Hawa Mahal

The Hawa Mahal

Built in 1799, under the Maharaja Sarai Pratap, the Hawa Mahal, or the palace of the winds, is one of the must see tourist sites in Jaipur. It is a five-storied building, with two main courtyards. It is called the palace of the winds due to the winds always being stronger than elsewhere, as they are brought in through the hundreds of windows which the palace is so famous for.

The entrance fee is 50 rupees per person, and you will receive numerous offers from guides (costing about 25 rupees per person) who hover about outside the main entrance. I opted to explore without a guide, and was pleasantly surprised to see 2 information boards inside the palace.

I was slightly underwhelmed by the palace, both in terms of size and detail, probably due to me having read too much hype about it beforehand. However, I still feel it was still definitely worth the time and entrance fee.

One thing that really struck me whilst I was at there was just how impressively cool the palace was. Coming from the blazing afternoon sun outside, the cool dark corridors of the palace provided a blissful break from the heat. There were wonderful views over both the old and new parts of the city, as the Hawa Mahal is just on the outskirts of the old city and actually now overlooks a busy road.

The most impressive side of the palace (the wall made entirely of ornate windows) is in fact best seen from the new city, from the opposite side of the main road, which you need pay no entry fee to access. The whole wall is a lovely pinky-red shade with white detail, though is slightly marred by the many shops and stalls blocking the bottom part of the wall (or you could say this makes for an interesting contrast). Unfortunately, it is now almost impossible to catch a good photo of this side of the wall because of the busy traffic on the road.