The best part of the usual half-day tour to the Amber Fort located 11km/6 miles outside of Jaipur is the “royal” elephant ride for most tourists…View image. We drove up to the top because of time constraints enjoying views of these lumbering beasts s-l-o-w-l-y plodding their way uphill with at least four tourists sitting in the howdah on their backs. The Amber Fort is another one of Jaipur’s unmissable tourist attractions. Actually, Jaipur is just one big “unmissable” attraction.

Construction on this humungous fort built of white marble and red sandstone began in 1592 by Rajah Man Singh I but was completed by his descendant, Rajah Jai Singh I. Amber Fort is imposing and rugged from the distance sitting up on the dry hiills with only scrubby patches of green, but prepare for a surprise once inside the massive gateways. There are courts, pavilions and individual palaces that reflect the royal wealth and glory associated with the Mughals. Mughal architecture was a unique blend of Indian, Iranian and Central Asia. Think…Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, palaces in Pakistan, Afghanistan as well as India.

The entrance to the different sights of interest inside the fort are riddled with rapacious and nasty monkeys sitting on the steps, in the trees, on walls…View image, just waiting to grab food if you are idiotic enough to walk around with food. You are the one who has to carefully thread your way around these pests. They are cute as long as they keep their distance…View image…

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