The entrance to India’s most colourful state is through Rajasthan’s captivating, historic capital city of Jaipur.
The vibrant streets of the city are a dizzying mix of the old and the new. Buses manoeuvre around sluggish camels, cycle-rickshaws patiently hold up throngs of motorcycles, and buzzing autorickshaws hold up leisurely strollers. The splendours of Jaipur’s illustrious past are islands of relative peace in the midst of this clamour, conjuring a different pace and another planet.
The erstwhile royal family is still housed at the City Palace, which is also the location of the royal observatory Jantar Mantar, and the honeycomb-shaped Hawa Mahal, which overlooks the bazaar below. The fairy-tale magnificence of Amber Fort, Jaipur’s main attraction, is just out of sight in the dry hill terrain that surrounds the city.