City Palace-Jaipur
City palace Jaipur is One of these major
landmarks of the 'pink city'.
The City Palace Jaipur was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of the
Kachhwaha clan of Rajputs, but a lot of changes and additions
were made to the original structure by his successors.
The architecture of the City Palace is a synthesis of Rajasthani
and Mughal styles. The Complex comprises of many structures,
courtyards, gardens and buildings. There are many splendid small
palaces and halls in the complex, such as the Chandra Mahal,
Mubarak Mahal and Badal Mahal. There is also a famous temple
called the Shri Govind Temple and a museum inside, named the City
Palace Museum.
Hawamahal-Jaipur
The Hawa Mahal, which
adjoins the famous City Palace wall, was built in 1799 by
Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh and has now become one of the major
landmarks of Jaipur. The palace is shaped like a pyramid and is a
five-storied building, with number of small windows and screens,
with arched roofs. As one looks at this building, one realizes
that the rear side of the building is comparatively very plain
and lacks much of ornamentation. One is rather surprised at the
contrast, since in the front there is intricate carving and much
attention has been paid to even minute details yet the backside
is more a mass of pillars and passages.
Jantar Mantar-Jaipur
The Jantar
mantar in Jaipur is the most famous one among the five
observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh and is located close to
the gate of the famous City Palace of Jaipur. So when you are in
Jaipur, do not miss the opportunity to check out the biggest
stone observatory in the world, which is still in a running
condition and stands witness to the wisdom of the former age.
Jaigarh Fort-Jaipur
The Jaigarh fort was
built to bolster up the defense of Amer, so one should not be
amazed to find that the fort unlike most palaces and forts of
Jaipur is quite plain and simple. It has moats and all the
features you would expect of a full-fledged citadel.
The highlight of the tour of Jaigarh Fort is definitely the
Jaivana, which is the world's largest cannon on wheels. It was
built in Jaigarh's foundry in the year 1720. Many say that the
cannon was only used once and the ball fell some 35kms away on a
village. But that's quite doubtful, since a closer inspection of
the cannon actually revealed that it has been fired at least a
couple of times.