Six centuries in a fold of the hills
The first lords: long before the Rajputs, the valley belonged to the Meena chiefs, who were the first lords of this country.
The Kachwahas arrive: a Rajput clan who claim descent from Kush, the son of Ram, took the land from the Meenas in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and made Amer their capital.
The name: it is said to come from the temple of Ambikeshwar, a form of Shiva, though many local families will tell you it honours the goddess Amba.
- Rulers
- The Kachwaha Rajputs
- Capital until
- 1727, when the court moved to Jaipur
- Akbar alliance
- 1562, by marriage
- Amber Fort begun
- 1592, by Man Singh I
- Clan goddess
- Shila Devi
- The move to the plain: the Kachwahas ruled from here until 1727, when Sawai Jai Singh II moved the court down to his new city of Jaipur.
- An alliance begins the great age: in 1562 Raja Bharmal married his daughter to the emperor Akbar, and the Kachwahas became the Mughals' closest Rajput allies.
- Man Singh I: Bharmal's grandson became one of Akbar's most powerful generals and governed provinces from Kabul to Bengal. He brought the spoils and ideas of empire home.
- The fort rises: in 1592 Man Singh began the palace-fortress we call Amber Fort, and his successors, above all Mirza Raja Jai Singh I in the seventeenth century, kept building for generations.
- Rajput outside: that history explains the look of Amber. Its outer walls are Rajput, built for defence.
- Mughal inside: its inner courts borrow Mughal gardens, arches and inlay, the language of the imperial court where these kings spent much of their lives.
- Both at once: a Rajput palace usually turns inward, towards the women's quarters and the family gods. Amber does both at once, and that is its genius.
- Amer did not die: when the capital moved to Jaipur it became the home of the clan's protective goddess, Shila Devi, and of temples, families and craftsmen who never left.
- Amer today: a small town where cows still walk the lanes and children fly kites from flat roofs below some of the grandest walls in India.
- The bigger picture: our page on Dhundhar, Jaipur's region tells the larger story of the kingdom.
The town beneath the fort
Early in the morning the priests open the temple doors, the milkmen come in on motorbikes with steel cans, and the old men take their seats on the stone platforms outside their homes. Nobody hurries.
The layout: old Amer runs along the valley floor between the lake and the ridge.
What fills it: temples, small havelis, stepped tanks and family shops, many of them older than anything in Jaipur.
- Jagat Shiromani temple: the jewel of the town, built in the early seventeenth century by Man Singh's queen, Kanakwati, in memory of their son Jagat Singh.
- Its carving: the marble gateway and tall spire are among the finest in Rajasthan, and a shrine to Garuda, Vishnu's eagle, stands before it.
- Mirabai's Krishna: local tradition says its image of Krishna is the very one that Mirabai, the poet-saint of Mewar, worshipped at Chittorgarh.
- Two more temples: nearby are the Narsingh temple and the Ambikeshwar Mahadev temple, an ancient Shiva shrine that many believe gave Amer its name.
- A mosque from Akbar's time: it stands in the same town, a reminder of how closely Amer and the Mughal court were tied.
- Sagar: behind the town, a path climbs to an old reservoir in a hollow beneath Jaigarh, built to hold water for the town. It is a peaceful walk early, with peacocks calling from the hills.
- The old havelis: ask your guide to take you past them. Some are restored, many are crumbling, and each was once a nobleman's house within shouting distance of the king.
Amber Fort, court by court
- Begun
- 1592, by Man Singh I
- Oldest palace
- Completed 1599
- Allow
- At least two and a half hours
- Guide
- Licensed, since little is labelled
- Best hour
- As the gates open
- Go deeper: our Amber Fort guide has a room-by-room plan.
- Why we go early: our journal piece on sunrise at Amber Fort explains why we arrive as the gates open.
Maota Lake and Kesar Kyari
The water supply: the fort rises above Maota Lake, the old water supply of the palace.
