar-mantar’.
Nahargarh -
Situated on a hill this fort was built in 1732 for defense
against the attacks of the Marathas. Hawa Mandir and Madhvendra Bhawan are
the some of the examples of the beautiful architecture inside this fort.
Sanganer -The
town of Sanganer is about 14 km in the south of Jaipur. There is a Jain
temple of Sanghiji, which is about a thousand year old. Mughal Empror
Akbar used to stay in the royal palace of Sanganer whenever he came to
Jaipur. Sanganer is a big center of handicrafts. |