Well a trip to Jaipur could be so exciting and adventurous. It was 30^th Aug 2014, an evening on saturday where me and my husband along with our neighbours were enjoying over a cup of tea, when suddenly from chit chat, we started to decide to go out for a party but finally landed up planning to leave for Jaipur for a day outing.

It was already 7 pm, and we started to prepare our dinner, we packed our clothes, food n some junks to not stop our mouth from muttering. We left from Gurgaon at 8 pm. We were unplanned as we had no hotel booking and no itinerary of our day outing.

Our drive to Jaipur was awesome and finally we reached at 1 am. We were all set to sleep and took up a hotel on Jaipur Ajmer highway. Next day on 31^st Aug’2014, we started our day with a mouth watering breakfast served to us by the hotel. We planned to cover everything possible throughout the day.

After breakfast, we started our first visit to “Jal Mahal” also known as “Water Palace”. It is a beautiful place to visit. The view of the palace is itself very eye catching as the palace is located in the middle of Man Sagar Lake and surrounded with mountains. One can easily enjoy the beauty of the place by taking a boat ride. You can also enjoy a ride on the street by taking a ride on traditionally decorated camels.

We proceeded further to “Amer or Amber Fort”. Amer Fort is situated in Amer and is a must see historical monument. There are many ways to enter this palace but we chose to take the elepant ride which were nicely decorated to have a royal experience. “Elephant ride” is a popular attraction in Jaipur and is a must do thing for everyone who visits the place.

On our way back we visited the “Jaigarh Fort”. Jaigarh Fort was built by Jai Singh II. This fort was also known as “Cheel Ka Teela” or “Hill of Eagles” located on the Aravali Range and is built about 400m above the Amber Fort. As the name suggest, the reason to build this fort was to protect the Amber Fort and its palace complex and was named after him.

Then we came to “Nahargarh Fort”. This Fort too stands at the edge of Aravalli Hills, from where one can have an impressive view of the lovely “Pink City”. Built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the Fort was constructed as a place of retreat on the summit of the ridge above the city. This is the palace where some parts of the famous movie “Rang De Basanti”, staring Aamir Khan, were shot.

After having seen all the big palaces, we were excited to visit the “Palace of Winds” popularly known as “Hawa Mahal”. It is a huge building or a screen made of red and pink sandstone constructed on the edge of the City Palace, for the women of Royal households to observe street festivities from behind the screen (as the women from the Royal families had to obey stict purdah). The Hawa Mahal has 953 small windows known as Jharokhas decorated with intricate latticework.

Before the dawn we also wanted to cover the “City Palace” and were able to reach successfully before its closing time. City Palace is a fusion of Rajput, Mughal and European style of architecture. A part of Chandra Mahal within the City Palace is turned into Museum for the tourist which holds a great collection of weapons (armory) and costumes worn by the various Maharaja’s over time since Jai Singh.

It was 7:30 pm after completing our visit and saluting the historical structures that our country owes for which people from abroad come for a visit and praise the architectural work done by the labours with their hands during that time.

We proceeded to “Chokhi Dhani”, to enjoy and relish a traditional food served in a traditional manner. It is also a must visit place and I personally recommend. A concept created to give a feel of a Rajasthani village with an experience of a Rajasthani culture. One can enjoy the famous Rajasthani cuisine Dal Bati Choorma.  Within the resort they have many activities like the camel ride, dance performance by the banjaara’s, mehndi art, magician and many more to keep you engaged for long. The best part is the “Swagat or Welcome” with an Aarti and Tilak.

Submitted By:
Ms. Natasha Chhabra
Gurgaon