- The saffron garden: on the water sits Kesar Kyari, a geometric garden whose star-shaped beds were once planted, the story goes, with saffron.
- The photograph: from the far shore, early in the morning, the reflection of the walls in the still water is the best photograph in Amer.
Suraj Pol and Jaleb Chowk
The Sun Gate: Suraj Pol faces east, and it is the gate the processions used.
- The parade ground: it opens into Jaleb Chowk, the great courtyard where soldiers paraded and the army gathered before the king.
- Shila Devi: off one corner, steps lead to the temple of the Kachwaha family goddess. Legend says Man Singh brought her image back after defeating the Raja of Jessore in Bengal in 1604.
- Worth the detour: the temple's silver doors.
Diwan-i-Aam and Ganesh Pol
The public hall: up a broad flight of steps is the Diwan-i-Aam, an open pavilion on rows of columns crowned with elephant-shaped brackets.
- The painted gateway: beside it rises Ganesh Pol, the way into the private palace, built under Mirza Raja Jai Singh I.
- Look up: the royal women watched the court from behind the latticed windows above it without being seen.
Jai Mandir, Sheesh Mahal and Sukh Niwas
The garden: through Ganesh Pol is a Mughal-style garden flanked by two pavilions.
- Sheesh Mahal: in the Jai Mandir, walls and ceilings are set with countless pieces of convex mirror and coloured glass, so that one flame becomes a sky of stars.
- Jas Mandir: above it, with delicate alabaster screens.
- Sukh Niwas: facing it across the garden, a hall cooled by water that once ran through a marble channel in the floor, an air conditioner from the age before electricity.
The palace of Man Singh
The oldest part: at the back of the fort, completed in 1599.
- The courtyard: it centres on a pillared pavilion, a baradari.
- The queens' rooms: they lie around it, linked by passages so the household could move unseen.
- A home, not a monument: it is plainer than the courts in front and much more intimate. This is where the fort starts feeling like a home.
Jaigarh, the fort that guarded the fort
Where: Jaigarh crowns the Cheel ka Teela directly above Amber Fort.
Linked to Amber: by fortified walls and by a passage that served as an escape route for the royal family.
A soldier's fort: never a palace in the way Amber was.
- Hill
- Cheel ka Teela, the hill of eagles
- Jaivana cast
- 1720, under Sawai Jai Singh II
- Barrel
- More than six metres
- Weight
- About fifty tonnes
- Best hour
- Late afternoon
- A cannon foundry: for much of its life one of the most important in north India, which is why it holds its famous giant.
- The Jaivana: cast here in 1720, it was the largest cannon on wheels in the world in its day.
- Fired once: legend says it was fired only once, as a test, and the ball landed many kilometres away. Every village in the valley seems to claim the landing spot, and our guides enjoy telling the story.
- Water underground: beneath the courtyards lie great tanks fed by channels that collected rain from the hills. The largest could hold millions of gallons.
- Treasure legends: the fort's reputation as the treasury of the Kachwahas fed rumours for centuries.
- The 1976 search: during the Emergency, government officials searched the fort with metal detectors for months. Officially, they found nothing.
- The best view of Amber: walk the walls in the late afternoon, when the sun lights Amber's courts below and Maota Lake turns silver.
- A natural pair: the ridge road runs on from Jaigarh to Nahargarh.
- Go deeper: our Jaigarh Fort guide covers the armoury, the palaces and the Aram Mandir garden.
Nahargarh, the tiger fort above the city
The families of the old city say work on the fort kept collapsing in the night, disturbed by the spirit of a prince called Nahar Singh Bhomia. Only when a shrine was built for him inside the walls did the building stand. That shrine is still there, and people still leave offerings at it.
Where: on the ridge at the edge of the Aravallis, watching over Jaipur rather than Amer.
Never besieged: it was a retreat, a lookout and a summer refuge for the royal family.
