Tailor Made Holidays To Jaipur

The city of Jaipur holds many ancient architectural features, all brimming with stories to tell. People even say that this city was built to impress the British court.

When the Prince of Wales visited Jaipur in 1727, the maharaja came up with a way to give him the warmest welcome and most memorable experience of Jaipur imaginable. It made utter sense, he concluded after much thought, to paint the entire city pink.

Thankfully, the prince loved the place – and the generosity of the people who greeted him. Nothing much has changed since then to prevent today’s visitors feeling similarly good vibes about Jaipur.

The walls of pretty much every building are still pink – they are constructed with pink sandstone and then given a lick of soft, chalky pink paint – and the welcome you can expect from the locals is full of stories, genuine enthusiasm and a sense that they cannot do enough for you.

In spite of average temperatures northwards of 30C, Jaipur is a city where it is possible to stay cool. Like everywhere throughout the Golden Triangle of India, the land is dusty with a terracotta hue, and the air delightfully warm. But the reason Jaipur was built on this spot is because water is plentiful throughout the city, and it has been used to its fullest to keep the residents and visitors chilled.

The historic buildings in Jaipur were designed with their own built-in cooling systems, so a tour of Jaipur can be made in relative comfort. The Amber Fort is an exquisite palace of white marble and pink and yellow sandstone, and features channels of water flowing through many of its internal spaces and rooms.

And as you tour the complex of courtyards, gardens and ornately decorated buildings of the City Palace – and catch a glimpse of the private quarters of the royal family who still live there – a simple cup of chai will work its wonders to refresh and revitalise.