It will be a good idea to hire a local taxi to reach the fort. If your driver is well familiar with the route then take your car to the entrance of the fort, otherwise you can park the car at the foot of the fort and hire a jeep from there to reach the entrance.
The jeep charges Rs. 450 (per car) for two way ride and Rs.50 extra for the toll tax (only once).
You will find a lot of Elephants here but if you like/love them then do not opt for Elephant rides. The Elephants are not treated very well and are forced to work. Such rides are now available across the world at many attractions.
Although you will not require a guide after reading this post but in case you would like one then they usually charge Rs. 350 (for the group) for a 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs tour.
Timing & Location map
- Timing: 9 am to 5 pm
- Open all days
- Entry Fees: Rs. 100 (for Indians) & Rs. 500 (for foreingers)
- Best time to visit: During winters – October to February
- Visit Duration: 3 hours
- Dress Code: None
Sound & Light show – Amber Fort
Every night throughout the year you can enjoy the Sound & Light show at the fort. It is amazing and should not be missed. It is available in Hindi (entry fees: Rs.100) as well as English(entry fees: Rs.200).
Timings
October to February -6:30 pm (English)/ 7:30 pm (Hindi)
March to April – 7:00 pm(English)/ 8:00 pm (Hindi)
May to September – 7:30 pm(English)/ 8:30 pm (Hindi)
*Please note: From 1st to 10th October there will only be an English show at 8.30 pm.
First Courtyard of Amber fort
There are two entrance to the first courtyard of the palace, this is the Moon Gate (one of the two entrances). It was used by the common people to enter and exit the palace.
You can also watch the fort’s tour at our channel. Don’t forget to subscribe it.
This is the other entrance to the first courtyard, the Sun Gate, it was exclusively used by the royal family/royal guests for entrance and exit.
The entry ticket for the fort is to be bought from this courtyard.
This is the First courtyard, it was used to celebrate victory parades by armies. The females of the royal family enjoyed the parades from behind the Jalis.
The ground floor was used to keep horses and some rooms at first floor were for gaurds. Some rooms above the gate were called the Naubatkhana, the place where Naubat was played. It is a type of music.
Shila Devi Temple
Right next to this courtyard is the Shila Devi Temple, which was the main temple where the Rajputana family worshipped. Photography of the temple is banned.
This is the gate of the temple, made of Silver. There is a statue of lord Ganesha above this gate, made up of single piece of Coral gemstone.
According to the legends, goddess Kali answered Raja(king) Mansingh’s prayers and blessed him with the victory over the war with Bengal, in his dream. As promised by the Raja to the goddess, he brought the slab (Shila) shaped image of goddess to the Fort.
Some people say that this image of goddess was gifted by the Bengal Raja, after his defeat, to Raja Man Singh.
Diwan-i-aam – Amber fort
After the temple, a ticket checking booth is installed. Next stop is the Diwan-i-aam, the house of the public. The place where Raja sat to listen and solve common people’s problems.
The place where The Raja(king) sat with his members. On the left, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the city and overlook first courtyard.
This palace is influenced by Rajputana as well as Mughal architecture due to the Rajputana alliance with Mughals because of Jodha Bai’s marriage with Akbar.
Diwan-e-aam has two types of pillars, one entire white pillar is carved out of a single marble stone.
Ganesh Gate
This is the famous Ganesh Gate made in honour of the Mughals and one of the most beautiful parts of the palace. It is covered by beautiful frescos, made using vegetable colours. No re-paints yet!
The section above the gate is known as the Suhag Mandir. The Jalis in the gate were for the female members of the royal family so that they could sit and witness the entire session held at Diwan-e-aam.
The golden color is given by using gold. The gate leads to the private sections of the palace. Common people were not allowed beyond this point.
Diwan-i-khas – Amber fort
The gate exits to Diwan-i-Khas(Sheesh Mahal), Mughal Gardens(Char Bagh), and Sukh Niwas(house of pleasure). The above picture is of the most spectacular part of the palace, Diwan-i-khas – the house of private audience.