- Built
- 1734, by Sawai Jai Singh II
- Name
- The abode of tigers
- Queens' palace
- Madhavendra Bhawan, late 19th century
- Best hour
- Sunset
- Kite day
- Makar Sankranti, January
- Madhavendra Bhawan: added by Sawai Madho Singh II, a palace of matching suites for his queens, all linked to his own apartment by a network of corridors.
- Its rooms: painted in soft floral frescoes.
- Old walls, new art: in recent years the palace has also hosted a contemporary sculpture park, a surprising and thoughtful pairing.
- Come for the evening: the road from Amer and Jaigarh follows the ridge, and the light on the walls turns from gold to rose as the city's lamps come on below.
- Kites in January: around Makar Sankranti the sky above you fills with them.
- Kanak Vrindavan: on the way down to Jaipur, a restored garden and temple complex in the valley below. Quiet, shaded and almost always overlooked.
- Go deeper: our Nahargarh Fort guide has the details, and our list of the best sunsets in Rajasthan puts it near the top.
A stepwell and a printers' museum
- Stepwell
- Sixteenth century
- Stepwell light
- Morning
- Anokhi founded
- 1970, in Jaipur
- UNESCO award
- 2000, for the restoration
- Museum opened
- 2005
- More on water: read our guide to the stepwells of Rajasthan.
- More on cloth: our page on block printing and crafts goes further.
Panna Meena ka Kund
Our grandmother used to say you could never climb back up by the same staircase you came down, and the geometry makes it easy to believe.
- The shape: a perfect square of honey-coloured stone, its four sides covered in criss-crossing flights of steps that drop to the water in a dizzying pattern.
- What it was for: it collected rainwater for the town, and in the heat it was a cool place for women to bathe, fetch water and talk.
- Best light: in the morning, before the sun reaches the bottom.
- Look from the top: in recent years the steps have often been roped off to protect them.
The Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing
The building: a restored sixteenth-century mansion a short walk away, once called the Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli.
Rescued from ruin: bought in the late 1970s by the family behind Anokhi, the block-printed clothing house founded in Jaipur in 1970.
- Recognised: its careful restoration won a UNESCO award for cultural heritage conservation in 2000, and the museum opened in 2005.
- Inside: cool rooms explain the whole craft, from carving the wooden block to dyeing and printing, with old textiles, tools and a display on ajrakh printing.
- Try it yourself: a block carver and a printer usually work in the courtyard, and you can print a cloth of your own.
- Before Bagru: it is the best introduction we know before visiting the printing towns of Bagru and Sanganer.
A day in Amer, hour by hour
Early morning, the fort
Beat the traffic: leave Jaipur early and reach Amber Fort as the gates open.
- Up the hill: walk up the old ramparts or take a jeep to the upper gate.
- Your reward: the Sheesh Mahal and the palace of Man Singh nearly to yourself for the first hour.
Mid-morning, stepwell and temples
Chai first: come down into the town for a cup.
- Panna Meena ka Kund: while the light is still slanting.
- Jagat Shiromani: while the priests are at their morning rites.
Late morning, the Anokhi Museum
- An hour indoors: spend it in the cool rooms of the museum and watch the printers at work.
- A souvenir with a story: pick up something printed in the same town where you saw it made.
Afternoon, lunch and rest
- Lunch: inside the fort or back at your hotel.
- Rest through the heat: Amer is no place to be at two in the afternoon in April.
Late afternoon and evening, the ridge
Jaigarh: drive up for the cannon and the view down onto Amber.
- Nahargarh: follow the ridge road for sunset, then come down to Jaipur in the dark for dinner.
- With a second day: add Sagar, the old havelis and a slower lunch.
Where to stay and eat
In Jaipur, twenty minutes away
The palace hotels: Rambagh Palace and Jai Mahal Palace are both easy drives to Amer in the early morning.
- On the Amer side: Samode Haveli and The Raj Palace sit in the north of the walled city, which saves precious minutes before dawn.
