Hawa Mahal Jaipur

The Hawa Mahal, or the Palace of Winds, is arguably Jaipur's best-known monument. For one, it is unlike any other Rajput monument - fort, palace or temple. Secondly, it's a bit too whimsical and delicate, almost like a magical structure from the Arabian Nights. Despite its towering height and length, the Hawa Mahal looks like a light, airy structure which might blow away with the slightest wind.

Placed right in the middle of the bustling Johari Bazaar, near the Badi Chaupad (the big square), this reddish-pink building made of red sandstone is a constant reminder of Jaipur's colourful history which refuses to just curl up and die.

Construction of The Palace
Adjacent to the City Palace (where the family of the last Maharaja of Jaipur still lives) is the Hawa Mahal Jaipur, built by Sawai Pratap Singh and designed by Lalchand Usta in 1799. If you view it from a distance, it looks like a palace with the promise of big, spacious rooms inside. But once you cross the road for a closer inspection, you realise that it is little more than a finely chiselled facade. Out of its five floors, the top three are just a room deep while the lower floors are connected to rooms and courtyards. Hawa Mahal, Jaipur, is an enormous tapering structure with numerous arches, spires and a mind-boggling 953 latticed casements and small windows. If you observe it closely, you'll realise that it is actually a portion of the zenana palace (women's quarters) and what you can view from the road is merely the back of the building.