Travel Information
The city of Jaipur was built by the astronomer king Sawai Jai Singh in 1727. It was designed by an engineer Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya, who used ideas from the ancient architectural work the Vastu Shastra.
 Jaipur city is laid out in the form of a grid, with wide intersecting roads and impresses all who see it. A 19th century French traveler Louis Rousselet described his impressions of Jaipur, on his travel to Rajasthan, India, as: "The city is in a style of unusual magnificence. I doubt whether at the time it was built, there were many cities in Europe which would compare with it."
Two large silver urns, weighing 345 kg each, can be seen in the City Palace, Jaipur. They are mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest silver objects in the world. They were built to carry holy water from the Ganges to London, when Raja Sawai Madho Singh II, traveled there in 1902. Now tourists travel to Rajasthan, India to see these and other fascinating artifacts, in palaces and museums.
It was in Ajmer Fort, that Sir Thomas Roe, the emissary from the court of king James I of England, presented his credentials to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, on 10th January 1616, thus opening the door to the British presence in India.
Chittorgarh Fort was reportedly attacked by Allaudin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi in 1303, because he desired the beautiful Queen of Chittorgarh, Rani Padmini, after seeing a glimpse of her in a mirror. In the ensuing battle Chittorgarh's army was routed and the queen and her women immolated themselves in a pyre in the Rajput custom of jauhar, rather than submit to the enemy.
The Keoladeo Ghana National Park, also known as the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, was previously the private duck shooting preserve of the rulers of Bharatpur and their guests. Thousands of migratory birds travel to Rajasthan, India, every year and spend the winter in Bharatpur. In November 1938, the Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow and his shooting party, set a record when they killed 4,273 ducks and geese in just one day!
Alwar, in Rajasthan, is the only location where Hanuman, the Monkey God, is worshipped in human form. The Pandavas, heroes of the Indian epic The Mahabharata, are said to have lived the last year of their 13-year exile in Alwar.
The Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, is unique for being a temple at which devotees feed the hundreds of rats that are worshipped at the temple everyday.
Oscar winning Indian filmmaker, Satyajit Ray describes his impressions on his travel to Rajasthan, India: "The contrasts are enough to take one's breath away. I have seen fortresses perched on hilltops, I have seen palaces and havelis of marble and stone with exquisite carvings on them…women stepping straight out of the miniatures, decked in brilliant reds and greens and yellows."
Changed Names of Rajasthan's Cities
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| New Name |
Old Name |
| Jaipur |
Jaipoor |
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