Jaipur: Pink City Walking Tour with Local Guide

The walled city on foot, which is how it was designed

Jai Singh II laid Jaipur out in 1727 on a nine-square grid, with street widths set by rule and each trade given its own block. The whole plan was built to be walked, and walking it is the only way the plan becomes visible.

Four hours, entirely inside the old city.

Hawa Mahal

Where the walk starts. Built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, designed by Lal Chand Ustad, in red and pink sandstone as an extension of the City Palace zenana.

953 windows across five storeys, and less than a metre deep for most of its height — it is a screen rather than a building, made so the women of the court could watch street processions without being seen. The facade is said to resemble Krishna's crown.

From the street opposite, in morning light, it is the most photographed thing in Rajasthan.

The grid

Then into it: Chhoti Chopad and Badi Chopad, the great crossroads of the 1727 plan, and the bazaars radiating from them.

Johari Bazaar for jewellery — kundan and meenakari, the two techniques the city is known for. Tripolia and Maniharon ka Rasta for lac bangles, made over a flame in front of you. Bapu Bazaar for textiles and mojari slippers. And the lanes where spice, sweets and flowers are still sold where the plan put them three hundred years ago.

Temples and courtyards

The small temples inside the residential blocks, which see no visitors at all, and the havelis behind their gateways — most of them still lived in.

City Palace and Jantar Mantar from outside, with your guide explaining what is inside if you want to return with a ticket.

Practical

Four hours on foot on uneven stone and through traffic — flat shoes, and water.

Monument entry is not included; the walk covers exteriors, streets and free sites, and your guide will tell you which interiors are worth a separate ticket.

Mornings are far better than afternoons for this, in any month.