Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal is a unique palace and one of the most popular tourist sites in Jaipur. It is one of the most beautiful places built by the Rajputs. No trip to Jaipur is complete without visiting Hawa Mahal. Jaipur is well known for the Rajput culture and handicrafts. The tie and dye materials of different colors are a specialty of Jaipur. The jewelery and bangles found in Jaipur are gorgeous to look at. The Hawa Mahal has an imposing architecture. It has magnificent five stories with numerous windows. It has been rightly named as the Palace of Winds. Each of the stories are not equal in length. Each floor gradually reduces as it goes up.

The Hawa Mahal in Jaipur was built by a Rajput King, Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. He built the palace keeping in mind the women who stayed at the palace. Women were not allowed to enter the public eye and hence had to spend most of their life unaware of the happenings of the outer world. Maharaja Pratap Singh with the help of Lal Chand Usta designed the palace in such a way that the women could observe daily life from the windows of the palace but the outside people could not see them. The palace has as many as 953 small windows to let in cool breeze. The windows keep the massive palace cool during extreme heat. The palace was built in 1799 with limestones and quick lime. There are intricate carvings on the doors, windows, arches and galleries.