2 days in Jaipur

Day by day

1. Day 1: Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort

   Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Panna Meena ka Kund and Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing, then Albert Hall Museum in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Amber Fort

      Highlights are the painted Ganesh Pol gateway, the Diwan-i-Aam hall of public audience and the Sheesh Mahal, whose walls and ceiling are inlaid with thousands of mirror fragments. It is part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan World Heritage site.

   2. Late morning

      Jaigarh Fort

      It holds the Jaivana, an 18th-century cannon often described as the largest on wheels in the world, plus armouries, water tanks and watchtowers with views over Amber and Maota Lake.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Dal baati churma

      Rajasthani thali restaurants across the city and at Chokhi Dhani's village-style dinners on Tonk Road.

   4. Afternoon

      Panna Meena ka Kund

      It was a cool gathering place for villagers in summer and is now one of the most photographed geometric scenes in Rajasthan.

   5. Late afternoon

      Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing

      Displays explain carving, dyeing and printing, and craftspeople often demonstrate the process, sometimes letting visitors print their own piece of cloth.

   6. Evening

      Albert Hall Museum

      Visit in the afternoon heat for air and shade, then stay to see the façade lit up at dusk.

2. Day 2: Hawa Mahal and City Palace

   Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar and Govind Dev Ji Temple, then Birla Mandir in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Hawa Mahal

      Its five-storey pink sandstone façade is a honeycomb of 953 small latticed windows, yet the building is only one room deep in places. Inside, ramps rather than stairs lead to the top level, which looks down on Badi Chaupar and across to Jantar Mantar.

   2. Late morning

      City Palace

      The Mubarak Mahal displays royal costumes and textiles, the Diwan-i-Khas holds two enormous silver urns made to carry Ganges water to London in 1902, and the Pritam Niwas Chowk courtyard has four painted gates representing the seasons, the Peacock Gate being the most photographed. The former royal family still lives in part of the seven-storey Chandra Mahal.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Laal maas

      Long-running non-vegetarian restaurants around MI Road and heritage-hotel restaurants; ask for the spice level before ordering.

   4. Afternoon

      Jantar Mantar

      Its 19 masonry instruments measure time, track stars and predict eclipses; the Samrat Yantra sundial rises about 27 metres and tells local time to within a few seconds. The site sits next to the City Palace and is a UNESCO World Heritage site in its own right.

   5. Late afternoon

      Govind Dev Ji Temple

      Several times a day the curtains open for darshan and the hall fills with devotees singing and clapping, which makes it one of the best places to experience everyday devotion in the city.

   6. Evening

      Birla Mandir

      Combine it with the Ganesh temple at the foot of Moti Dungri next door; shoes are left at a counter outside.

Before you go

• Amber Fort: Tickets can be bought at the gate, but the state composite ticket, which also covers Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh and the Albert Hall, saves queuing if you plan to see several sites.

If it rains

• Swap in Jawahar Kala Kendra (JLN Marg): Check the noticeboard at the entrance for free evening performances and craft fairs.
• Swap in Raj Mandir Cinema (MI Road): Buy tickets a few hours ahead for evening shows at weekends, and choose the upper-tier seats for the best view of the auditorium.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 12–13 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.5 hours in December to 13.8 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Ride-hailing. Uber and Ola operate across the city, including autos and cars, and remove the need to bargain.

More or fewer days

• One day in Jaipur
• 3 days in Jaipur

Questions travellers ask