Amber Fort, Jaipur

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The construction of Amber Fort began in 1592 under orders of Raja Man Singh. The Raja was a trusted commander in the service of Emperor Akbar. The style of architecture of the fort is typical Rajput, but the palace and apartments show a melding of Islamic and Rajput ornamentation,
Standing on a steep hill, the red and white sandstone fort was modified by successive rulers for the next 150 years. The views of Jaipur from the ramparts are awesome.
Inside the walls of the fort are remains of palace and royal chambers. There is a temple dedicated to Kali just to the right of the main entry gate (Suraj Pol).
The Kali Temple has magnificent doors, decorated with silver raised-relief murals and mirror work. In ancient times goats were sacrificed to the Goddess on an alter inside the temple.

Inside the main courtyard is a beautifully designed herb-garden, with water features (photo3)
Each of the four sections of the fort is accessable by stairs, and houses royal apartments, audience halls and womens quarters.The entrance to the Maharajahs private apartments (Ganesh Pol) is extremely impressive, and is also lavishly decorated with mosaics, carvings and silverwork. The ceilings are very ornate.
There are 3 ways of reaching the fort- by jeep, by elephant or by walking up.
We watched the elephants trundling up the steep hill, some carrying 3 or 4 passengers- and my heart went out to them.They were suffering so much, it was very hot, and they did not look to be in good condition. We chose to walk up, and although it is a 10 minute uphill slog, we never regretted it for one moment. On entering the fort there are refreshment stands to quench the thirst.

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We had a guide for the city and our first stop was Amber (pronounced Amer) fort. A steep ramp led to the entrance, at which point you could walk up or take an elephant ride up. There is some controversy about the treatment of those elephants so we walked up to the fort.

The fort was built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh I. It was built in white marble and red sandstone and is really stunning, the outside being a stark contrast to the inside. It was more a palace then a fort with a huge (magnificent) courtyard, small temple - the Kali or Shila Mata Temple - with gorgeous silver doors, various residence areas including that of the maharaja, and mosaics, hand paintings, marble columns, sculptures, and some great doors. The highlights included wonderful carvings and minute mirror work.

There were long views of the surrounding watchtowers and loverlooking Maota Lake. There was room for the king, queen, and the king’s 300 concubines.

This is definitely a must see in Jaipur. I would allow a couple of hours to explore.

You can make a day out of visiting Amber, Jaigarth, and Nahargarh Forts, starting at the bottom with Amber. I think Amber rates as #1, Nahargarh as #2, and Jaigarh as #3.

Admission is Rs 10 for Indian citizens, and Rs 50 for foreigners.

Camera fees Rs 40 for Indian citizens, Rs 25 for foreigners.

The fort is open daily except Holi from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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Perched proudly atop a hill situated roughly a half hour's drive away from the heart of Jaipur, Amber Fort is as magnificent as palace forts come. To reach the entrance to the fort, you can either walk up the winding pathway or do the more touristy thing and hitch an elephant ride!

This is Jaipur's primary tourist attraction, and that means the presence of way too many hawkers, peddlars and "historical guides". I've never been much for history, so I just shoved everyone off and made off on my own - idling along the beautiful courtyards and lawns, getting my fill of some magnificent views.

When you're up on one of the fort's high verandahs, peer down into the lake, and see Amber reflecting quietly in all its glory.

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Amber Fort is a very well visited tourist site and deserves to be so. The honey coloured fort/palace is situated on a hillside above the village Amber, 11km north of Jaipur.

Construction of Amber Fort begun in 1592 by Raja Man Singh and it was later extended to its present form by Jai Singh I.

The fort/palace is a good example of Rajput architecture and both Hindu and Muslim style of decoration can be found. Inside there are wonderful carvings, paintings and mirror work. There are several courtyards, gates and audience halls. There are the women’s quarters and the Maharaja´s quarters and temples.

Amber Fort is open every day of the week between 9.00 - 17.30. Admission for foreigners was Rs 150 (August 2010). An audio guide is not included in that price, but as I didn’t pay extra for one I don’t know how much it cost.

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Amber is located at a distance of 11 kilometers from Jaipur and was the old fort of the Kachhwaha clan of Amber, which used to be the capital, till it was moved to Jaipur
The fort is built with white marble and red sandstone and look even more attractive because of the Maota Lake in the foreground. The fort in itself is a beautiful sight to behold but as one looks on the fort with its clear reflection on the lake in the front, one cannot help but wonder if it is a dream or a beautiful illusion.

