The colorful city of Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. It is also known as the Pink City due to the use of oink stones in the construction of houses. It was fashioned a planned city by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1727 AD.
Jaipur attracts a lot of tourists because of the presence of a large number of magnificent forts and palaces. Hawa Mahal, built in 1799 AD draws a large number of tourists every year. It is the palace of the royal ladies and has a pattern of balconies. Jantar Mantar is an observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh and is laid out in a complex grid. It has some very precise instruments to gauge altitudes and earthly distances.
There is also the City Palace, now converted into a museum is the amalgamation of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture. The erstwhile royal family still resides in one part of the palace. There are also forts like Nahargarh, Jaigarh, and Amber which are an epitome of Rajput heritage. An incredible reflection of the Amber-Fort Palace can be viewed from the Maota Lake. The Central Museum, which has a huge collection of the costumes, jewelry and pottery of the yesteryears, the Jaipur Museum, the Rajmahal Palace, the Lakshmi Narayan Temple and the Birla Mandir Planetarium are other places of tourist interest.