The City Palace, Jaipur.

The City Palace, Jaipur.

The City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces and other buildings, is a palace complex. 

It was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a museum but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The palace complex, which is located northeast of the centre of the Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers right up to the 20th century. The credit for the urban layout of the city and its structures is attributed to two architects namely, Vidyadar Bhattacharya, the chief architect in the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from the Sawai himself who was a keen architectural enthusiast. The architects achieved a fusion of the Shilpa shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, Mughal and European styles of architecture.

The City Palace, Jaipur.

One of The Entry Gates To The City Palace, Jaipur.

Virendra Pol, Udai Pol near Jaleb chowk and the Tripolia Gate (triple gate) are the entry gates to the City Palace, Jaipur. The Tripolia gate is reserved for entry into the palace by the royal family. Common people and visitors can enter the place complex only through the Virendra Pol and the Udai Pol or the Atish Pol (Stable Gate). The entry from Virendra Pol leads to the Mubarak Mahal. The gateways are richly decorated.

Beautiful Carvings and statue of Mahavat riding Elephant at the Gate at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Mubarak Mahal, Jaipur at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Mubarak Mahal, meaning the 'Auspicious Palace', was built with a fusion of the Islamic, Rajput and European architectural styles in the late 19th century by Maharaja Madho Singh II as reception centre. It is a museum; a fine repository of variety of textiles such as the royal formal costumes, sanganeri block prints, embroidered shawls, Kashmiri pashminas and silk saris as part of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum. A noteworthy display here is of the set of voluminous clothes worn by Sawai Madhosingh I, who was 3.9 ft wide and weighed 250 kilograms but interestingly had 108 wives.

Diwan-e-Khas, Jaipur at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Diwan-e-Khas of The City Palace, Jaipur. is a private audience hall of the Maharajas, a marble floored chamber. It is located between the armoury and the art gallery. There are two huge sterling silver vessels of 5.2 ft height and each with capacity of 4000 litres and weighing 340 kilograms, on display here. They were made from 14000 melted silver coins without soldering. They are officially recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest sterling silver vessels. These vessels were specially made by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II, who was a highly pious Hindu, to carry the Ganga river water to drink on his trip to England in 1901 (for Edward VII's coronation) as he was finicky about committing religious sin by consuming the English water. Hence, the vessels are named as Gangajelies (Ganga water holding urns). There are a number of crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Sterling silver vessels of 5.2 ft height and weighing 340 kilograms at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Crystal chandeliers and Beautiful Diwan e Khas  at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Royal Guard at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Clock Tower at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Pitam Niwas Chowk It is the inner courtyard of The City Palace, Jaipur. which provides access to the Chandra Mahal. Here, there are four small gates (known as Ridhi Sidhi Pol) that are adorned with themes representing the four seasons. The gates are the Peacock Gate (with motifs of peacocks on the doorway) representing autumn; the Lotus Gate (with continual flower and petal pattern) suggestive of summer season; the Green Gate, also called the Leheriya (meaning: "waves") gate, in green colour suggestive of spring, and lastly, the Rose Gate with repeated flower pattern representing winter season.

Chandra Mahal Clicked From Pitam Niwas Chowk at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Chandra Mahal or Chandra Niwas is the most commanding building in the the west end of The City Palace complex, Jaipur. It is a seven-storeyed building and each floor has been given a specific name such as the Sukh-Niwas, Ranga-Mandir, Pitam-Niwas, Chabi-Niwas, Shri-Niwas and Mukut-Mandir or Mukut Mahal. It contains many unique paintings, mirror work on walls and floral decorations. At present, most of this palace is the residence of the descendents of the former rulers of Jaipur. Only the ground floor is allowed for visitors where a museum is located that displays carpets, manuscripts and other items that belonged to the royal family. There is beautiful peacock gate at the entry to the Mahal. It has screened balconies and a pavilion at the roof from where a panoramic view of the city can be seen. It is set amidst well laid out gardens and a decorative lake in the foreground.
Also seen at the top of the Chandra Mahal is the flag of the royal family, which is seen unfurled when the Maharaja is in the palace. It is a one and quarter sized flag. However, when the king is away, the queen's flag is hoisted on the building.

Peacock Gate (with motifs of peacocks on the doorway) representing autumn at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Leheriya-Gate at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Lotus Gate at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Rose Gate at The City Palace, Jaipur.

Peacock Gate at The City Palace, Jaipur.

The Palace Café Gate at The City Palace, Jaipur.

The Palace Café at The City Palace, Jaipur.

The Palace Cafe of The City Palace, Jaipur. Is situated inside the inner courtyard of the City Palace and you will come across it at almost towards the end of your city palace sight-seeing. There is outdoor & Indoor sitting Depends upon Your mood and Season That where will you want to sit and what do you want to have Quick Bite or proper Lunch. There are No charges for looking but keep in mind it's bit Expensive.


On The Whole This is a Must See Place If you are in Jaipur You have to Visit The City Palace, Jaipur. Highly Highly Recommended.

Snake Charmer at the Exit point of The City Palace Jaipur.

Atish Pol (Stable Gate) Is also being used for Entry and Exit From The City Palace Compound Jaipur.