Monuments of Jaipur, built from 10th to 18th century

Hi there, I am Jatin Chhabra, a travel blogger and a planted aquarium hobbyist working as a writer at Rajputana Cabs.

I personally live in Jaipur, so the content shared below is from my own experience.

For all our readers who want to know about the monuments of Jaipur, this blog will share all the historical monuments—you know, the ones that were built more than 300 to 400 years ago—along with those monuments that have been recently constructed.

For example, Patrika Gate is now a popular landmark or monument of Jaipur, but it is not more than 10 years old.

So in this blog on the monuments of Jaipur, we will share all the historical monuments of Jaipur, all the newly built monuments of Jaipur, and some more places that you can plan to visit.

Hawa Mahal is one of the oldest monuments in Jaipur, which was built in 1799 CE by the Maharaja of the time, Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh.

Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh built Hawa Mahal for the royal women so that they could see the streets outside during festivals or royal programs without being seen by the public.

It works like this: from inside Hawa Mahal, you can see what is going on outside, but from the outside, no one can see who is looking out from the inside.

Hawa Mahal is located in the Pink City part of Jaipur on a road called Badi Chaupad, but most people simply call it Hawa Mahal Road.

Now, Hawa Mahal is open from 9 am to 5 pm for an inside view, which requires an entry ticket of ₹ 50 for Indian adults & ₹20 for Indian students, and ₹ 200 for foreign adults & ₹ 100 for foreign students. For kids under 15, entry is completely free.

Jal Mahal was built around 1699 CE, almost 100 years before Hawa Mahal, but it was completed around 1750 by Raja Madho Singh. Originally, it was started by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, who is also known as the founder of Jaipur.

Jal Mahal was built more like a private retreat for the Maharaja, and he used to come here for hunting. We can say that it was a hunting lodge where the royal family used to come and hunt ducks, same as the video games we play where ducks are flying and you just shoot.

Now, Jal Mahal is actually a five story palace in the center of Man Sagar Lake, but when you see it from the street (which is known as Jal Mahal Street in Amer), you will only see two stories because three of them are underwater.

There is no fixed timing or ticket price to see Jal Mahal because you cannot go inside.

The street along Jal Mahal has now developed into a tourist attraction where you will find a lot of souvenirs, people offering camel rides, and some of them even offering Jaipuriya poshak like ghagra choli (and similar outfits for males) where you can wear them and get a photograph.

The best time to visit, I would say, is during the daytime because after 8 pm, they even shut down the lights.

I think the oldest monument built in Jaipur is Amer Fort. It was constructed in 1592 by the Maharaja of that time, Raja Man Singh I, and later it was updated by the rulers who came after him.

The main purpose of building Amer Fort was to show the power and strength of that time Kachwaha Rajput rulers, who were also an important part of the Mughal Empire.

Now, inside Amer Fort, you will see a large main courtyard right from the main road where it is located, near the Jaipur-Delhi Highway.

You just come a kilometer inside from the highway, and then you will see a small hill.

From there, you can either walk 1 km up to the entry gate or take the backside vehicle route. The best option in the morning is to take an elephant ride for that 1 km uphill path from the front of the fort.

Inside the fort, you will find beautiful gardens and two main attractions.

First is Diwan-e-Aam (Hall of Public Audience), where the king used to listen to the public, and second is the famous Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace).

A lot of movies have been filmed here, and it is built so uniquely that just a single candlelight can light up the entire room.

Amer Fort is open from 8 am to 5:30 pm for regular sightseeing. Later, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, it opens for a Light & Sound Show if you want to learn more about the history of the fort.

The entry ticket is ₹ 100 for Indian adults & ₹ 20 for Indian students, and ₹ 500 for foreign adults & ₹ 100 for foreign students. For kids under 15, there is no entry fee.

City Palace of Jaipur is situated in Jaleb Chowk in the center of Pink City, just next to Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar.

This royal palace was built in 1727, and it was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who is also the founder of Jaipur.

The main attraction of City Palace is Chandra Mahal, which is a seven-story palace and also has a separate entry ticket, along with Pritam Niwas Chowk, which has these four beautiful entrances, especially the one with the peacock design, which is also called Peacock Gate.

And other places to see are Mubarak Mahal, Diwan-e-Khas, the armoury of that time in Jaipur, a museum with costumes, paintings, carpets, and a beautiful courtyard.

The entry ticket to City Palace starts from ₹400 for Indian travelers, and students can get a 50% discount. Please note, City Palace is not a government museum; it’s run by the royal family of Jaipur. And the timings of City Palace Museum are from 9:30 am. to 6:30 pm.

