Jai Mahal - lake palace, Jaipur

Jal Mahal, the Lake Palace, is standing in the middle of Man Sagar Lake about 6.5 km from Jaipur. It was built in 1799 in red sandstone and it was used by the royals as a pleasure palace. Among other things they had duck shooting parties here. The first floors of the palace is submerged under water and it is now abandoned.

On my way to Amber the bus made a stop by the lake and I saw the palace. It looked very beautiful and I though that I must make a stop here on my way back to Jaipur. I stayed long in Amber so unfortunately didn’t make that stop on my way back. The photo is taken from the battlements opposite Amber Fort.

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Appropriately named Jal Mahal ("Water Palace"), this palace appears to float on the waters of Man Sagar Lake, just north of Jaipur. The lake was created in the 16th century after the construction of a dam to preserve drinking water. Jal Mahal was built in 1799 by Maharaja Madho Singh I who modelled it on a similar palace, the Lake Palace, in Udaipur where he had grown up. It was intended mainly as a getaway spot for the royalty and was frequently used for their duck hunting parties! The palace is nowadays abandoned and seems in need of restoration. It is located just north of Jaipur on the road to Amber and can be seen from Nahargarh Fort.

Note: the palace is called JAL MAHAL, not JAI MAHAL, which is a hotel in Jaipur.

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We had a glimpse of this beautiful palace surrounded with water from our Auto.It was drizzling in the morning of first week of July.Our Auto driver stopped his auto so that we can steal the glimpse of Jalmehal in our camera.

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Jai Mahal is the lake palace on the road between Jaipur and Amber Fort. It's looks beautiful in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. All guided tours from Jaipur to Amber Fort stops at this place so you can take your photos. However it is not possible go inside the building, and no people lives there.

On the road to Amber Fort stands this once picturesque peach-coloured water palace, the Jal Mahal. Now seemingly abandoned, it is still impressive, and in past times must have been a peaceful retreat for the rulers and their families. At the time we saw it, there was water in the lake. It can be reached by a causeway,but is now closed to visitors.
The palace has beautiful chatris at either end , and a garden.
Built in the 18th century by Madho Singh, ruler at the time.

The Jal Mahal has been built right in the middle of a lake which has been formed by a dam. The lake is still dry in the summer and a furthe 4 floors can be seen then.

These pictures show it in the period after monsoon when some of the floors are underwater.

On the roof is a garden which is currently under reconstruction.

Jal Mahal

On our way to the Amber Fort we saw the Jal Mahal or the Lake palace of Jaipur. It is situated in the middle of a huge lake and looks beautiful. The background is also very green and beautiful. It is very unique for the builder to have thought of something unique like this. I am not quite sure if one can go upto the palace. We did not, but from the roadside itself it looked quite beautiful.

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The Jal Mahal (Water Palace) is located on the main Jaipur-Delhi highway about 8km (5 miles) to the north of the city. The palace was built as a summer resort and pleasure spot by Sawai Pratap Singh in the year 1799 in the middle of the beautiful Man Sagar Lake. It is one of the finest and most exotic pieces of Rajput architecture reflecting the technical excellence and knowledge of the builders of those times. Even the Man Sagar Lake is a man made lake formed by constructing a dam between the two hills by Sawai Man Singh II for meeting the growing demands of water by the residents of Jaipur city. Those demands must still occur as there was no water when I visited. I was told that the monsoon had been very poor in Jaipur that summer.