Jaipur
The pink city of Rajasthan: palaces, forts and bazaars behind a painted wall.
Jaipur was planned in the eighteenth century by a maharaja with an interest in astronomy, and its old city still keeps his grid and his terracotta wash. The City Palace and the observatory sit at its centre, the Hawa Mahal's honeycomb façade faces the main street, and the Amber Fort rises on the hills to the north. With Delhi and Agra it makes the Golden Triangle.
Why go
For Rajput architecture at its most theatrical — the fort at Amber, the floating Jal Mahal, the wind palace built so that the court's women could watch the street unseen — and for bazaars where block printing, blue pottery, gems and jewellery are still made by hand.
It is also the gateway to Rajasthan: the lakes of Udaipur, the blue city of Jodhpur, the desert at Jaisalmer and the tigers of Ranthambore are all onward journeys from here.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01The Hawa Mahal
The five-storey screen of latticed windows on the main street of the old city, built for the women of the court to watch processions. Cross the road for the façade; go inside for the view back.
02The Amber Fort
The hilltop fort-palace of the maharajas before Jaipur was built, with its mirrored hall, its courtyards and its walls running along the ridges. Jeeps climb the ramp, and the walk up is easy.
03The City Palace and Jantar Mantar
The royal residence with its courtyards, museum and painted gates, and the observatory beside it with stone instruments that still tell the time to a few seconds.
04The bazaars
Johari Bazaar for jewellery, Bapu Bazaar for textiles and slippers, and the workshops around Sanganer for block printing. Bargaining is expected and good-humoured.
05Nahargarh and the hills
The fort on the ridge above the city, reached by road or a steep path, for sunset over the pink grid, with Jaigarh and its great cannon along the walls.
06Agra and the Taj Mahal
A few hours by road or rail on the way to or from Delhi, the marble tomb on the Yamuna is the third corner of the Golden Triangle and worth a night.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
The old city
Inside the walls: the palaces, the bazaars and heritage havelis converted into hotels. Colourful, noisy and central.
C-Scheme and Civil Lines
The leafy planned districts south of the walls, with the city's restaurants, cafés and many of its hotels.
Amber and the hills
Village guesthouses and palace hotels below the fort, quieter and a short drive from the city.
When to go: Jaipur
- WinterNovember – February
- Warm days, cool nights and clear skies: the season for the forts and the desert. January brings the literature festival and the kite festival.
- Shoulder monthsMarch and October
- Warm to hot, with Holi in March and Diwali in the autumn turning the city into a festival.
- SummerApril – June
- Very hot and dry. Early mornings at the forts and afternoons in the shade of a haveli.
- Wet seasonJuly – September
- The monsoon greens the hills and fills the lakes; humid, with showers, and far fewer visitors.
Getting there
Airports
One airport in our search serves Jaipur. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- JAIJaipur International
Distance from
- BOMMumbai920 km
- DXBDubai2,050 km
- SINSingapore4,140 km
- CDGParis6,600 km
- LHRLondon6,770 km
- JNBJohannesburg7,790 km
- SYDSydney10,430 km
- JFKNew York11,870 km
Getting around: Jaipur
Auto-rickshaws and ride-hailing cover the city, and a car with a driver for the day is the usual way to see Amber, Nahargarh and the outer sights. The old city's bazaars are walked.
Trains and the expressway link Jaipur with Delhi and Agra in a few hours each; a driver for the whole triangle is common. Onward, Rajasthan's cities are overnight trains or long drives apart.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- India
- Currency
- INR · Indian Rupee
- Languages
- Hindi and English
- Time zone
- India Standard Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +91
The atlas
Jaipur in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Jaipur, month by month
- Jan22°
- Feb26°
- Mar32°
- Apr38°
- May42°
- Jun41°
- Jul36°
- Aug33°
- Sept34°
- Oct33°
- Nov29°
- Dec24°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: November to February.
Mean highs run from 22°C in January to 42°C in May, with about 524 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for JaipurModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBJaipur
2,050 km
3 hrs 10 mins · Estimate
From AUHJaipur
2,130 km
3 hrs 15 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Jaipur
Plan this trip: Jaipur
Open the trip builder with Jaipur already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