- For peace and space: The Oberoi Rajvilas is a calm retreat at the end of a long day.
- Compare them all: our guide to luxury hotels in Jaipur.
In the hills
A warrior fort: Alila Fort Bishangarh stands on a granite hill about an hour and a half north.
- A painted palace: Samode Palace is about an hour north-west.
- Why choose them: either one makes Amer a stop on the way and pairs beautifully with a day here.
Where to eat
1135 AD: the restaurant inside the fort serves a royal Rajasthani menu in painted rooms. It is the one meal we book inside Amber.
What to order: laal maas, the fiery mutton curry of the Rajput hunting camps, or the vegetarian thali.
- In the town: small sweet shops fry kachori and jalebi in the mornings, and the chai stalls by the fort road make the best cup in Amer.
- Private meals: we arrange picnics in shaded gardens away from the crowds, and dinners in haveli courtyards back in Jaipur.
- Go deeper: our food of Jaipur guide has more.
Seasons and festivals at Amer
October to March: the season. The mornings are crisp, the light is soft and the hills are clear.
December and January: bring a warm layer for the dawn visit, because the fort's stone holds the night's cold.
- Best season
- October to March
- Hot season
- April to June, mornings only
- Monsoon
- July to September
- Navratri
- Autumn and spring, nine nights
- Makar Sankranti
- 14 January
- April to June: the heat is intense, and we plan Amer for the first hours of the day only.
- The monsoon, our secret season: Maota Lake fills, the Aravallis turn green, waterfalls run down the ridge and the stepwell holds water again.
- Navratri: the great festival of Shila Devi. The temple in Jaleb Chowk is crowded with devotees for nine nights. It is moving to see, but plan your fort visit around it.
- Makar Sankranti: the whole town flies kites, and the ramparts of Nahargarh give the best view of the kite-filled sky over Jaipur.
- Diwali: the view from the ridge, over a city lit end to end, is one we never tire of.
- Dates and customs: read our pages on Navratri and Makar Sankranti.
Getting to Amer, and getting up the hill
The road: it leaves the walled city of Jaipur through the northern gates, runs past Jal Mahal on Man Sagar Lake and climbs into the Amer valley.
Timing: about twenty to thirty minutes in early morning. In late morning it can take twice as long.
The drop-off: your chauffeur will leave you at the foot of the fort or drive up to the upper gate.
- From Jaipur
- 20-30 minutes early, double later
- Route
- Northern gates, past Jal Mahal
- Walk up
- About fifteen minutes
- Or
- Jeep to the upper gate
- Elephant rides
- We don't book them
- Walk the ramparts: the old stone climb takes about fifteen minutes, and we love it in the cool of the morning.
- Or ride: take a jeep to the gate near Jaleb Chowk.
- No elephants: we don't book elephant rides or visit elephant camps. The elephants work long days on stone in the heat, and we believe there are kinder ways to reach a palace.
- Our thinking: read why we don't offer elephant rides.
- Mobility: Amber has steep ramps, uneven stone and many steps, and Jaigarh and Nahargarh more so.
- Still possible: guests with limited mobility can see a good deal by jeep and with a patient guide. Ask us, and see our guide to accessible travel.
What we tell our own cousins about Amer
Be at the gate as it opens: the difference between eight and eleven in the morning at Amber is the difference between a palace and a queue.
Hire a licensed guide: almost nothing is labelled, and the stories are the point.
- Wear shoes with grip: Amber's ramps were built for horses and elephants, and the stone is polished smooth.
- Say no to touts, politely: at the car park they offer shortcuts, photos or shops. Our guides are paid never to take you to commission showrooms.
- Respect Shila Devi: remove your shoes, cover your shoulders and don't photograph inside the temple.
- Carry water and a hat: there is little shade on the ramparts of Jaigarh and Nahargarh.
- Leave time for the town: a chai on a stone platform in old Amer, with the fort above you, is the moment many guests remember most.
