Of all the princely states of yore in India, Rajputana (the region around Jaipur) is undoubtedly the one with the most martial record. It was a state of warring factions locked in deadly warfare, thousands of royal ladies consigning themselves to flames preferring death to dishonor. In this land, towering forts were built not only for ostentation but also to intimidate the enemy. Stranger was the life of some of its warrior kings, who fought great battles on one hand and were great patrons of arts on the other.

Today, Jaipur is the personification of the old order influence the new. An inherent feel for color and design percolated ever stratum of society, and jewelry, crafts and architecture became objects of delight equally between prince and peasant.

Climate of Jaipur is extreme with hot and humid summers and chilly winters. Maximum temperatureduring the summers (from April to July) reaches a high of around 45ºC. On the other hand winters have sunny and pleasant days and bitterly cold nights. Temperature can touch a low of around 5ºC, mostly during the nights. Major problems in the winter are fog that envelops the city in the evening. If you are planning to visit Jaipur in summers, bring with you light cotton clothes. Light woolen clothes during would do the needful in the winters. Monsoon starts in the third week of July, but the state does not experience much of rainy days.

Jaipur is located in the Northern India at a distance of around 258 km from Delhi. The city would have been the part of Thar Desert, but for the Aravalli Hills that provides it with much needed security from one side. Most of the major tourist destinations in North India like Delhi, Agra, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Jaisalmer are fairly distanced with the city and connected by road, rail, and flights.
 

Jaipur was the first city in India that was planned according to the grid pattern. Its founder Sawai Jai Singh (1699 - 1744) consulted several books on architecture and architects before designing this city. In the aftermath of his fights with Marathas and buying of peace from aged Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Jai Singh was able to concentrate on his scientific and cultural interests and Jaipur had to be different to mark the stamp of his brilliancy. Jai Singh was a lover of mathematics and science and he consulted a Brahmin scholar, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya of Bengal to help him design the city architecture. He went through the ancient Indian literature on astronomy, books of Ptolemy and Euclid, and information provided by his emissaries to Samarkand who observed the observatory of Mirza Beg.

Construction of the city started in 1727 and the major palaces, roads, and square took 4 years to complete. Architecture of the town was much advanced to its time and it was no doubt the best in Indian subcontinent. Pink, the sign of welcome was used to paint the buildings in Jaipur in 1853 to honor of the visiting Prince of Wells and is still used.