Jaipur in 24 Hours!

Pink City Jaipur!

I was in Jaipur for 1.5 days and it was my first solo trip. Ill share some of my experiences to help future travelers explore this historically rich city. So, buckle up and be ready to experience the royal city of JAIPUR!

Where to stay?

I was put up at Trident, Jaipur. The location is close to Amer Fort and right opposite Jal Mahal. The view from the Hotel is simply beautiful. Watching Sunrise and Sunset over JalMahal is splendid. The lake view rooms from the 4th floor offers the best view. Make Sure to ask for rooms towards the Center rather than the end of the corridor for uninterrupted view of the beautiful JalMahal.

The hotel is not close the airport or the shopping areas. If your intention is to shop rather than to chill then this is not the place for you. Trident, Jaipur lives up to its hospitality standards and they go out of the way to serve you and make your stay memorable. Their in-house restaurant JalMahal has a lavish buffet breakfast and Mansagar bar offers you some tranquil evening time to chill and retire after all the leg breaking sightseeing and shopping in Jaipur.

What to treat your eyes with?

I signed up for a one day sightseeing experience with Airbnb. My host was Ajay Singh and he has a good grasp on the city, takes amazing photos and makes you feel comfortable and safe at all times. I paid 2850/Inr and the tour starts at 8.30 am and finishes around 4.30 pm. This doesn’t include ticket prices to various sightseeing places. It includes transport and guide charges.

The tour started with a visit to the famous Hawa Mahal. We didn’t go inside the palace but chose to see it from the building opposite the palace. There are two cafes in the same building that offer uninterrupted view of the palace and great spot for some amazing photos (Windview café and Tatoo café). Hawa Mahal was made by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh for the women of the palace to see the everyday life of people in the city without being seen or noticed. It has 953 small windows called Jharokas! Isn’t that amazing?

Next stop to explore is the Patrika Gate. On the way to Patrika Gate, you can visit the Birla temple if there’s more time on hand. Patrika Gate serves as an entrance to Jawahar circle garden and is very close to the airport. It is the ninth gate of Jaipur and is based on the seven original heritage gates. Entry is free and this place is Instagrammers paradise. It is usually crowded throughout the day but people are generally cooperative and you can get an uninterrupted photo for yourself without much effort.

Next stop is a photo stop at the Albert Hall and Museum before Heading to Jantar Mantar. Jantar Mantar is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments and houses the largest sun dial in the world. It’s a UNESCO world Heritage Site. It was built by the founder of Jaipur Sawai Jai Singh II and it has been told that he had a great hold over astronomy. It is almost 300 years old and in Sanskrit it literally means “calculating instrument”. It is made of sandstone and marble and you can actually read the time by just observing the sun fall on the dial. I was blown over by the science and mechanism behind it. 300 years ago, this kind of work, without any machine says a lot of the rich history and knowledge that India is blessed with. Entry fee is Inr 50 and its open from 9 am to 5 pm. Make sure to carry enough water and a hat, since it is an open air observatory it gets too hot in the sun. My guide explained the working of the instruments and its very helpful to have one to really understand how magnificent this place is.

Next stop is the place where the royals live – City Palace. The official home of the current king of Jaipur. Entry is Rs. 300 and this place is a must visit on your trip to Jaipur. The Palace complex has several courtyards, school, museum, galleries and buildings. Must visit Chandra Mahal (You need a separate ticket for it), Mubarak Mahal, Diwan e aam, Diwan e khaas and the Museum. Also visit the textile and painting gallery for some mind blowing art at display. The four smaller gates in the courtyard depicting the four seasons are hot spot for Instagrammers. Peacock gate is for Autumn season, Lotus gate is for summers, Lehriyaan gate denotes spring season and Rose gate is for winter season.

One interesting fact that my guide told me was that when the current king is in the palace there will be two flags hoisted on top of the Chandra Mahal but if he is out of town then there will be only one flag.

There is a place in city palace for artisans to showcase their art. You can take a stroll but the prices are steep and they con you into buying their stuff. I brought a painting without the frame for Inr 1000 which at other places is available for Inr 400.

If you are feeling tired with all the walking the next stop has an amazing calming aura to itself. Gatore ki Chhatriyan is open on all days from 9.30-5.00 pm and ticket cost is Inr 30. It’s the offbeat thing to do in Jaipur and you will barely find any crowd here. It’s a cremation ground for the Royals and every Kachhwaha King is cremated here. Cenotaphs are intricately built with sandstone and marble and the place is so peaceful. You can feel the calming vibe and I personally loved this place.

