Hawa Mahal situated in the city of Jaipur. It was built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 AD. It is an inherent part of the City Palace and was a later addition. It is the five storied palace, with pyramid shaped structure made up of small casements, each with tiny windows and arched shaped roofs with hanging cornices. Its façade makes Hawa Mahal look more like a screen than a palace. It is a fifty-foot high thin shield, less than a foot in thickness, but has over 900 niches and a mass of semi-octagonal bays, carved sandstone grills, finials and domes, which give this palace its unique façade. Its top three stories are just a single room thick but at the base are two courtyards.
The chambers are plain and more mass of pillars and passages leading to the top story. It does not seem to be part of the same building. It was probably conceived with the aim of enabling ladies of the royal household to watch the everyday life and royal processions in the city without being seen by others.
It was built at a time when royal ladies observed very strict purdah system. The palace, with its screened balconies, provided the ladies of the zenana (royal household) an opportunity to watch processions and other activities on the streets below without being observed themselves. The entrance to Hawa Mahal is from the City Palace. An imposing door opens into a spacious courtyard, which has a double storeyed building on three sides. The eastern wing has three more storeys above, which has thickness of just a single room. The building stands over a high podium.
How to reach:
By air Jaipur is connected to Delhi (300Km), Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Aurangabad, Calcutta and Varanasi by domestic flights. The rail services to Jaipur are available from all the major parts of the country. Jaipur can be accessed from all the major places in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai by bus. Travelers can use cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, and taxis or take local buses to move around in the city.
Where to stay:
The five star hotels in Jaipur are like the palaces in Jaipur. The services provided by these hotels are very specific about the rich culture the place inherits from the rulers. The hotels provide for multi cuisine restaurants and modern facilities and some branded hotels actually employ the chefs who have inherited the knowledge of royal food from the Khansamahas. The Khansamahas used to cook for the royal houses.
The hotels in Jaipur also provide local tours. The hotels in Jaipur aim to provide a complete local tour package. Some important hotels in the region include Hotel Clarks Amer, Hotel Mansingh Towers, Hotel Jaipur Palace, Hotel Park Plaza, Hotel Jaipur Ashok, Hotel Maya International, etc.
Further Readings: Agra Tourism, Hotel Booking and Agra Business Directory