Jaipur  – Off beaten trail in The Pink City

Jaipur is a vibrant amalgamation of the old and the new. Also called the Pink City, The capital of the royal state of Rajasthan, Jaipur has been ruled by Rajput kingdoms for many centuries and developed as a planned city in the 17th century AD. Along with Delhi and Agra, Jaipur forms the Golden Triangle, one of the most famous tourist circuits of the country.  With the old city surrounded by walls and gates decorated with drawings on the backdrop of a beautiful pink hue, Jaipur, the pink city successfully manages to retain its old-world charm. Home to a few UNESCO World Heritage sites including Amer Fort and Jantar Mantar, Jaipur is home to many magnificent forts, palaces, temples and museums. Jaipur is filled to the brim with bustling local bazaars where you can shop for local handicrafts and trinkets to your heart’s content. Popular bazaars in the city include Bapu Bazaar, Tripolia Bazaar and Johri Bazaar. Jaipur is also very well known for its local food and the most famous dishes include the Ghewar, Pyaaz Kachori and Dal Baati Churma.

One of the largest cities in India, Jaipur is also home to all the modern amenities with some of the most exotic hotels and resorts in the world. The city boasts an international airport and is also very well connected by rail and road. The metro, local buses, shared tuk-tuks, auto-rickshaws and taxi aggregator apps including Uber and Ola solve the commute problem in the city quite comfortably. It’s quite interesting to see the highly urbanised pockets and shopping areas have casually sprung up beside gleaming forts and palaces. Majestic buildings, tales of heroic battles, resplendent forts and palaces, and multi-faceted characters, Jaipur has long been one of the shiniest cultural jewels in the history of the Indian subcontinent. With friendly people known for their hospitality, Jaipur offers a plethora of options for travellers.