Jaipur: Private Shopping Tour with Local Guide

Jaipur is a buying city, and that is a problem without a guide

More coloured gemstone passes through Jaipur than almost anywhere in the world, and the city also runs one of India's most practised tourist-shopping economies. Both things are true at once. A guide whose job is your side of the transaction is what separates them.

Showrooms

The organised end: gemstone jewellery, hand-knotted carpets, block-printed fabric by the metre, and tailors who will cut and stitch to measure while you are still in the city — a shirt or a jacket in a day or two is normal.

On stones: ask for a certificate stating weight, treatment and origin, and take it. A reputable Jaipur house provides one without being pressed, and the ones that hesitate are telling you something.

On carpets: hand-knotted is knotted on the back in a pattern you can see; machine-made is not. Your guide will turn one over for you.

Bazaars

Johari Bazaar — the jewellers' street and the oldest trade in the city. Kundan, where stones are set in pure gold foil with no claws so they appear to float; and meenakari, the enamel fired onto the back of the same piece so it carries a hidden second design.

Bapu Bazaar — textiles, bandhani and leheriya tie-dye, quilted razais, camel-leather bags, and mojari slippers. A good mojari bends easily in the hand.

Tripolia and Maniharon ka Rasta — lac bangles, still made over a flame in front of you.

Say this at the start

Tell your guide plainly that you want to be taken where locals buy, not where shops pay commission. A good one will say yes and mean it.

Practical

Six hours with a car and a guide. Whatever you buy is yours to pay for; nothing is included in the price.

Carry cash for the smaller workshops. Foreign cards work in showrooms; UPI will not work on a foreign phone.