Jaipur is a relatively new city, it was founded in the eighteenth century, and built as India's first planned city. It is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets. Jaipur is the major business center of Rajasthan, and has today a population of more than 2 millions, it is growing fast and various development projects are being done by the government and private enterprises. Many of the houses in Jaipur are painted pink, mainly to greet visitors, this is why Jaipur is called the Pink City.
Probably the best known attraction of Jaipur is the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds). It was build in 1799 and forms part of the City Palace. Its original intention was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life through small windows without being seen, since they had to observe strict cover and where not allowed to go outside. In all there are 953 of these small windows. The City Palace was built between 1729 and 1732 with later additions. It is a wast complex of courtyards, gardens and buildings, it includes several palatial structures like the Chandra Mahal, home to the Maharajah of Jaipur, and houses a museum.
There are three interesting forts in and around Jaipur: Amber Fort, located 11 km (7 mi) from central Jaipur, is a massive fort-palace built in Hindi-Muslim style dating back to the 1600th century. It was the royal palace of the Kachwahas from ca. 1600 to 1727. The fort is named after the town Amber. Jaigahr Fort is considered the strongest of the three forts and has newer been conquered in battle. The fort is best known as the site of the world's largest cannon, but there are other things to observe like the scenic gardens and the spectacular views over the Amber Fort and the hills around. Nahargarh Fort crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city of Jaipur. It is the smallest of the three forts and is best known for its spectacular views over the city.
Jaipur is a city with many markets where you can experience a colorful explosion of flowers, goods for sale, people, elephants, ox carts and many different smells, some of them not always that pleasant. Jaipur has several good hotels and many restaurants, and despite the chaos and dust, it is definitely worth a visit for a couple of days.
