Exploring Forts and Cafes in Jaipur in best weather over a Weekend

Being so near to Delhi, Jaipur is a favourite destination whenever I feel the need for a quick getaway from my city.

Just returned from a 3 days trip to Jaipur . The highlight of the trip this time was the weather. Jaipur has a fantastic weather in mid-December. Neither extremely hot in afternoons , nor very cold in evenings. Staying outdoors, revisiting and walking around the forts of Jaipur in the great weather ,clicking pictures, and chilling and eating at nice places was the agenda for my trip.

After reaching Jaipur in the afternoon, I went to explore Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal on Day 1 . Since it was a Saturday, it was pretty crowded with both Indian and foreign travellers, so it was hard for me to find the interesting spots clear of crowd to take pictures. I had to practice patience and persistence to get the shots ;) . It was still sunny but not at all too hot or uncomfortable to walk around in the open, which was lovely.

Jantar Mantar is my favourite and a very interesting place, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its an 18th Century astronomical observatory with prime objective of studying celestial bodies, featuring massive instruments , including Samrat Yantra which is world's largest Sundial. These instruments measure time, altitude etc and show India's scientific achievements in that era. Just 5 minutes walk from Jantar Mantar is the very beautiful 18th Century Palace , Hawa Mahal or the 'Palace of winds'. It has a unique honeycomb-shaped facade with numerous small windows, which provided privacy for royal women to see the street processions without being seen and enjoying cool breeze in hot summers. I enjoyed clicking panoramic city views from its windows.

After exploring these places, I went to a restaurant called Tapri , which I visit on every trip to Jaipur and I am never disappointed. It has a good selection of healthy and vegan food options too on its menu ,and has a nice indoor seating ambience, apart from lovely outdoor rooftop seating. I tried its whole wheat pizza , which had a nice crunchy crust and toppings of vegetables and cheese. Also tried a cute red coloured Rooibos Tea, as I don't prefer milk tea. They served the tea in a kettle along with a sand timer, so that I could time the brew on basis of how strong I want it to be. This buzzing place is frequented by all kinds of crowd, be it executives, youngsters or families.

Over the next two days , I began the mornings by visiting the fabulous cafe called Curious Life Cafe Roasters. Its like a hidden Jem, which I wouldn't have found , unless it was recommended to me by a local friend. Its an endearing local chain of Coffee shops from Jaipur , rather than being just another outlet of the standard Starbucks or Cafe Coffee Day , but has a cosmopolitan ambiance which could easily belong to any vibrant city anywhere in the world. Though I am not a coffee connoisseur, but I am sure its Coffee will fulfil the standards of the likes, as that's what this coffee chain specialises in and has quite good reviews about. I tried its fresh Beetroot mixed juice, which I found quite refreshing and good quality. Its food was also excellent.

After having a brunch at the cafe on Day 2 , consisting of very flavourful Grilled vegetables Panini and fresh juice , I headed to Amer Fort , which is a massive fort nestled on a hill and has a rich history dating back to the 16th century. It blends Rajput and Mughal architectural styles, and has numerous courtyards, palaces, halls, and gardens . I realised that the foreign crowd was especially very excited about Amer Fort.

It took a while to explore the huge fort and next I headed to a quick visit to Nahargarh fort, to get a beautiful panoramic view of the whole of Pink city Jaipur from its roof top. It was dark by the time I left from Nahargarh fort to head back to my hotel, and I was still thinking where to go for the dinner

On the way back ,I halted to click some pictures of Jal mahal which lay on the route back to my hotel. It is a Rajput style palace situated in the middle of and partially submerged in waters of Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur, and looks pretty with a backdrop of Aravalli hills.

Just opposite and across the road to Jal Mahal is Hotel Trident , which also has a restaurant called Jal Mahal. This attracted my interest and I decided to go posh and have dinner at this fine dining place. As soon as I entered the hotel , I found lots of cute Christmas decorations , and felt quite cosy and comfortable in the plush hotel ambience, after a long hectic day of walks around the forts and clicking loads of pictures. I ordered a Rajasthani dish called Tomato Sev curry, along with Tandoori Roti, on the recommendation of the restaurant staff. Sev is a deep fried noodle-like snack made from gram flour (besan) and seasoned with spices. They made a spicy tomato gravy and cooked sev in it , to create this dish. It was a fun dish, though I would have preferred a healthier traditional dish like a Gatta Curry, which has boiled ( rather than deep fried) dumplings of besan, cooked in a curd based gravy. But nevertheless, I got a taste of Rajasthan, which was quite appropriate for the trip and fully enjoyed the soothing atmosphere. Also enjoyed dancing along with a small Rajasthani folk dance and music show happening in the hotel,before heading out for my residence.

I began the third day ,again with a slow and lazy breakfast at the same cafe, consisting of a sandwich with Hummus and Vegetables and a fresh juice, and enjoyed its relaxing atmosphere and lovely music. Then headed out to the 18th century City Palace. It has a blend of Rajput, Mughal and European architecture styles. It also has very interesting museums showcasing Royal garments , Weapons , Paintings , Royal portraits etc of those times. I have particular interest in the textiles and embroideries of ancient India and its always very fascinating for me to visit these museums. City Palace also has very beautiful gates decorated with painting and sculpture, inside its courtyard Pritam Niwas Chowk . One of these four picturesque gates is called Peacock gate. These are one of my most favourite amongst all of Jaipur architecture. There is also a lovely open air cafe inside the City palace , but I couldn't get a place there as it was houseful since it was Sunday. So after visit to City Palace I headed back to my hotel and back to my city post lunch.

Thus the trip was fun ,with some familiar and some new experiences, and provided a refreshing change from my usual routine of life and the great weather just added so much pleasure to it.