Vidya Deshpande takes time out from her travels to give Karnataka Today’s readers suggestions on what they can, and probably should do in Jaipur, aka the Pink City if they have a day to spendin this city of Palaces, to get the most bang for their buck.
So you are on a business trip to Jaipur and have a day to see all/ do all in Jaipur? Here’s everything you need to do to get the most out your day: it’s a pick of things to do in the Pink City that will make your friends go green with envy.
Best Exotic Marigold Cycling Tour: Wake up with the roosters and head out for a cycling trip just outside Jaipur. Take a cab ride to a place called ‘Ghat Ki Guni’ where you meet up wit the cycle tour company reps at 7.00 am. From here it’s a 25 km long ride through narrow village roads, a dry river bed till you reach Castle Kanota, the hotel featured in the movie ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. There you will be given a tour of the heritage castle and treated to a sumptuous breakfast. The tour ends at 9.30 am.
(You have to pre-book the tour and a minimum of 2 persons are needed. Cost INR 2500 per head includes cycle to ride, breakfast, bottled water and castle tour.)
9.30am: Get your cab driver to pick you up from Castle Kanota and head to Amber Fort, a 45-minute drive via NH-21. You should arrive there in time to catch an elephant ride up the hill to the fort (Cost INR 900 for 2 persons).This magnificent fort built by Raja Man Singh I has the most famous ‘Sheesh Mahal’ or Palace of Mirrors. Take your time to amble through the palace and walk down the ramp, back to your cab. (Hawkers trying to sell you cheap baubles and souvenirs will hound you as you walk, politely turn them down, if you don’t intend to buy anything.)
12.00 noon: Drive past Jal Mahal (Water Palace), stop long enough to take a few selfies with the lake in the background and head for the center of town for a Rajasthani meal. Drive to Johri Bazaar and have a Rajasthani Thali at LMB (Laxmi Mishtant Bhandar), the most-popular sweet shop in the city. Also, get some ‘ghevar’ (Rajasthani sweet) and ‘pyaazdal Kachoris’ packed to take home.
2.00 pm: Post lunch, take a rickshaw ride through the old city, and head for the city palace. Here you will see some unique sights of Raja Man Sigh 2, the builder of modern Jaipur, including the huge silver caskets he carried to London filled with Ganga ‘jal’ to bathe in!
3.30 pm: Walk to JantarMantar, the collection of astronomical instruments built in the 18th century to measure time, Earth’s rotation and calculate the distance of planets and stars. Spend an hour star gazing.
5.00pm: You are mostly done with your sight seeing, but you haven’t shopped at all. So, take a rickshaw ride through the old city, stopping at Bapu Bazar and Johari Bazar and pick up cheap cotton hand blocked traditional clothes, bed sheets and quilts, jhootis and some silver jewelry. Get your rickshaw driver to stop outside Hawa Mahal, the icon wind palace of Jaipur, and click a few quick selfies. Alternately, if you want something more upmarket, head out to Civil Lines and find yourself in the uber Jaipur stores like Cottons, Soma, Kilol, Suvasa and Anokhi.
6.30 pm: By now you are tired of all the shopping and sight seeing and you need to relax in a vibrant atmosphere. Pre-book a table and head for ChokiDhani, an arts and craft village cum restaurant. Enjoy an evening of puppet shows, dance and gypsy music and tuck into a very traditional Rajasthani meal here.
9.00: You are dog-tired now. Head back to your hotel room, catch some much need rest before you head out of the Pink City the next morning.
(Vidya Deshpande is a freelancer journalist and runs Soul Purpose Travel, an adventure travel company for women.)