Jaigarh Fort, one of the three hill forts in Jaipur, was built in 1726 by Jaipur’s founder, Maharaja Jai Singh II. And unlike Amer Fort or any other place, Jaigarh Fort was mostly a military fort built to protect Amer Fort and City Palace.

Today, the main attraction of Jaigarh Fort is one of the world’s largest cannons, the Jaivana Cannon, which was said to be built by the rulers, but they later rejected it because it was too powerful. Apart from the cannon, you can also see the armoury and weapon museum in the fort, the watchtowers, and also the palace and courtyards inside it.

The entry ticket of Jaigarh Fort is ₹ 150 for Indian traveller and ₹ 200 for Foreigners,

The last & third of the 3 hill forts in Jaipur is Nahargarh Fort.

Both Nahargarh and Jaigarh are situated on the Aravalli Hills. Like, when you will be going there, they are both on the same route, and it will be like a short ride to it, like on a hill station road, but it’s always warm here.

Now Nahargarh Fort was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II, founder of Jaipur, in 1734, and the purpose was again to build a defensive fort from invading forces. Actually,

Nahargarh means abode of tigers, so very interesting name.

So, as a tourist, when you come here, you will first see Madhavendra Bhawan, which has like twelve matching apartments for the queens and a suite room for the king. Plus, there is also Nahargarh Wax Museum, which has an entry ticket of ₹500 plus, but is very neatly maintained.

And apart from that, you can enjoy a panoramic view of Jaipur city. The Rajasthan government has set up a Padao restaurant where people come at night and see the night view of Jaipur.

Nahargarh entry ticket is ₹ 50 for Indian tourists and ₹ 200 for foreign tourist, and it’s open till 6 p.m. But the restaurant, you can come till night.

Jantar Mantar is actually one of three monuments located next to each other in the Pink City. The other two are Hawa Mahal and City Palace.

So Jantar Mantar was also built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1734 CE, and the purpose behind building it was to have an astronomical observatory, like calculating the movement of the sun, moon, and other planets.

Today, Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and here the main attractions are Samrat Yantra, which is the biggest stone sundial in the world, which actually calculates the time very accurately.

Other attractions are Vrihat Samrat Yantra, Jai Prakash Yantra, Ram Yantra, and a few more. In total, there are 20 such astronomical instruments.

The entry ticket for Jantar Mantar is ₹50 for Indian tourists and ₹200 for foreigners. Students can get a discount. Timings are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Now, there are many temples in Jaipur and Rajasthan, but believe me, this is one of the oldest ones.

The Govind Dev Ji Temple is situated in the City Palace complex and was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1735 CE.

Now, there are many theories about why this temple was built, but a popular one is that at that time, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was demolishing many Hindu temples, so Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh brought the idol of Govind Dev Ji from Vrindavan to Jaipur to protect this idol.

The idol is actually even older than 1735, when this temple was built.

Many local followers say that the idol is of Shri Krishna in the form of Govind Dev Ji, and it is believed that this particular idol of Shri Krishna was created by Shri Krishna’s grandson, Bajranabh.

Nevertheless, this is a very beautiful temple to visit, quite an old one, and there is no entry ticket. Timings are just from sunrise to night.

Now, no list of monuments in Jaipur will be complete without mentioning Pink City. Yes, the Pink City.

Pink City, which was again built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. He built almost everything in Jaipur in 1727. The planning of this Pink City was more like a grid system, like there are two squares, Badi Chaupar and Chhoti Chaupar.

So now, Chaupar here means the term Chausar. If you see the game Chausar, it’s like a plus sign, and that’s how the Pink City is designed.

Today, Pink City, Badi Chaupar, and Chhoti Chaupar are full of markets, like Bapu Bazaar, Johri Bazaar, Khazane Walo Ka Rasta, and many more.

Some of these shops, or most of these shops, are centuries old. Some even claim that their ancestors used to be, were welcomed, were brought by Maharaja Jai Singh to Jaipur to make Pink City a major business hub.

Nevertheless, if you are in Jaipur, you should visit this site, if possible, with a local tour guide.

So Galta Ji Temple, which is now popularly known as the Monkey Temple of Jaipur because National Geographic showed a one to two hour documentary on it, is actually an 18th century built temple.

I don’t have the exact year, but it was built by Diwan Rao Kriparam, who was a court member or a minister of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II.

Now, at that time, this temple had seven small, something like, around seven ponds, with the main one being known as Galta Kund, and water used to flow naturally from the top because this temple is situated on a mountain, so natural rainwater used to be stored here.

