Walk In Jaipur

History of Rajasthan :: About Jaipur :: Walks in Jaipur


"WALKS in Jaipur"
About the Walk :: Information on the Walks

The walks will introduce you to many of Jaipur's best-known monuments that are still located inside the old walled city. Enter any of the lanes leading from the main streets and each one will unfold several interesting facets of Jaipur's traditional lifestyle, architecture, arts, crafts, community living, havelis and temples.

As you explore all this and more, you realize that it is not just a city of forts, palaces and gardens. It is culturally rich city that has happily accepted t-shirts, jeans and baseball caps along with traditional turbans, dhotis and ghagras (traditional skirts) - they're all a part of this live, throbbing exuberant city. A city like this is still hard to come by.

ABOUT THE WALKS

You will escorted by our "walk expert" with knowledge on the lanes and other details. The walled city will throw many more surprises if explored on foot or cycle rickshaw. Except for increased crowds and many more motorized vehicles than before, nothing seems to have changed here. Today, the streets of the city are crowded with buses, cars, bicycles, motorcycles as well as camel and bullock carts fighting for their space on the roads. It may interest you to know that at any given time you can see thirteen different modes of transportation - the highest in the country. But it is still enchanting maze of streets, exhilarating, at times infuriating, crowded, colorful but never dull.

For the first-time visitor, Jaipur is definitely a feast for the eyes because life in the walled city still has the flavour and ambience of old times. Despite having grown into a bustling metropolis, the ancient heart of this planned city still beats in its gali-mohallas rather that the beautiful palaces. Along the route of the walks, you will find many warm and friendly people who will happily welcome you into their homes and give you a cup of tea and tell you stories of the days gone by. In fact, you will also come across several areas where elderly people sit together outside teashops and discuss anything from politics to the good old times. Look out - and avoid, youngsters sometimes posing as students who may promise to get you good bargains.

Be prepared for the unexpected, in sights, sounds and smells. Chaotic and noisy, people jostling against each other, stray cows butting in, lots of bargaining…

INFORMATION ON THE WALKS

When the city was planned and built, it was a plain cream colour and remained so for over a century. There are various stories as to the origin of the pink color but one that is largely agreed upon by historians is the one to-do with the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1876. Maharaja Ram Singh II wanted the city to look clean and new to welcome his guest and experimented with different shades for different streets. Several colors were tried to reject and the terracotta pink was the final choice for the main shopping area. The color stayed and gate Jaipur it s name - Pink City.

