Jaipur was painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales and the law requiring its buildings be maintained in that terracotta rose colour has made it India’s most visually distinctive city. This jaipur walking tour companion is paired with “Exploring Jaipur [India] 4K Walking Tour | Amber Fort” — a walk through Rajasthan’s Pink City combining the ornate bazaar streets of the old walled city with the dramatic hilltop fort above.
About This Walking Tour
This 4K walking tour covers both the old city (the Pink City) and Amber Fort, the two poles of Jaipur’s heritage experience. The walled city walk covers the famous Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), the Johari Bazaar gem market, City Palace and the Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory, and the uniformly terracotta-pink streetscape that makes Jaipur’s commercial core unlike any other bazaar city in India. Amber Fort, approximately 11 kilometres north of the city centre, is reached by the video and shows the hilltop palace-fort complex that preceded the founding of Jaipur.
The video captures Jaipur’s architectural unity — the result of the 1876 royal order that all buildings be painted the same shade of terracotta pink — and the commercial density of the old bazaar streets where gem-cutters, textile merchants, and brass craftspeople operate in buildings unchanged in their basic form for 300 years.
Highlights of Jaipur’s Pink City
The Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, is a five-storey screen of 953 small windows in a honeycomb latticework of pink sandstone, designed to allow royal women to observe street processions while remaining hidden behind the facade. The building is only one room deep and its extraordinary photogenic quality makes it Jaipur’s most reproduced image. The best views are from the tea shop opposite, not from inside.
Jantar Mantar observatory, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II between 1727 and 1734 as one of five astronomical observatories he commissioned, contains 14 major geometric instruments for measuring time, predicting eclipses, and tracking celestial bodies with the naked eye. The Samrat Yantra sundial is accurate to within 2 seconds and is the world’s largest stone sundial at 27 metres. UNESCO listed Jantar Mantar as a World Heritage Site in 2010. The City Palace adjacent houses the former royal family and is still partially occupied; its museum and courtyard are open to visitors.
Amber Fort (Amer Fort), built over several centuries from the 16th century onward by the Kachawaha Rajput rulers, commands a dramatic hilltop position above Maota Lake. The Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors) in the maharaja’s private apartments has a ceiling entirely covered in glass mosaic that glitters by candlelight. The palace is a masterpiece of Rajput-Mughal architecture, combining decorative traditions from both cultures.
A Brief History of Jaipur
Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a Mughal ally and ruler of the Kachawaha Rajputs, as one of India’s first planned cities. The city was designed by the Bengali architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya on a grid plan based on the principles of the ancient Hindu architectural text Shilpa Shastra — nine equal blocks divided by wide streets with the royal palace at the centre. The city became the capital of Rajasthan after Indian independence in 1947.
The terracotta pink colour was applied city-wide in 1876 on the occasion of the visit of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). Pink, the colour of hospitality in Rajput tradition, was applied to all buildings along the royal procession route and subsequently mandated by law for the entire walled city. The regulation remains in force today and is enforced by municipal authorities. Jaipur’s gem and jewellery industry — which handles approximately 95% of India’s gem cutting — has been the economic foundation of the city since the Mughal period.
Practical Tips
Jaipur International Airport is 13 kilometres from the city centre; trains from Delhi take 4–6 hours. India uses the rupee. City Palace and Jantar Mantar charge combined admission (approximately 700 rupees for foreigners). Amber Fort admission is 200 rupees; jeeps run from the road below to the fort entrance. Auto-rickshaws are the standard way to travel between the Pink City bazaars and Amber Fort (approximately 200–300 rupees one way). The walled city is best walked in the morning before the heat builds.
Best Time to Visit
October through March offers comfortable walking temperatures. The Holi festival in February–March brings extraordinary colour celebrations to Jaipur’s streets and is one of the best places in India to witness the festival. Summer (April–June) is extremely hot (40°C+).
Watch & Explore More
The full 4K Pink City and Amber Fort walk is embedded above. Find more Rajasthan and India content at the @walkingtoursvideoscom channel. Related posts: Delhi’s Old Delhi Chandni Chowk walk and Varanasi’s Ganges ghats walk.