Blog

Jaipur, India was such a fun place to visit with tons of beautiful sights to see and things to do. Part of the “Golden Triangle” of India, which includes Agra, Delhi and Jaipur, it is definitely a must see city if you are coming to India. In the state of Rajasthan and about a 5-6  hour drive from Delhi barring any unforeseen traffic or incidences. (HAHAHA, this is India…). So, here’s everything you need for a fun weekend in the city of Jaipur.

This post may contain some affiliate links. This means I make a small profit from your purchase but at no increased cost to you. I only recommend products that I love and would purchase myself! Full disclaimer here.

What to See in Jaipur

There is SO MUCH to see in Jaipur. We were there for three days and we kept extremely busy all three days and still didn’t see everything there was to see. I definitely recommend mapping out all the places you want to go and then grouping the things you want to do by area. You can easily waste a lot of time driving back and forth between areas.

Jaipur is just like the rest of India, dirty and hectic and it has definitely seen better days. However, the sight seeing areas are kept nice for visitors. I came expecting the area to look better than Delhi but I felt they were very comparable. The scamming in this country is out of control so always stay aware and alert about how much you are paying for everything. That being said, I am already looking forward to coming back to Jaipur and showing the area to Robin, my husband, one day. And adding the nearby city of Diapur to the list!

Tip: BRING A STUDENT ID if you have one! This will save you so much money because many sightseeing places in Jaipur offer a discount to students with proof of a student ID. Like really substantial savings.

City Palace

The City Palace has a pretty hefty entrance fee if you want to go into the living quarters BUT it is completely worth it in my opinion. This is one of the best things to do in Jaipur and the fee covers a guided tour. They give you a complimentary cold water at the beginning of the tour which is very refreshing, especially in the summer. You get a guide and they walk you through the part of the palace that is still in use today by the royal family of Rajasthan and give you facts about the palace and will answer all your questions. You’ll get to see the throne room, the blue room as well as several others.

The guides are very accommodating and will wait as long as is needed while you look around and take pictures. They don’t rush you at all. Afterwards they serve you a snack of cookies and soda. Plus they have western style toilets which is a huge blessing and you most definitely should take advantage of this unless you are heading back to your hotel right after this.

Some of the coolest doorways I’ve ever seen were after the refreshments and right before leaving. The colors and attention to detail is amazing! The palace was definitely the highlight of my visit to Jaipur.

Cost: 2500 Rupees

With Student ID: 1500 Rupees

Panna Meena Ka Kund

These super fun and unique stairs are not something you’ll see just anywhere. This is essentially a giant well or water tank that the Indian people used to collect water to be used in times of drought. the stairs lead all the way down so that no matter the water levels you can always reach the bottom. These are free to see and are actually really cool. You can find pictures of them online and on social media where people are actually on the steps but there is a guard that sits at the top and prevents you from walking on them. You will have to bribe the guard if you want to walk on the steps.

Cost: Free

Amber (Amer) Fort

Only about a 10-15 minute walk away from Panna Meena Ka Kund, this old fortress is beautiful. And on your walk over you should try and find the super intricate elephant staircase/temple. It is near the back entrance of the Amber Fort. I think these stairwells are the hidden gems of Jaipur, there are no big crowds and yet they are a sight very worth seeing.

Amber Fort is a unesco world heritage site that has gorgeous courtyards, archways and stair cases. The temple is one of the most popular things to do so it can be a little busy so I recommend trying to go early.

Cost: 200 Rupees

Student: 100 Rupees

Galtaji Monkey Temple

The Galtaji Temple is so much fun!! The beautiful temple itself is absolutly beautiful and there are so many monkeys to see. The monkeys are so sweet but they are also mischievous and like to try and take things so watch out.

You also have to watch out for people that say they have to guide you through or walk with you for the safety of the monkeys. They just want your money… like everywhere else. A young boy around 12 walked with us the whole way and we told him from the very beginning that we weren’t going to pay him anything. He helped get the monkeys on our arms and took pictures and spend a good hour with us. At the end the four of us decided to tip him because he really was very helpful.

We offered him 50 rupees each (so 200 rupees) and he had the audacity to saw “no, you owe me 100 rupees each.” ARE YOU SERIOUS! Then he called his friend over and his friend said oh he doesn’t speak english he probably misunderstood. except for the fact that he had been talking to us in english the whole time….

Anyway, bottom line is this is completely free, you owe them NOTHING and you can pay them as much or as little as you want to.

You do have to pay something like 30-50 rupees per camera you use to take pictures (this includes phones). We just payed for one phone and shared the pictures with each other later but that is also less than one USD and it might be worth it to be able to take pictures of whatever you want to, whenever you want to without having to get the other persons attention.