WALK	DETAILS	PLACES OF INTEREST
1	This is the heart of the walled city - the Sarhad Chowkris occupies two of the nine squares and cover one-seventh area of the entire walled city. Go into the huge courtyard just outside the City Palace. Then to the Jantar Mantar where you can learn about the movement of planets and study time on a huge sundial, amongst other interesting things; then move on to the beautiful palace complex where you could easily spend almost half the day browsing sound Sawai Man Singh II Museum.	Chandni Chowk - Brijnidhi Temple - Pratapeshwar Mandir - Shri Anand Krishna Behariji Mandir - Jantar Mantar- City Palace
2	A Journey into the past - starting from the Sirch Deori Gate that leads to the City Palace complex. Go past the huge garages that house the Indra Viman - an elephant driven chariot, on to Jaleb Chowk that is part of the main square of the city that was used for ceremonial gatherings. See the Jaipur family's ruling deity and get a glimpse of a Mughal style garden.	Sireh Deori Gate - Naqqarkhana Gate - Jaleb Chowk - Govinddevji Temple - Jai Niwas Gardens - Badal Mahal - Talkatora - Chini Ki Burj - Chaugan
3	Painted temples, uniform shops and some original havelis that haven't been tampered with make this an interesting area to walk in. this walk allows you to see a bit of the inner section of the city to observe the layout of the residential blocks. A good place if you want to shop for some silver.	Ajmeri Gate - Kishan Pol Bazaar - Sanghon Ka Rasta - Maharaja College of Arts - Ajaibghar Ka Rasta - Shokri Modikhana - Digambar Jain Temple - Harsh Behari Ka Mandir - Bhagat Mishthan Bhandar - Maharaja Girls School - Kotwali - Shri Sitaramji Ka Mandir - Choti Chaupad.
4	This is the Rajpath of Jaipur, the main street that connects the city from the western most point to the one on the east. Originally, it was a 110 ft wide road and has remained so to this day. Four important roads cut across it at right angles. This is the only straight road in the city that can take you in from one gate and out through another without any twists or turns. Shops, temples, havelis, brass, copper, and steel utensils… they are all here on this main shopping lane of yesteryears. If you want to see the markets at their busiest, then this walk is best done during mid morning or late afternoon.	Chand Pol gate - Hanuman ji Mandir - Shri Ramchandraji Ka Mandir - Choti Chaupad - Flower Market - Isa lat - Tripolia bazaar - Maniharon ka Raasta - Tripolia gate - nawab saheb ki havelis - badi chaupad - mandir on badi chaupad - silver shops - ismail kallu hotel - Ramganj chaupar - Rajputana Haveli - Suraj Pol gate.
5	It is famous, it is crowded, and it is a shopper's delight. Johari Bazaar is your best bet if you are looking for traditional saris and lehengas in colorful lahariya (stripes) or bhandhej (tie and dye) or glittering gemstone jewellery. Traditionally, it was the lane of the jewelers (johari means jeweller) but today occupied by an equal number of cloth- merchants. This is one of the busiest streets in Jaipur but easy to walk on with the newly vacated verandas outside the shops. Minor diversions into the by-lanes can be a rewarding experience.	Link Road - Bapu Bazar - Sanganeri Gate - Hanumanji Ka Mandir - Johari bazaar - Sheesh Mahal of Ras Kapoor - Haldiyon Ka Raasta - Badi Chaupad - Hawa Mahal - Sireh Deori Bazaar - Maharaja Boys School - Mandir Shri Ramchandraji - Hawa Mahal - Kale Hanumanji Temple.
6	This is one of the most un-spoilt areas of the walled city. No commercial complexes have come up here and the residential use of this Chowkri Purani Basti has been maintained. Unlike the other chowkris, this one is not as crowded and offers a leisurely walk where one can observe the special features that make Jaipur special. The layout of the streets and the residences, the decorative entrances, the well planned havelies with their courtyards, the tiny windows planned in a way that they kept the harsh sun out and allowed enough light and air to filter in.	Choti chaupad - Gangauri Bazaar - Langar ke Balaji ka Raasta - Jailal Munshi Ka Raasta - Pandit Shivdasji ka Raasta - Balanandji Ka Math
7	This is chowkri Topkhana Desh and the highlight of this walk is Khazanewalano ka Raasta, the lane of the marble statue makers. The entire lane is clogged more with tiny shops selling readymade garments than with marble carvers for whom this lane was famous. Yet, there are still quite a few of them working here and the constant noise of stone being hammered and chiseled can be heard at several places. The street takes you out at Indira Bazaar and then out of the walled area through singh Dwar, a smaller opening out of the walled city, towards the newer section of the city - the Mirza Ismail Road.	There is a rather crowded area and you would do better to get dropped right outside Khazanewalon ka Raasta and ask your car to meet you on Mirza Ismail Road near Gem Place or Niros. Taxis and scooter rickshaws are readily available on this road.
8	Busy, new, narrow, crowded lanes but full of life as people go about their daily business. Watch the utensil makers shape brass and iron into traditional pots and pans. Walk past old temples and painted havelies and get a feel of how much thought has gone into the planning of this marvelous city. Visit a private museum in one of the bylanes.	Tripolia Gate - Maharaja Public Library - Tarkeshwar Mahadev Mandir - Potter - Chaura Raasta - Sanjay Sharma Museum - Thatheron ka Raasta - New Gate - Ram Niwas Bagh - Albert hall Museum
9	Lost grandeur, elephants, cobbled streets, ruins of temples and havelies, step wells and the most beautiful lake in Jaipur. Every stone here seems to speak of a bygone era. Very little traffic and a serenity not found in the city. Within the city are numerous fine buildings such as palaces, ranks and wells, dwellings of officials and high priests, and private houses. A visit to the Amber Fort needs to be done separately as there is much to see there and would require a lot of time. However, you can first visit the fort and walk down from there to explore this township and see its various temples and deserted havelies.	Narsingh Temple - Digambar - Jain Temple - Jagat Shiromani Temple - Ambikeshwar Mahadev Mandir - Panna Mian Ka Kund - Sagar - Sanghi Jootha Ram Mandir - laxmi Narayan Mandir - Akbari Mosque - Bharmal ki Chattri
10	Sanganer was named after a Kachchawa prince, Sangaji and is sixteen km to the south of Jaipur and well known for its handicrafts. It is an important centre for craft, industry and produces some of the finest handmade paper, hand block printed textiles and screen printers. Both handmade paper and textiles are popular all over the country and abroad. The town has several ruins and interesting old havelies dating back to the sixteenth century. An old eleventh century Jain temple with fine carvings is also worth visiting.	Jain temples - Blue Pottery - Handmade Paper - Block Printers - Block Makers.

About the Walk :: Information on the Walks

History of Rajasthan :: About Jaipur :: Walks in Jaipur