Amber Fort also called the Amer Fort is a must-see if you are visiting Rajasthan. The tourists to this fort can either approach the fort by road or take an elephant ride, which though is quite slow yet is a lot of fun.

This is a good daytrip from Jaipur. Most people get on tours but I just caught a local bus out. Its in a nice situation, and would have been hard to take.

The architecture is stunning, both inside & out. The views over the surounding countryside are fantastic!

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Once inside the main Jaleb Chowk courtyard of Amber, you can explore the rooms and blaconies higher up by entering through different parts of the fort. There's a small entrance fee, and additional charges for camers and camcorders.

The Shila Mata complex is one of the structures within the fort complex, where you'll see a beautiful enshrined image of a Goddess. Within the main palace compound, you'll find many things to explore. There's Ganesh Pol - an imposing gateway paying homage to the elephant God Ganesh. Diwan-i-Am, the former hall of the public audience, has some amazing pillars.

Most amazing of all is Sheesh Mahal, the Hall of Mirrors, where the interplay between light and architecture will just take your breath away. Even a little bit of sunlight, and the intricate network of mirrors reflectively bring the whole hall to life!

Amber is located 11Km far from Jaipur, and it is the old capital of the Rajput empire.
The fort has been build on 1592 from the Maraja Man Singh.
It is located on a top of an hill, which gives you amazing landscape views, but the way that you gotta take to reach the base of the fort, is already a great activity: is a zig zag route with supreme views!.
Amber Fort is the touristic site number two, only after the Hawa Mahal in the city center of Jaipur, so take care as usual abt the common tourist traps.
(i.e. here people are talking about Euro and Dollaz and not about Rupee!!!)
The transportation leave you on the parking place onthe base of the fort, and there are three ways to cover the way beetween the base and the top of the fort: to hike (about 15 minutes), but it is quiet deep; rent a jeep (Rs 120 one way) or the most common one: jump on an Elephant (Rs 400 way back).
An Elephant can take up to 4 people each so the cost has to be splitted into 4 people.
Altough the fee cover the eway back too, the owners will ask you to take the way back walking, cuz the Elephant will suffer the weight on the way back, anyway is pretty nice to walk on the way back too.
Once you reach the top, thousand of people will come over you trying to sell whatever, simply walk throu them and reach the entreace. The fort is amazing, big and will lots of places to visit. Give yourself at least a couple of hours to hang around here.
Reguarding how to reach the fort, the easiest way is to hire for a full day a rickshaw, so you can visit other sites (check my other tip)

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There are many instances of a Rajasthani/ Mughal fusion in the architecture at Amber Fort. It's really beautiful, the way this merging of designs and styles looks to the naked eye.

The medieval way of life, as it was during the times of Man Singh, and Jai Singh I and II, is on full view at every corner. After you've explored Amber to your heart's content, stroll through the old city which lies beyond the ramparts.

Here, in the rustic lanes which wind along, you'll come across many temples, memorials and townhouses... all of which succeed in keeping that old city flavour well and alive.

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It is a good feeling for us Indians to take a sneak peek into a King's way of life is what both AJ and I felt as we walked thru the various chambers of Amber Fort. This fort was built by Raja Man Singh I in 1592. All built in marble and red sand stone this is quite a magnificient sight to behold! The interiors are a stark contrast to the plain exteriors with intricate work and carvings. There is even a temple inside the fort, remember to remove your shoes before entering this place of worship.Even as our driver tried to dissuade us from climbing the fort as he claimed it would take a good three hours for us to do the same, we threatened to relieve him of the tour if he so wished. This quietened him a bit into agreeing to wait for us, we again promised to take as much time as we pleased before we headed off.
Much of the fort was familiar to us after having recently watched a popular Bollywood movie (Jodha Akbar) that was shot extensively in Amer. We decided against any audio guide etc as we truly believe seeing is experiencing; we are not very hungry for facts/history etc. Having done some basic reading up on the same before our visit we spent a couple of hours visiting the various sections of the fort and watching some people take an elephant ride up to the fort. The sheesh (mirror) mahal was very pretty, so was the awesome view from the terrace :D. The Canons at the entrance and the garden in the middle of the lake are also worth seeing.
Once outside we had some spicy masaledar bhel puri from a vendor on the road side before going on to find our rickshaw.