Two nodes of the Golden Triangle (Part-II) (Jaipur Day 1)

After loss of one complete day due to train delay, we were forced to curtail some points in Jaipur and covered only important destinations in 2 days stay at Jaipur. First day we decided to cover the main points in city by ourselves without any travel assistance. First of all we reached the City Palace complex, which is situated inside walled pink city, by an auto-rickshaw. Actually you do not need to hire a taxi for the city part of your tour as all the points are nearby and can be easily and quickly covered by auto-rickshaw. City palace complex has Main City Palace, Hawa Mahal (Palace of wind), Jantar-Mantar (Observatory) and Govind Dev Temple (Deity of Jaipur).

City Palace:

Entry to City Palace can be made by two gates i.e. either from Virendra Pol or from Udai pol. Entry tickets to City Palace cost INR 75 (for an adult), INR 35 (for a child) and still camera charge INR 75. Photography is allowed only outside, display galleries and exhibits can not be photographed.  You can have a feel of various beautiful buildings inside the complex in following photographs.

Map of City Palace Complex

World's Largest Silver object

Artistic work on a metal door

Decorated doorway

My Wife Ragini trying hands at Rolls Royce Phantom

Mubarak Mahal

Mubarak Mahal

view after entry from Virendra Pol

Jantar-Mantar (Observatory):

The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh II, the king of Jaipur. These were built at 5 places but the observatory at Jaipur is largest and in best condition. Jantar and Mantar are Hindi language words meaning Instrument and Formula respectively. This is at two minutes walk from City Palace gate. There are lot of instruments for different astronomical purposes and their accuracy is mind boggling.  You can avail a guide as well as self audio guide to understand functions of each instrument. It has been declared a world heritage center by UNESCO. There are approximately 20 sets of fixed instruments. Entry fee is INR 20  and Still camera fee is INR 20.

After visiting Jantar Mantar, we walked towards Hawa Mahal (Palace of wind) which was at a 10 minutes walk. It has been described in Part III of this series.

Next: Two nodes of the Golden Triangle (Part-III) (Jaipur Day -1 Continued)