Jaipur: Private Full Day City Sightseeing Tour with Guide

A nine o'clock start and eight hours of the Pink City

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and the largest city in the state, and it was built in one go: Jai Singh II laid it out in 1727 on a nine-square grid taken from Hindu architectural treatises, with street widths fixed by rule and trades allocated to specific blocks.

That plan is still legible if somebody walks you through it, and invisible if nobody does — which is the argument for taking the guided option.

Amber Fort

Begun in 1592 by Raja Man Singh on the ridge above Maota Lake, in the pale sandstone of these hills.

The Ganesh Pol gateway, the Sheesh Mahal with its ceiling of mirror fragments set so a single candle would fill the room with light, and the Sukh Niwas cooled by water channels running through the walls.

Jal Mahal

From the causeway. Four of five storeys underwater, no entry.

City Palace

Part of it is still the residence of the former royal family. The armoury, the textile rooms, and the two enormous silver urns in the Diwan-i-Khas — the largest silver objects in the world, cast so a maharaja could take Ganges water on a voyage to England.

Jantar Mantar

Nineteen masonry astronomical instruments, UNESCO-listed. The Samrat Yantra is 27 metres of stone and still reads local time to within a couple of seconds.

Hawa Mahal

The honeycomb facade of 953 windows on Sireh Deori Bazaar, built in 1799 as a screen for the zenana.

Four options

Car with driver only; car with a guide; car, guide and monument entrance tickets; or all of that with lunch.

The ticket-inclusive options are worth comparing against the counter price — roughly ₹1,500 a head for a foreign adult.

Practical

Eight hours from a 9am start, with hotel pickup and drop-off.

A driver-only day works if you have read up beforehand. For Jantar Mantar in particular, take the guide.