Take a lunch break and then head to Peena maa ka kund before visiting the last stop for the day. It’s a stepwell or Baori and has a flight of steps to access the water storage tank below. It is 200 Mtr deep and has water throughout the year. There is a believe that the water has medicinal properties and can cure skin ailments. Carry a hat and enough water as this place gets really hot during the day. Entry is free and it is open throughout the day.

After an exciting day taking you to all the known places in Jaipur, it’s time to wrap the day with a visit to Amer Fort. Ticket price is Inr 100 and it sits atop a hill. The lake surrounding the fort is called Maota Lake and is a source of water. You can spot some migratory birds too. Places to explore within the fort Chaand Pol, Suraj Pol, Courtyard, Seesh Mahal, Diwan e aam, temples and gardens. You remember the garden in the movie Jodha Akbar – it was shot here! Please wear comfortable shoes, there’s a lot of walking! Keep yourself hydrated and this place is usually crowded. Having a guide helps to know the details and also navigation gets easier. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site and keep aside minimum two hours to explore all the areas.

Hungry kya?

Since I was around only for 1.5 days, I couldn’t visit a lot of places on my list but the following restaurants and café are drool worthy and must go to.

D’zurt café: This place is a sweet tooths delight! We ordered macaroons, Nutella pastry and blueberry pastry. The food menu is extensive and must go to place if you are in Jaipur. A quaint, chic café which has a peppy vibe to itself.

On the house: we ordered herbed risotto, tomato bail soup, cajun potato wedge and iced tea. Risotto was nice. Soup was comforting. Service is quick.

Jal Mahal at Hotel Trident: do try their lunch buffet. Its extensive and the desserts are to die for. Warm hospitality and top notch quality sets it apart.

Zolocrust, Hotel Clarks: Visit this place when you are in Jawahar Circle area. Its very close to the airport and is open 24x7. I had ordered a veg panini and fizzy lemon drink. It was my fault that I didn’t read the description, that it had mushrooms. Since Im allergic I requested them to remove the mushrooms, but thanks to their amazing hospitality they gave me a falafel wrap instead for no extra fee. It goes a lot to say that they care about their customers and I’m sure I’ll visit this place again whenever I go to Jaipur again. Do try their desserts, they look fab! Valhorna Triffle is dense dark chocolate mousse and I thoroughly enjoyed having it.

LMB: I guess LMB is synonymous with Jaipur. No trip to Jaipur is complete without a visit to LMB. The paneer ghewar and Mishri Mawa are yummulicious. If you are an Indian sweet fan, then this is the place for you. I wanted to visit Rawat for Kanda Kachori but due to paucity of time, I had it at LMB and its nice. It’s located at Johari Bazaar and is a very popular spot in Jaipur. They are on swiggy as well but the rates are much higher as compared to the shop.

Shopping on your mind?

Jaipur is a shopper’s paradise but I feel you need to know a local or have some starting point in order to shop so that you are not fooled or robbed. I got conned at a block printing workshop where I picked up bed-linens for 40% higher than market rate. Even at Johori Bazaar, shopkeepers say inflated rates so get your bargaining tricks handy. Jayshree Jewels, shop no 307, Johori Bazaar is a good shop to buy some artificial jewelry. They have a good collection and decently priced. Since I didn’t have much time on hand I couldn’t explore more, you need at least 1-2 days if you really intend to shop and explore all the markets.

Tips:

1) Don’t fall in any Uber or OLA Driver’s trap. They will offer you to show you the City around. Refuse it. Rather hire a private taxi for full day if you plan to visit 5-6 places. The ola/uber rates to get to the airport are inflated by 50-60 percent. On the app, from Trident to Airport it showed Rs. 352 but the drivers call you and quote you Rs.1000 and if you are not ok with it then they will not arrive and if you cancel the trip you are charged penalty for it. It’s a nexus! I finally paid 600 Inr to get to the airport from Trident.

2) I went in March and it was crazy hot. I guess the best season to visit would be November to February.

3) I booked my stay and flight tickets via Traveltonic (9898797965). It’s a travel company based in Surat and I got the best flight deals with meals and aisle seats in the front two rows. Even at Trident, I got Lake view room with breakfast for a very reasonable rate. They definitely need a shout-out for their extraordinary service.

4) If you want to explore Jaipur at length then 2-3 days are required if you wish to visit shopping areas too. Having some local relative or friend would be helpful to avoid getting conned while shopping.

5) Carry change since most of the tourist sites are nominally charged. Also for taxi and autos its handy to have change.