The fort has many wide water channels, for rainwater harvesting. There are also 3 underground tanks, the largest having the capacity of storing 60,00,000 gallons of water. The museum of the palace also displays a rich collection of coins, photographs of the royal kings, puppets, and also a pack of circular cards. ‘Shubhat Niwas’ or the Meeting Hall of Warriors displays some sedan chairs and drums.

Actually, this palace was built for the womenfolk of the royal families, to enjoy the processions and other activities going on the street down, without being seen, as they had to observe a strict ‘purda’ or veil. The windows and balconies are designed in that way. Early morning is the best time to visit this Palace, when it gives the most beautiful of its views in golden sunshine.

Jal Mahal, meaning Water Palace, is in middle of the Man Sagar Lake, in Jaipur. Both, the lake and the palace were renovated and expanded by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber, in the 18^th century. The palace is built in red sandstone, and is five-storied, of which the four floors below are under water when the lake is full, and only the top floor can be seen. The four corners of the rectangular Chhatri on the roof have been designed to make it octagonal. Due to the sewage drained from the Jaipur city, the lake water is too much polluted and the walls of the palace too are suffering seepage. The restoration of the lake and the palace has been undertaken on a large scale.

All the ‘Chhatris’ are decorated with typical Rajasthani carving, the most remarkable being that of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Built in white marble, it is decorated with splendid carvings, peacocks and other designs. All the Maharajas of Jaipur were cremated on this place, except Maharaja Sawai Ishwari Singh, who was cremated behind the Chandra Mahal of the City Palace, so his cenotaph with due respect is standing there. The Chhatris of the Maharanis (Queens) are standing in the Maharani ki Chhatri complex near Ramgarh road crossing.

The earlier residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the Rambagh Palace, has now been converted to Taj Palace Hotel, situated 8 km outside Jaipur, on Bhawani Singh Road.

This monument is also called ‘Swarg Suli’ or ‘Heaven Piercing Minaret’. It is a tower, located near Tripolia Gate and was built by Maharaja Ishwari Singh (1744-51). It offers an astounding view of the city.

Statue Circle is a major landmark in the city of Jaipur, and comprises of the statue of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city. The statue shows the love of the King for astrology, as in the statue he is holding an astrological diagram. The monument is standing on a busy crossing of the city. It is a social meeting spot. You can stroll here, enjoy the pleasant atmosphere, and mouth-watering delicacies provided by the hawkers.

Galta Ji is a famous temple of Jaipur, situated 10 km from Jaipur, on Jaipur-Agra Highway. It was built in the 18^th century by Diwan Rao Kriparam, a courtier of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. The temple is standing amidst pleasant lush green surroundings. The vast premises of this temple have many temples, pavilions, springs, and holy ‘kunds’ (tanks) in it and it is mainly famous for its freshwater springs. Built in pink sandstone, the temple is devoted to Sun God. It has rounded roofs, delicately carved pillars, and painted walls. Around the

temple
of
Hanuman

, there are hundreds of monkeys.

The water of the famous springs is accumulated in the ‘kunds’. There are seven kunds, holiest of which is Galta Kund, which never goes dry. People take auspicious bath in ‘Galta Ji’, that is, this Kund. Makar Sankranti is a special day to take such a bath.

This temple is located 15-16 km from Jaipur in Shivdaspura and is famous as Bara Padampura. It is famous for miracles and a very splendid statue of God Padmaprabhu (the 6^th Tirthankar for Jains). The statue is 2 ft.4 inch tall and the Lord is sitting in a crossed leg position. The statue is made of pure white stone and was found while digging a foundation of a house.

Encircled by Aravalli Mountains, Kanak Valley looks magnificent from all three hill forts of Jaipur. It covers a large area of land and contains big trees like Dhok and Kadama. Alongside the Valley, flows Dharbawati River, soothing the environment with the cool breeze blowing over it. The garden is divided into 8 sections and comprises of an array of fountains, of which the ‘Parikrama’ fountain is carved out of a single piece of marble. At night, when the temple is lit, it gives a serene and heavenly picture and our mind gets an indescribable peace from mesmeric hymns and chants.

10 km from Jaipur, on Jaipur-Agra Highway, Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh, a beautiful garden, built by Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh in 1728 is located. The King presented the garden to his favorite queen, the Sisodia Queen from Udaipur, so it is a symbol of love. The garden is full of fragrant shrubs and rare varieties of plants, enough to give relief to the Maharani’s mind, who spent time here to get rid from the political atmosphere. The garden is well-designed with layered lawns, pleasant fountains, painted pavilions, galleries, and frescos depicting artistic pictures of Radha-Krishna, due to which one can surely be amazed.

