Places To Visit in Jaipur

Amber Fort is probably the most famous place to visit in Jaipur although I personally loved the Tiger Fort too and the view of Jal Mahal across the water at night (Jal Mahal, literally meaning “water palace”, is a palace on a lake in Jaipur and it’s lit up beautifully at night).

It’s also a great place to go if you want to stock up on some cheap scarves and shirts to cover up but still stay cool while traveling around as they have a whole market road. Fair warning though it is exhausting with all the bargaining you have to do.

Since it’s the most popular place visit in Jaipur though let’s start with the Amber Fort

THE AMBER FORT

The Amber Fort is huge, so leave a good amount of time to look around it (I swear you could get lost in that place for days if you’re not careful).

View of The Amber Fort from the entrance

Also still at the entrance

The walk up to the fort takes a while but even though there are a lot of steps it’s not too steep or exhausting.

There reason I say to leave a good amount of time for the Amber Fort is because there are so many sections to it and so much of it looks different to the other parts. On the outside when you reach the top it looks very much like a traditional fort with big domineering walls and then when you explore the inside and different sections of the compound you find walls and ceilings with absolutely incredible decoration like the below.

The spectacular walls in the Fort

Me in the fort. hate wearing floaty big tops like this, it makes me feel like I look like I’m pregnant but for your own safety and sanity in the North of India it is a good idea

TIGER FORT

The view from up by Tiger Fort is also worth seeing (you’ll need to take an auto to get there). We went there for sunset and the lights over the city once the sun drops are incredible. The first photo on this page is the view from the top just before the sun began to set and then turning slightly the other way the city completely lit up below.

View with a beer. My kinda place.

There is a little restaurant at the top of the fort too where you can get some food while watching the sunset over the city and the hundreds of twinkling lights appearing with the darkening sky.

I personally loved the food (they had cheese pakora what’s not to like!) but my friend was less keen as it is a little of the deep fried greasy side.

City Palace

City Palace has some beautiful architecture but also a textiles museum and armoury section which I personally didn’t find to be the most fascinating of experiences. If you’re short on time, go to the other attractions and skip this one (unless you happen to really like textiles and old armour that is).

You may notice my friend doesn’t have her shoulders covered in most photos and is just wearing tank tops. My friend shown here is American but both of her parents are from India therefore she looks Indian and blends in. Her wearing a tank top draws a lot less attention than I would doing the same thing. In short, she can get away with it, in most places (still not everywhere though). Unless you look like you are from India too I wouldn’t recommend following suit. Especially if you’re blonde and pale.

Johri Bazaar aka shopping

There are loads of bazaars in Jaipur that are great for clothes shopping, the most well known being Johri Bazaar. I got a number of scarves there which have been really useful on my travels to cover up and keep warm as well as a couple of below the knee skirts so I could remain “appropriately dressed” for the rest of my travels in India without continuing to feel close to death from the extreme heat of being in jeans.

It’s been almost 4 years since I was in India now and I still have one of those scarfs. They’re good quality.

It is definitely worth bargaining in the bazaars as the prices start at really inflated amounts and will drop a lot as soon as you say you’re going to look around.

If you’re worried about your haggling skills check out my Top Tips for Haggling.

(My dad’s a weirdo and likes bargaining so I was brought up being taught how to do it on family holidays to Turkey. It was like his father daughter bonding time teaching me what to do!)

The only thing I wasn’t so keen on about Jaipur was that it’s so big and spread out you kind of have to get an auto everywhere and I much prefer being able to walk around a city to get a feel for it, so I always felt a little bit lost.

Best Hostel in Jaipur

I stayed in Jaipur twice as I needed to return through there for a flight up to Risikesh after we went to Udaipur.

The first time I stayed there my friend and I decided to treat ourselves to a hotel and stayed in The Heritage Palace Hotel. Aside from there being an amazing shower I would not recommend going there. It was noisier and harder to get a good night’s sleep than any hostel I’ve ever stayed in due to inconsiderate guests, inattentive staff (in not bothering to tell the inconsiderate guests to shut up) and doors which beeped constantly like an alarm clock if left even slightly ajar, something which most of the guests chose to do throughout the night for some unknown reason.

The Zostel Hostel in Jaipur on the other hand was lovely, just like the one in Agra. So much cheaper but so much better than the hotel.

How Long to Spend in Jaipur

Two to three days will give you enough time to explore the many sights of the city. And there are a lot of sights in the city, so much so you’d have no trouble entertaining kids in Jaipur if you’re traveling as a family too but you could also manage Jaipur in one day too.

How to get from Jaipur to Udaipur

Approx 7 and a half hours by train or 7 hours by car.

Where Next?

The first time I was in Jaipur I went to Udaipur next but I then returned to take a flight up to Rishikesh for yoga teacher training. If you fancy some hiking in the Himalayas Rishikesh would be a good next stop.