Traveller Arpit Gupta shares why Jaipur, India is a must-visit location for travellers from around the world. You can follow his journey on Instagram @travelclickshare or book a tour at www.indijourneys.com.
How long have you lived here?
Jaipur is my home town, I was born and brought up here.
Describe your city in 3 words.
Pink, Heritage, charming
What is the one thing everyone must see when they get here and why?
The Amber Fort, where the architecture is just marvellous, and when you visit this place you will see how far ahead of the times we once were.
What is the most overrated thing about your city and why?
Chokhi Dhani, it attracts a lot of tourists but for me, it is the most overrated place in Jaipur. For instance, Rajasthan is famous for Rajputana, where we wear a turban as a thing of pride or honour but in Chokhi Dhani they may sell you the turban, which makes it quite a commercial place.
What is your favourite local dish – describe it to us?
There are two similar dishes that are great, one is for vegetarians and the other one is a non-vegetarian dish.
The Vegetarian dish is called Dal Bati Churma. This consists of lentils, wheat flour, gram flour with sugar and butter (ghee). There are also wheat flour balls baked in an oven and filled with different fillings such as potato and milk powder.
The non-vegetarian the dish is almost the same, but it is called Keema Bati. The difference here is that the wheat flour balls are filled with minced mutton masala and then cooked in the oven and served with meat gravy.
Describe your perfect day if you were a tourist?
I will start my day with breakfast at either On The House or the Indian Coffee House, followed by a cultural experience or Aarti (a kind of worship) at Govind Dev Ji Temple. After which, I will visit the City Palace, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal. By now it should be around time for lunch which I will have at my local favourite Peacock Restaurant or if that isn’t possible, there are many good restaurants along Amber Fort road.
After lunch, I recommend visiting the Water Palace and followed by a visit to the Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort. At 6 or 7 pm, there is a sound and light show at Amber Fort, which is a must-see. After that, I would go to Nahargarh (Tiger Fort), to get a good view of Jaipur city, which looks very charming from above. Depending on your preference and budget, you can choose to go to lone of the many bars in town and have dinner at one of the restaurants at Nahargarh. A more affordable alternative is available, which would take you back to the city and enjoying a nice local dinner at Handi or Spice Court or Niros or Indiana.
This article has been edited for clarity and grammar
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