All the walls are decorated with beautiful marble carvings and convex mirrors. The ceilings appear no less than a rich look intricate work carpet. Due to the mirror work, it is called Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace).
It was constructed during the reign of Raja Jai Singh due to which it is also known as Jai Mahal. The upper section of this mahal is known as Jas Mandir. You can check out the ceiling and more details of the palace in the video.
The innermost chamber is locked to protect from any damage. This is the place where the meetings were held. The mirrors twinkled due to the candle light and also the heat from the flames was reflected back by the glass, helping in keeping the rooms warm. Due to the same, this place is also known as the winter house.
They also had ways to keep this palace less warm during summers.
You will find such amazing marble work in this chamber, this particular work is special because it hides 5 to 7 animals within it. The centre part of the flower symbolises the trunk of an Elephant and the tail of a Tiger. The leaves represent the head of Snakes and the Butterflies are clearly visible.
Sukh Niwas (House of pleasure)
Opposite to Diwan-i-khas is the summer house, the sukh niwas. This section was used during the day time/summer season by the royal family to relax. This house was kept cool by the running water through the channels and perforated marble pieces. It acted like a natural AC.
This is the channel covered with glass top through which the water flew. The extra water was channelled towards the Mughal Gardens.
The walls of this chamber are beautifully decorated with inlay work and blue color. It was refilled some time back. This house led to the the bedrooms of the king and his queens, also known as Zenani Quaters.
Zenani Quaters – Man Singh Palace
The chamber at the first floor belonged to the King, Raja Man Singh, and since he had 12 queens, he made 12 chambers at the ground floor, one for each queen.
No queen was allowed to visit the king’s room but the king had stairs leading to all the 12 queens from his room. No one would know which Rani would the Raja visit.
This house, under the king’s room, belonged to the first queen. Only the first queen had the privilege of a jacuzzi (the black square grill cage in the centre) and a personal kitchen.
All other queens had to share a common kitchen but the first. This was done to protect the first queen and her children from other queens because first queen’s son would be the legal heir of the throne.
This is how other chambers looked like, apart from first queen’s chamber. All the chambers are aligned in a square and there is a big open space in the centre. The centre part has a pavilion where the queens used to chat and celebrate special occasions.
This part of the palace was decorated and used in Bollywood movies like “Jodha Akbar”. It appears really different from the current situation.
Restaurants in the Amber Fort
Cafe Coffee Day
The opposite end of the King’s chamber was occupied by the helps. Now it is occupied by CCD and some souvenir shops.
CCD has an outer seating option as well. You can enjoy the view of Jaigarh fort from here.
1135 AD
This is the fancy restaurant which helps you take a deeper dig in the history. It is as royal as the Rajputana fort. It is located at the 2nd floor, you can dine inside under the luxurious frescos and decor or you can dine outside with a beautiful city view. The fort looks magnificent at night with all the lighting.
You can dine like a maharaja and a maharani here, the menu offers good variety and the prices are also decent. The review of the restaurant are great. You can check the menu and the prices here.
Jaigarh Fort – Jaipur
Jaigarh fort was home to Raja Jai Singh, he had only 1 queen so he built his queen’s room equivalent to three queens’ rooms. Jaigarh fort is house to world’s biggest and powerful cannon as well. Fortunately, it was was never used after one testing.
Tunnel Gate – Amber fort
This is the last part of the palace, this tunnel leads to the Jaigarh fort. Both the forts were considered one single complex. The tunnel connected both the forts and is accessible from Man Singh Palace, Zenani Quarters, and Sheesh Mahal. It is roofless after a certain distance.
Gayatri Devi was the 3rd maharani of Jaipur in 1940s. She was tiled as one of the world’s most beautiful women. you can find more about her in her autobiography.
There are multiple information panels installed next to each building. You can find some authentic information from these. We made a point to go through each of them.
Jal Mahal is close to the Amer Fort, you can check it out after your fort tour.
Meet my travel partner, my partner in crime – Arpna. No trip would have been possible without her.
Hope you enjoyed the tour of Amber fort, Jaipur. Have you ever enjoyed sunrise at Amer Fort? Let me know in the comment section below.
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