Amber Fort
Part Of The UNESCO World Heritage Site Hill Forts Of Rajasthan (2013) · Amer, Rajasthan
The hilltop palace-fortress of the Kachwaha rulers, eleven kilometres north of Jaipur, which was their capital before the city was built. Raja Man Singh, one of Akbar's generals, began it in 1592, and later rulers added to it, so it combines Rajput and Mughal styles in honey-coloured sandstone and white marble. It rises from the shore of Maota Lake, with the Kesar Kyari garden in the water, up to a sequence of courtyards: the Diwan-i-Am, the painted Ganesh Pol gateway, and the Sheesh Mahal, a hall whose walls and ceiling are covered in tiny mirrors so that a single candle lights the whole room. Above it on the ridge is Jaigarh Fort, joined by a tunnel. It is part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan World Heritage Site and the single most visited sight in the Jaipur region, which means it is crowded by mid-morning. The ride up on elephants is still offered and is widely criticised on welfare grounds; walking the ramp takes fifteen minutes. The fort is on the Jaipur composite ticket, and there is an evening sound and light show by the lake.
Devisinghpura, Amer, Amer, Rajasthan, 302028, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern is daily from about 8 in the morning to about 5:30 in the afternoon, with last entry around half an hour before closing, and no weekly closing day. Night visits have run in the evening on many dates, roughly 6:30 to 9 or 10 pm, and the sound and light show by Maota Lake runs in the evening in Hindi and English at set times. Elephant rides, where still offered, run only in the early morning. The traps: arriving after ten means crowds and heat; Jaigarh has its own hours and ticket; the tunnel may be closed on the day; and festival days such as Diwali bring very heavy crowds.