Now, inside the temple, there are 18th century built Hanuman temples, a Sun Temple on the hilltop, plus a few more have opened in the coming years.

There is no entry ticket here because it’s a temple site, and yes, people come here to see monkeys.

So you can go here between 5 am. to 9 pm., and you might be asked for some money if you’re carrying a camera, so be ready for that.

Plus, inside the temple, the surroundings of the temple are very green because it’s in an isolated place on a hillside, on the Aravalli hillside.

Sisodia Rani Palace and Garden, or as commonly known as Sisodia Rani Bagh, is one of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh’s made places in Jaipur.

This one is quite close to him because it was named after his second wife, a princess from the Mewar family of Udaipur.

This garden was built in the 18th century (1728 CE) and was constructed as a holiday retreat for the queen and the maharaja.

Today, when a tourist visits Sisodia Rani Bagh, he sees a Mughal style gardens, a multi-layered terrace garden with beautiful lawns, running water in the center, fountains, many beautiful wall paintings, and some scenes from Radha and Krishna along with many geometric floral patterns.

There is also a palace here with galleries, balconies, and a small temple.

The location of Sisodia Rani Bagh is close to the Jaipur-Agra Highway, and it is open from 8 am to 5 pm. The entry ticket is ₹ 50 per person for Indians and ₹ 200 per person for foreign travelers.

Moti Dungri Temple or Moti Dungri Ganesh Ji Temple is a 1761 built temple dedicated to Shri Ganesh.

The temple was built by Seth Jai Ram Paliwal under the guidance of Maharaja Madho Singh and the idol of Shri Ganesh in this temple was brought from Udaipur, Mewar, which was believed to be 500 years old. So, today this temple idol is around 800 years old.

When you visit the temple, which is not a big complex but a very neat, clean, and peaceful space but still crowded, you will notice that the Shri Ganesh idol’s trunk is turned towards the left side, which is not seen mostly in Ganesh temples.

There is a very common belief in today’s Jaipur that when somebody buys a Property, Car in Jaipur or whole Rajasthan, after buying it, they bring their documents, Car first to the temple for Shri Ganesh’s blessings.

So, you can visit the temple from morning 5 am till night 9 pm, though it may be closed for a break between 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Kanak Vrindavan Garden was commissioned in 1735 CE by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and was completed between 1713 to 1734 CE.

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built this temple because he was a big follower of Shri Krishna and he wanted to create a similar sense of feeling of Vrindavan in Jaipur.

So at Kanak Vrindavan Temple Garden, you will find a beautiful garden with lots of statues of Shri Krishna and Radha, and a temple of Govind Dev Ji or Radha Madhav Temple in the complex.

Kanak Vrindavan is situated next to Jal Mahal and in the background of the Aravalli Hills, which makes this place very beautiful. A lot of Bollywood movies are also filmed here.

You can visit the garden from 8 am to 7 pm and the entry fee is just ₹ 10 to ₹ 20 per person, though camera charges are extra.

Albert Hall Museum, which looks like a palace from outside but is a beautiful museum, whose foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales (Albert Edward) in 1876 CE, during his visit to Jaipur.

The Albert Hall Museum was designed by Sir Samuel Jacob under the guidance of Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II, and the museum was completed in 1887 CE.

It is still one of the oldest museums of Rajasthan and its architecture is more of Indo-Saracenic style, a combination of Mughal, Rajput, and British culture.

The Albert Hall Museum is located at the north side of JLN Marg (Jawaharlal Nehru Marg).

Apart from an amazing collection of metal art, pottery, ivory work, arms and armor, traditional musical instruments, gold-etched shields, night lamps, and many amazing things which you will not normally see anywhere in India, the main attraction—which is seriously not available anywhere else in India—is an original Egyptian mummy of Tutu, which is more than 2,300 years old. It is kept in the basement of the Albert Hall Museum.

You can visit Albert Hall Museum from 9 am to 5 pm, and a night viewing is also available from 7 pm to 10 pm.

The entry ticket is ₹ 50 to ₹ 100 for Indian travelers (for morning and night time rates), and ₹ 300 for foreign travelers for morning or night visits.

Student discounts are available at ₹ 20 for Indian students and ₹ 150 for foreign students. Plus, free entry is available on World Tourism Day and Rajasthan Day (which is March 30th).

Panna Meena Ka Kund is a 16th century stepwell built under the leadership of Maharaja Jai Singh I.

It was built for rainwater harvesting and also as a social gathering point for locals, especially in summers.

Panna Meena Ka Kund is an eight story deep stepwell made with yellow sandstone. It is said that it is almost impossible to go down and come up using the exact same stairs. Its beautiful octagonal pavilions make it very attractive for tourists today.

