1. Panna Menna Ka Kund
This step wells is just next to Amber fort, but I was surprised to see that only a handful of tourist who visit the Fort knows about this delightful site.
Hell, there isn’t any Wikipedia page about this 450 year old heritage site, which makes me sad. But never the less, it’s worth visiting, and so I did.
It is said that this stepwell is 450-year-old, and was mostly an evening chit chat spot for Jaipur locals. But as per me, it must be a relaxing place for deities of the 16th century temple (which is now a monument) just next to this kund.
Many tour guides may suggest you not to visit the place as it takes an extra hour from their time, but if you are a travel freak like us, the Panna Meena ka Kund is worth visiting. From Amber fort, this place is just 2 km.
2. Sheesh Mahal
The Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) is the most famous and beautiful part of Amber Fort. You must remember the song of the famous bollywood Classic Film ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ i.e. “pyaar kiya toh darna kya”, yes, it was shot in Sheesh Mahal. That song filmed beautifully but the all credit goes to the beauty of Sheesh mahal. The Walls and ceiling of this hall is carved with beautiful paintings and flowers and that too made with pure glass. The reason behind why this hall was made by glass because in ancient days the queen was not allowed to sleep in open air but she loved to see the stars shining. So the king ordered his architects to make something which could solve the purpose. The most stunning thing about this hall is that if someone burns two candles, then the reflection converts that small light into thousand of stars
3. Jaigarh Fort
The Jaigarh Fort is a majestic stronghold built by Sawan Jai Singh II. This almost-intact fort is surrounded by huge battlements and is connected to the Amer Fort (also called 'Amber' Fort), with subterranean passages. Originally built to protect the Amer Fort and the palace within the complex, the Jaigarh Fort is architecturally similar to the Amer Fort, and offers a panoramic view of the city of Jaipur. The fort houses the world's largest cannon on wheels, a majestic palace complex and the assembly hall of the warriors known as 'Shubhat Niwas' along with a museum and an armory. Apart from the intricate architecture of the fort, the fort was also renowned for a huge treasure that was believed to be buried under the fort. It is now said that the government of Rajasthan seized the treasure when it was discovered in the 1970s. The Jaigarh Fort was built to secure Jaipur City and the Amer fort from warlords and rivals.
4. Albert Hall
The Albert Hall Museum is a museum in Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. It is the oldest museum of the state and functions as the State museum of Rajasthan. The building is situated in Ram Niwas Garden outside the city wall opposite New gate and is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The building was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, assisted by Mir Tujumool Hoosein, and was opened as public museum in 1887. It is also called the Government Central Museum. Maharaja Ram Singh initially wanted this building to be a town hall, but his successor, Madho Singh II, decided it should be a museum for the art of Jaipur and included as part of the new Ram Nivas Garden. The museum has a rich collection of artifacts including paintings, carpets, ivory, stone, metal sculptures, and works in crystal.
It is named after King Edward VII (Albert Edward), during whose visit to the city as the Prince of Wales, its foundation stone was laid on 6 February 1876.5. Galta Temple
Galtaji is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site in the town of Khania-Balaji, about 10 km away from Jaipur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The site consists of a series of temples built into a narrow crevice in the ring of hills that surrounds Jaipur. A natural spring emerges high on the hill and flows downward, filling a series of sacred kunds (water tanks) in which pilgrims bathe. The visitor or pilgrim ascends the crevasse, continuing past the highest water pool to a hilltop temple from which a magnificent view of Jaipur and its fortifications spreads out across the valley floor. It is believed that a Saint named Galav lived here, practiced meditation, and did penance.
6. City Palace
City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces and other buildings, is a palace complex in Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan state, India. It was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a museum, but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The palace complex, located northeast of the centre of the grid-patterned Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers continuing up to the 20th century. The credit for the urban layout of the city and its structures is attributed to two architects namely, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, the chief architect in the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from the Sawai himself who was a keen architectural enthusiast. The architects achieved a fusion of the Shilpa Shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, and Mughal.
7. Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal (English translation: "Palace of winds" or "Palace of the Breeze") is a palace in Jaipur, India, so it is named because it was essentially a high screen wall built so that the women of the royal family could observe street festivals while unseen from the outside. It is Constructed of red and pink sandstone, the palace sits on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the zenana, or women's chambers.
The structure was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. He was so intimidated and inspired by unique structure of Khetri Mahal and he built the grand and historical Hawa Mahal. It was designed by Lal Chand Ustad in the form of the crown of Krishna, the Hindu god. Its unique five-storey exterior is akin to the honeycomb of a beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas decorated with intricate latticework. The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to obey strict "purdah" (face cover). The lattice also allows cool air from the Venturi effect (doctor breeze) through the intricate pattern, air conditioning the whole area during the high temperatures in summers.Many people see the hawa mahal from the street view and thought that it is front of the palace but in reality it is the back of that structure
8. Govind Dev Ji Temple
The Vaisnava temple Govind Dev Ji is situated in Jaipur in Rajasthan state of India. It is located in the City Palace complex. The temple is dedicated to Govind Dev Ji (Lord Krishna).This temple is among the 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan including Sri Radhavallabh ji, Shri Bankey Bihari Ji, Shri Govind Dev Ji and four others. The image of the deity (murti) was brought from Vrindavan here by Raja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. And this temple was built by mugal badshah Akabar.According to popular legend, Lord Krishna's image in the temple looks exactly like Krishna's form during his incarnation on Earth.
9. Jalmahal
Jal Mahal (meaning "Water Palace") is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city, the capital of the state of Rajasthan, India. The palace and the lake around it were renovated and enlarged in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber.
10. Jantar Mantar
The Jantar Mantar monument in Jaipur, Rajasthan is a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments, built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, and complete in 1734. It features the world's largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.it is located near City Palace and Hawa Mahal of Jaipur, the monument features masonry, stone and brass instruments that were built using astronomy and instrument design principles of ancient Hindu Sanskrit texts. The instruments allow the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. The monument expresses architectural innovations, as well as the coming together of ideas from different religious and social beliefs in 18th-century India. The observatory is an example of the Ptolemaic positional astronomy which was shared by many civilizations.
The monument features instruments operating in each of the three main classical celestial coordinate systems: the horizon-zenith local system, the equatorial system and the ecliptic system. The Kapala Yantraprakara is one that works in two systems and allows transformation of the coordinates directly from one system to the other.
The monument was damaged in the 19th century. Early restoration work was undertaken under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer, during his appointment as Assistant State Engineer for the Jaipur District.
This is really awesome blog
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