It was a bright winter day and the cold wind was blowing. It was one of those cold breezes that came down from the mountain, curled my hair, made my nerves jump and skin itch. Abhi isn’t it the known thrill always whenever you visit a new destination? Yeah, it is!! Well, this time these feelings were for Jaipur- “The Pink city”. There is something in the atmosphere of Jaipur that brings joy and delight as soon as you set foot in the city. You’ll have your list of “must see places in Jaipur” and still not be satisfied.
View of Jaipur from Nahargarh Fort
Jaipur in its sheer perfection has more than enough to offer. From sky touching arches of Nahargarh fort to night view from Chulgiri Digamber Jain Temple, every corner has its own story. Jaipur is one of the few fortified cities of India. It is an ultimate heaven for shopping lovers and the hospitality here is commendable. The different types of theme restaurants, cafes and pubs are an added bonus. The food is addictive and if you are a tea lover, you’ll find tea shops (in Jaipur they call it thadi) at every nook and corner of the city.
The entrance of Amer Fort Jaipur
Wondering why the city is called as “The Pink city”? Because the city is painted with Pink color!! What a brilliant answer Abhi!! Ha-ha!! Jokes apart, the Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Ram Singh ordered to color the whole city with terracotta pink to welcome Prince of Wales who visited India with Queen Victoria. The color Pink was chosen as historically it represents welcoming and hospitality.
Beautiful architecture at Amer Fort
How to reach Jaipur
The cheapest and the most convenient way to reach Jaipur is via railways. Jaipur is directly connected to major Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata etc. by railways. For train bookings, visit IRCTC.
For those who prefer road journey over railways, you can opt for a bus. Jaipur is directly connected to major India cities via roadways. For bus booking, visit Redbus/MakeMyTrip/Paytm.
How to get around Jaipur
The capital city of Rajasthan is huge and one has to be very wise in choosing a transport. Around half of the spots of interest (City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Albert Hall Museum, Johri Bazar) aren’t too far apart, so strolling around to explore them will be a great option. You can opt a cycle rickshaw if you are too tired to walk. Also, Ola bikes are a great way to explore the town as they are comparatively cheaper.
Rickshaws can be a bit heavy on your pocket and for buses, you will need to be familiar with the routes. So if you want to cover all the places of interest in Jaipur in 2 days, I will recommend you to hire an Activa/motorcycle. There are various online bike rentals services like onnbikes, zoprent, roadpanda, and royalbrothers, so compare the rates and choose accordingly. I choose CT 100 bike from Onnbikes (INR 320 for 2 days) and will highly recommend them.
Bike hired from Onn Bikes Jaipur
My journey to cover must see places in Jaipur
Before this visit, I had already been to Jaipur a couple of times as it is close to my hometown Udaipur. But there is a lot of difference the way I explore a city now as a travel blogger than I used to as a normal tourist. Trying out various transports, living at various accommodations, exploring all the places of interests, interacting a lot with the locals, trying out the local food and of course clicking some photographs have become part and parcel of my traveling. Not to forget, all this has to be done in the cheapest way possible!!
Being from Rajasthan, a lot of my readers ask me that how many days are good enough to explore the pink city. To be frank, I have no answer to this question as it totally depends on an individual’s way of exploring a place. To do the justice and get the real feel of the beauty of the town, I would insist one to spend at least 3 – 4 days in the capital city.
Compound at Amer Fort Jaipur
I know most of you won’t have that much of holidays to be spent on exploring a single town. Don’t be disheartened, I am here for you!! Let me put forward a 2-day itinerary to cover most of the must see places in Jaipur.
Night view at Albert Hall Museum
Day 1 – Birla Mandir – City Palace – Jantar Mantar – Hawa Mahal – Johri Bazar – Bapu Bazar – Albert Hall museum – Galta Ji – Chulgiri Jain Temple.
Abhi isn’t that too much to cover in a days’ time? Obviously, it is!! But if you start your day very early and end up late, it is very much possible to cover all this. Also, you will need to have your own transport in order to save that extra bit of time.
Places to cover in Jaipur on Day 1
You can kick-start your journey of exploring Jaipur by taking blessings at the beautiful Birla Mandir which is a Hindu temple located at the base of Moti Dungari hill. It is constructed using the finest quality of white marble.
Timings: 6:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM, No Entry Fees.
Birla Mandir must see places in Jaipur
It is an awesome specimen of architectural brilliance in the city of Jaipur. The City Palace complex includes the Mubarak Mahal and the Chandra Mahal. It’s a vast complex so one will need to walk a lot to explore it.
Timings: 9:30 AM to 5 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 130, Foreign National: INR 500
Note: You can buy a composite ticket here for INR 190 which will include the ticket for visiting Jaigarh and The Royal Cenotaphs along with City Palace.
City Palace Jaipur
Out of the 5 Jantar Mantar in India, the Jantar Mantar at Jaipur is the largest which features many instruments along with the world’s largest stone sundial and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In total, it has nineteen architectural astronomical instruments. Without a guide, it will be hard to understand the functions of the instruments. What I generally do is stand behind a group who has already hired a guide. Ha-Ha😂!! Abhi, at least you shouldn’t laugh about it.
Timings: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 50, Foreign National: INR 200
Note: You should buy a composite ticket here for INR 300 which will include the ticket for visiting Amber Palace, Nahargarh Fort, Hawa Mahal, Albert Hall Museum, Isarlat, Sisodiya Bagh and Vidyadhar Bagh along with Jantar Mantar. This really helps to avoid long queues.
Jantar Mantar must see places in Jaipur
Located in the heart of the Pink city, Hawa Mahal is a five-story building decorated with 953 windows or ‘Jharokhas’ which are adorned with intricate designs. The most unique feature about the palace is the fact that, at all time a light breeze passes through it and that is how the palace got its name. Want a profile picture? Come back here at night as the entire Mahal is lit up and the views are just fabulous from outside.