I read a lot of people recommend going in the evening because you see more monkeys….. We went in the morning and saw TONS but maybe we just got lucky.

One last thing, YOU CAN UBER IN AND OUT, (Love those burgers, BTW). Do not let the Tuk Tuk drivers scam you by saying that Ubers won’t come pick you up here. They will pick you up for only around 100-120 Rupees. So don’t pay a Tuk Tuk 800 Rupees because that is just ridiculous.

Cost: Free

Camera fee: 50 Rupees

Related Posts

• Weekend in Varanasi, India
• Full Guide to Nusa Islands, Indonesia
• Ultimate Guide to Vacationing in Bali, Indonesia

Hawa Mahal

This building is SO COOL and SO PINK it’s awesome. No weekend in Jaipur would be complete without seeing this stunning spot. It looks so sweet and inside there are stained glass windows that look cool. I didn’t actually go inside but some friends of mine did and their pictures looked really cool.

We did look at the outside though and the restaurants across the street will let you go up and take pictures FOR FREE. We ended up eating there because we were starving but it is not required.

Cost: 50 Rupees

Restaurant/Picture Spot Cost: Free

Johari Bazaar

I don’t have a picture of the actual market sorry! BUT…

This market place in the city center is HUGE and has so many amazing things for sale! If you’re wanting to take a break from sightseeing and do some shopping, I definitely recommend that you come here. It has everything from clothes, jewelry, and shoes to henna artists and souvenir venders. A Jaipur specific souvenir worth mentioning are puppets with brightly colored clothing and creepy faces. They are one of a kind and great conversation starters.

Cost: Free

Nahargarh Fort

Nahargarh is another fort in Jaipur that was a lot of fun to visit and it has THE most amazing look out points over Jaipur. I was a little confused about what our entry fee actually paid for so we basically stuck to exploring the walls. However, I later learned that there is a building that is also included, so make sure you explore as much as possible to see everything! From the walls though you get panoramic views of the city, the best time to visit is at sunset so you can see the sun setting over the city.

Cost: 100 Rupees

Student: 25 Rupees

Additional Things to See or Do

These are things I didn’t do myself but that I heard really good things about from other volunteers in my program that did do them. Do your research and do what sounds the best to you. If you have enough time definitely hit them all! Jaipur has so much to do, you should never be bored.

Jal Mahal

This is a palace on the lake. It is cool to look at, especially when it is lit up at night but you can’t go in and so if you’re crunched for time maybe take this one off your list.

Cost: Free

Elephantastic!

Do you love elephants? Do you want to enjoy an elephant ride, wash them, and paint them with water based paints? Then this is the place for you! At about $50-$60 USD this place is a great deal. You play with elephants for a few hours as well as getting fed by a the family that owns Elephantastic! All my friends had a great time here, (I had already done the elephant thing in Thailand and was trying to save money).

Cost: 3,500

Ride Camels

Yes thats right, you can ride camels here! Off the side of the road near Jal Mahal there are camel rides available. You have to negotiate your price and it is not the most picturesque place to check this off your bucket list. But WHO CARES! Go have fun and ride that camel. You can always do it again somewhere else.

Where to Stay in Jaipur

Holiday Inn

With a rooftop pool, AC and in house restaurants that are delicious this was a dream hotel. To get away from our volunteer housing conditions of hostel living with no AC this was like living in the lap of luxury. We had great service and no safety issues of any kind. They even have a security check at the front door. There are hotel restaurants that are great or you are right next door to McDonalds which is great is you want something fast and cheap.

Cost: $40-60 USD a night

Zostel

This hostel is right in the middle of the downtown Jaipur area and only a few minutes walk from both City Palace and Hawa Mahal. There is AC, showers, and lockers not to mention it was extremely clean. It may not be a luxury hotel but for a hostel I would give it 5 stars. With unbeatable nightly prices and great service I would 100% stay here again. Perfect for a quick weekend in Jaipur.

Cost: $5-10 USD a night

Why Jaipur is Pink: The Pink City

Why is any city pink? Because there was a visiting European Royal and the King of Jaipur wanted to impress him. The European royals favorite color was pink and so, they painted the walls of the entire city pink. Its a very corral pink and I think it is super pretty and fun. It definitely makes Jaipur stand out from any other city!

I hope you enjoy your weekend in Jaipur, the Paris of India! Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India and there is no shortage of things to do from a beautiful palace to an ancient temple and a cultural experience you won’t soon forget. If you have any questions on my trip or any insights that I can use on a future trip to Jaipur I would LOVE to hear them in the comments below. Feel free to share this for a friend or save it for later on Pinterest or Facebook using the tabs to the left. You guys are awesome and I appreciate the time you took to read this more than you know. India is a difficult country in many ways but a truly amazing and life changing country in so many others!