If you’ve seen one fort in India, you have not seen them all. Each is unique, and each is a work of art.
Maota Lake and Garden, below the fort.
I noticed at more than one monument that women who worked there dressed in blue. Some of them will allow you to take their photo, but you should tip them 20 rupees, an acceptable tip for a small service.
Amber Fort is a major tourist attraction, receiving about a million and a half visitors a year.
Inside is a complex of buildings and palaces. There is a subterranean passage linking it to the Jaigarh Fort on the hill above it.
The beautifully painted Ganesh Pol. Pol means gate in Hindi.
The garden on the second level.
Sheesh Mahal, the Palace of Mirrors.
Amber Fort, eleven kilometers from Jaipur, was originally a complex of palaces built in 1592 which was later fortified. Visitors can arrive by elephant or, if the elephants are not available, by taxi at the rear entrance.
Prem got us there a half hour after the palace opened, and the line waiting for the elephant ride was already impressively long. It moved quickly, but the bad thing about it was you were a captive audience for the many peddlers very aggressively hawking their goods. The line moved up a flight of stairs to a platform where you could easily flop onto the seat atop the elephant’s back.
Even on the ride up, you had guys on the walls along the way hollering at you. Really, does anyone ever stop their elephant on this busy path to do a little shopping?
In spite of the touts, it was a fun experience, and I’m glad I did it.
The dismount platform inside the fort.
A stream of visitors arrives at the fort by elephant.
Although it was early in March, it was hot in this part of Rajasthan. Prem brought me to see Meherangarh Fort in the early morning as soon as it opened.
My first glimpses of the fort after entering.
I was really lucky this day. They were shooting a movie at the fort.
I was able to take plenty of photos of the actors, who weren’t dressed much differently than some of the Indian tourists.
It wasn’t even 9:00 a.m. but it was getting hot already. I finally left the actors and the moviemaking behind and ascended the ramp to see the rest of the fort.
Tourists, not actors.
Travels in India 