wind | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 7 (4/4): PALACE OF WINDS, Hawa Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, 2018.11.30

Standing at the edge of the City Palace of Jaipur, the Hawa Mahal was part of the women’s chambers of the former royal palace. Built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, the sandstone facade with a honeycomb of latticed bay windows is the most recognizable building in Jaipur. The splendid facade is actually the back side of the palace building, where royal ladies were able to watch the activities and occasional festival events on the street through one of the 953 small windows. Today, the five-storey palace building is open to visitors. With narrow stairways and passageways and shallow rooms, the top three floors can get a little crowded during the tourist high season.

All tourists in Jaipur would take pictures of the famous facade from the main street, while not every one would actually visit the building interior. We were curious to experience how it might feel to peek back at the main street through one the small windows, and thus decided to pay a brief visit of the palace. Finding the entrance of Hawa Mahal required a bit of research. Entered through a retail side street, we arrived at a back lane where the real entrance and ticket office of Hawa Mahal were located.

The splendid facade of Hawa Mahal is the most recognizable building in Jaipur.

To enter the building, visitors must find their way into the back alleyway where the main entrance is located.

Through a series of doors and gateways, we arrived at the primary courtyard of Hawa Mahal.

A feature water fountain dominated the primary courtyard of Hawa Mahal.

We had little interest on the water feature. Instead, our primary aim was to check out the small windows and the views from the top two levels of the palace.

We walked up a level at a time. Colourful stained glass windows were everywhere, providing a pleasant visual effects for the interiors.

While many small windows were locked up, some were opened for visitors to check out the street views.

It wasn’t difficult for visitors to imagine the elusive lives of the royal ladies behind the small windows.

The ramp tower led us to the top floor. From the top floor, we could enjoy the view back into the royal palace.

The pink facade of Hawa Mahal matches perfectly with shops across the street.

There was another courtyard complex connected to the Hawa Mahal on the ground level.

Looking straight down the iconic facade was a little frightening.

Across the street, restaurant patios lined up on the roof and top terraces for anyone who might have the time and mood to sit down with a drink, and take in views of the romantic sunset and iconic facade.

Stairs and hallways on the top floors were really narrow.

By the time we reached the top level it was almost sunset time.

Before leaving Hawa Mahal, we found our way to check out a corner pavilion at the terrace level.

We stopped by a rooftop cafe across the street to enjoy the sunset scenery of the iconic Hawa Mahal.

Before the sun disappeared below the horizon, flood lights at the base of Hawa Mahal were turned on for the night view. We bid farewell to Hawa Mahal and returned to the Peacock Restaurant for our final dinner in Jaipur.