RAJASTHAN – Bharatpur and Jaipur

It’s hard to believe how dense your experience of India can be. My following photographs are a small sample of what we experienced over just 6 days in early November, 2015. What an amazing country.

Bharatpur

• 180 km south of New Delhi
• Delightful Government Museum in the centre of the 18th century Lohagarh Fort, surrounded by a moat.
• Laxmi Vilas Palace is an ornate heritage hotel and royal residence dating from 1857.
• Keoladeo National Park and Bird Sanctuary was the original duck hunting reserve for the Maharaja. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site with 364 bird species.
• Deeg Palace is 32 km from Bharatpur and was built in 772 as a summer resort for the rulers. It includes a complex of 900 water fountains that operate twice a year for festivals (due to a water shortage).

Jaipur

• The capital of Rajasthan, built in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II.
• Planned with a special grid system and fortified gates according to the traditional system of Hindu architecture (Vastu Shastra).
• It was painted pink in 1876 to welcome Edward VII and is now known as The Pink City.
• A population of about 3 million people, famous for cut gemstones, textiles and hand-knotted rugs.
• Part of India’s Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur).
• The Jantar Mantar Observatory and the Amer Fort are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
• The Chand Baori Stepwell at Abhaneri has 3500 steps, 13 storeys and is 30 m deep. It is one of the oldest, deepest and largest stepwells in India. It was built about 850 AD.