Timings: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 50, Foreign National: INR 200
Hawa Mahal Jaipur
Johri Bazar & Bapu Bazar
If you are in Jaipur, you can never return home without shopping some traditional Rajasthani items from the famous Johri and Bapu Bazar. From jewelry to textiles and footwear’s, exotic pottery to handicrafts, you get everything in these Bazaars.
It is the oldest museum of the state and is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The museum has a rich collection of artifacts including jewelry, metal sculptures, paintings and many more. The flying pigeons outside the museum premises can test your photography skills😂. As like Hawa Mahal, this museum is also lit up at night so do come back.
Timings: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 40, Foreign National: INR 300
Albert Hall Museum Jaipur
It is a Hindu pilgrimage which consists of a series of temples built into a narrow crevice. You can give it a miss if you are short of time.
Galta Ji must see places in Jaipur
Chulgiri Jain Temple
You can end your day by watching the sunset from this temple. It is definitely one of my favorite places in Jaipur. Am I bragging about the place as I am a Jain? Absolutely not!! It’s the peacefulness and night views from this place which made me fall in love with it. If you have a DSLR, do carry a tripod in order to avoid cursing yourself later.
View from Chulgiri Digamber Jain Temple Jaipur
Day 2 – Jal Mahal – Amber Palace – Panna Meena Ka Kund – Jaigarh Fort – Charan Mandir – Nahargarh Fort
Places to cover in Jaipur on Day 2
Start your day by watching the breathtaking sunrise view from the mountains at a distance and Jal Mahal in the camera frame.
Sunrise view with Jal Mahal in frame
Sitting at top of a small hill, Amer Fort is an extensive palace complex that has been built with pale yellow and pink sandstone. One can enter the fort through the Suraj Pol or the Chand Pol. There are a lot of attractions to see including the Siladevi Temple, Diwan-I-am, and the Sheesh Mahal. Try to reach the palace as early as possible as it gets heavily crowded in later part of the day.
Timings: 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 100, Foreign National: INR 500
Amber Palace must see places in Jaipur
- Panna Meena Ka Kund:
Just a km away from Amer fort, this beautiful Kund has a unique architecture and styling and is definitely worth a visit.
Panna Meena Ka Kund Jaipur
Located on the Hill of Eagles, the fort gives some great view of the Amer Fort and the nearby surroundings. A tunnel connects Amer fort with Jaigarh Fort and you can traverse between the two. The fort houses the world’s largest cannon on the wheels called ‘Jaivana Cannon’.
Timings: 9:30 AM to 4:45 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 50, Foreign National: INR 100
View of Amer Fort from Jaigarh Fort
Charan Mandir
On the way from Jaigarh to Nahargarh fort, you can take a break at Charan Mandir which provides some breathtaking view of the Jaipur city from its premises.
View from Charan Mandir Jaipur
Nahargarh Fort
To catch a glimpse of the entire Jaipur town, there cannot be a better place to visit than the Nahargarh Fort. Watching the sunset from here can surely turn out to be lifetime memories and a perfect way to end your trip.
Timings: 10 AM to 5:00 PM, Entry Fees: Indian National: INR 50, Foreign National: INR 200
Do visit the Gatore Ki Chhatriyan if you have some spare time in the 2 days.
Sunset View from Nahargarh Fort Jaipur
Best time to visit Jaipur
Just try to avoid visiting Jaipur in the summer months of April to June as scorching heat is prevalent in the whole region. The best months to visit Jaipur are from October to January as the weather is very pleasant in the daytime, though a bit cold at the night.
Stay options in Jaipur
Being a solo traveler, it’s hard to find cheap hotels as you alone have to pay for the entire room. But thanks to the hostel culture that has increased drastically over the years in India, finding cheap accommodation is not a big deal now. Also, you get to meet fellow travelers from all around the world at the hostels.
Hoztel dormitory Jaipur
The few hostels that I would recommend you for the stay in Jaipur are Hoztel Jaipur, Zostel, The Moustache, Bunkstop, and Wanderers Nest. Compare the prices and read the reviews of these hostels at HostelWorld and Booking.com and choose accordingly. I stayed at the Hoztel Jaipur ( INR 299/night) and will highly recommend them.
Hoztel Jaipur
My Expenses: Udaipur – Jaipur – Udaipur (Train – Sleeper – INR 520), Stay at Hoztel (INR 600 -2 days), Bike CT 100 (INR 320 -2 days), Fuel INR 200, Food INR 500, Composite tickets INR 490
Total: 2700 (approx.)
The warm and friendly people of Jaipur cherish their roots and culture and embrace realities quite gracefully. You know you never really leave the place you love. You take a part with you and leave a part of you there. I love this place enough that I’ll recall my urge for spending hours and roaming inside this historic walled city. I’ll recall feeding those pigeons and those endless gazes that the falling sun and I shared. Some moments are worth witnessing Isn’t it? If you haven’t got a chance to experience the royalties of the pink city yet, plan your trip right away!
Are you heading to Udaipur after Jaipur, check out my post on the Lake City for a detailed itinerary: My very own Heaven – Udaipur ♥
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Are you looking for some essential travel gear? Check out my blog post on What’s in my Backpack.
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3 thoughts on “Must see places in Jaipur on a two-day backpacking trip (INR 2700)”
I have been to Jaipur several times. It is the second city I am in love with after Delhi.
However, I am yet to visit Panna Meena ka Kund and Birla Temple as you mentioned here.
Amazing , Very good Itinerary for 2 days, you have covered the most important places to be seen.
Wonderful post Jaipur is the beautiful city and there have many visiting spot……and captures very impressive photos.