You can visit it after visiting Amer Fort because it is also located in Amer. There is no entry ticket, and the best time to visit is from 6 am to 6 pm.

Kaale Hanuman Ji Temple at Chandpole, located near Chandi Ki Taksal at Hawa Mahal Road, is said to be around 1000 years old, but I think technically we have to understand that it’s built inside the Pink City.

So, as per locals, this temple was built at the time when City Palace, Hawa Mahal, etc. were constructed. So, we can say this temple was built in or around 1727 CE.

The idol inside the temple of Shri Hanuman Ji is of black color, and many locals and even people from nearby states come here to seek blessings of Shri Maruti, so that if anybody is thinking or trying to harm them, that period can easily pass by with Hanuman Ji’s support.

If you ask me, I would visit the temple on Tuesday and Saturday to see the huge crowd, else visit the temple on other days when it’s not that much crowded.

Since there are many centuries old temples in Jaipur, we have to mention a temple located just outside the Jaipur city border but still in Jaipur district, Shri Laxmi Jagdish Temple in Goner (Jaipur).

From Jaipur city center, this temple is 25 km away, or from the Jagatpura side, it is only 5 km.

It is believed that the foundation of this temple is even older than Jaipur, dating back to the time of the Amer kingdom under Raja Man Singh or during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar.

When we asked the locals about the history of this place, they told us that a saint named Devdas Ji Maharaj had a vision of Shri Hari Vishnu in his dream, directing him to dig at a specific spot.

He then found a statue of Shri Hari Vishnu at the exact location where his bullock cart’s axle had broken.

Plus, another story attached to this place is that even when Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of all ancient Hindu temples, the temple remained unharmed due to divine intervention.

When you visit this temple, you will find a unique four-armed (*Charbhuja*) idol of Shri Hari Vishnu, carved out of a single piece of black stone.

You will also see a shikhara of almost 80 ft high.

There is a small pond known as Jagannath Sarovar next to the temple complex and another small temple of Hanuman Ji named Veer Vijay Hanuman Temple. The temple timings are again from 5 am to 9 pm, and in between, it is closed for a few hours for maintenance.

The Shree Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Mandir Sanghi Ji , is more than 1,000 years old, built around the 10th century CE, making it one of the oldest Jain temples or places of worship in Jaipur, which is actually even older than Jaipur itself and even older than the Amer Kingdom.

Jain devotees and even people from other faiths come here to have the darshan of the 4 feet-high idol of Lord Rishabhanatha (Adinath), which is carved out from a red stone and preserved in an underground sanctum known as the *Gupt Tehkhana*.

As per locals and local tradition, the underground temple is protected by divine powers and is accessible to the holy monks only.

Other ancient Jain temples in Jaipur are the Digambar Jain Temple Nasiyan in Amer, which was built between 1621 to 1634 CE, and the Bhattarak Ji Ki Nasiyan in Jaipur City. This temple was built during the foundation of Jaipur around 1727 CE and is a very historical seat of Jain monks and scholars.

Jaipur is now a multi-regional city, and apart from many Hindu temples and Jain temples, you will also find many Sikh Gurudwaras. One of the oldest Gurudwaras, or maybe the first one in Jaipur, is the Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Raja Park, which was established even before India’s independence in 1940 AD.

The Gurudwara Sahib ji  was built by the Sikh families who settled in Jaipur during the pre-independence period and also served as a place for refugees who arrived after the 1947 partition.

The Shri Gurudwara Guru Singh Sabha Sahib Ji is carved out of white marble, having an influence of Rajput and Mughal architecture, with ornate gateways and glass work done on the entrance.

You can visit the Gurudwara from 4 am to 10 pm, with daily prayers (*paath*) and langar offered on a daily basis.

Following our guide’s theme on the multi-regional city of Jaipur, we have to mention one of the oldest mosques in the area: the Jama Masjid of Amer, also known as the Akbari Mosque.

The Jama Masjid of Amer was built under Raja Bharmal of the Amer Kingdom, who commissioned the mosque at the request of the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1569 AD. So, in a way, it is the oldest mosque in the entire Jaipur region, pre-dating the founding of the main city by over 150 years.

The mosque is located in the historic town of Amer, quite close to Amer Fort and Jal Mahal, and is open for prayers and visitors from 6 am to 8 pm.

Apart from this, there is also the Jama Masjid in Johari Bazaar, which was built under Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II around 1727 AD during the planning of the city. It stands as the oldest mosque within the Pink City’s walled area.

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