This too is a beautiful garden situated 8 km from Jaipur, on Jaipur-Agra Highway. It was built in the memory of the respectable scholar, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, who was the chief architect and city planner of Jaipur. The garden is laid on the lines of the ancient Hindu Vastu Shastra, and is the only well-planned garden of Jaipur. It is laid between two rugged hills in the valley, so has a touch of natural beauty. Beautiful fountains, flowerbeds and shady trees adorn this beautiful garden. It consists of many galleries, pavilions and marvelous frescos of Lord Krishna, which are sheer pleasure to they eyes. You can see ample of peacocks and monkeys here. Evening is considered to be the best time to visit this garden, as the twilight and the city lights brighten its outline with a background of the hills.

This is an oldest museum in Rajasthan and is situated in Ram Niwas Garden outside the city wall, opposite New Gate. It presents a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture and was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob. Maharaja Ram Singh wanted it to be town hall, but his successor Madho Singh II, decided that it should be a museum. The museum has an excellent collection of paintings, sculptures of ivory, stone and metal, carpets, and colorful crystal items. The museum is named after King Albert Edward II, as during his visit to Jaipur its foundation stone was laid.

This is a famous step well in the village of Abhaneri near Jaipur. It is situated opposite the Harshat Mata Temple and is considered to be one of the largest and deepest step wells in India. Built in the 9^th century, it has 3500 narrow steps in 13 layers and its depth is 100 feet.

This is a recently developed museum dedicated to the traditional art of hand block printing textiles. It is housed in a recently renovated haveli in the back streets of old Amber. There are all modern facilities, like a small café, clean toilets, small shop, cooperative staff, and a printer and block carver demonstrating their skill every day.

This museum is located on Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg and displays a splendid collection of dolls from all over the world. It is open from 10 am to 4 pm.

B.M. Birla Auditorium and Convention Center is situated in the heart of the city and is also worth visiting, and is spread over 9.8 acres. It includes computer center, interactive science museum, a library, a processing planetarium, and an auditorium of capacity of 1350 people. The auditorium is one of the largest auditoriums of India, built up to international conference standards.

This structure was built by Pandit Shivdin, the Prime Minister of Maharaja Ram Singh II, to stay in. It was made into a school of arts in 1866. All the 36 different crafts skills which were established in Jaipur are taught here.

Originally the palace was a small structure owned by Meena tribes; the Rajputs won it and gave it today’s grand look. It has all the necessities as well as luxuries needed for the royal families. It has a history as old as of 7 centuries, which shows in its atmosphere. While many of the earlier structures were destroyed, some structures, dating back to the 16^th century onwards have been well preserved with sincere efforts.

The fort has many wide water channels, for rainwater harvesting. There are also 3 underground tanks, the largest having the capacity of storing 60,00,000 gallons of water. The museum of the palace also displays a rich collection of coins, photographs of the royal kings, puppets, and also a pack of circular cards. ‘Shubhat Niwas’ or the Meeting Hall of Warriors displays some sedan chairs and drums.

Jal Mahal, meaning Water Palace, is in middle of the Man Sagar Lake, in Jaipur. Both, the lake and the palace were renovated and expanded by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber, in the 18^th century. The palace is built in red sandstone, and is five-storied, of which the four floors below are under water when the lake is full, and only the top floor can be seen. The four corners of the rectangular Chhatri on the roof have been designed to make it octagonal. Due to the sewage drained from the Jaipur city, the lake water is too much polluted and the walls of the palace too are suffering seepage. The restoration of the lake and the palace has been undertaken on a large scale.

This Dargah is located at the foot of Taragarh Hill and is devoted to Muslim Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Sharif, alias Garib Nawaz (the one having compassion for the poor). There is a domed tomb (dargah) of the saint here. The complex has many white marble buildings surrounding two courtyards, and a massive gate, a gift by the Hyderabad Nizam. It has a mosque which has been donated by Shah Jahan. There is also Akbari Mosque. The Saint is reputed to fulfill the wishes of the devotees and is frequented by devotees of all religions with equal devotion. King Akbar, who had wished for a son, after getting the wish fulfilled, would visit this place on foot from Agra, every year along with his wife as gratitude. On his way to Ajmer, he erected large pillars, Kos (mile) Minar, at every two miles (3 km), which were his daily halting places, and they still exist. An Urs or the annual festival is held here and devotees attend it with great passion and devotion.