How I covered most of Jaipur in just 6 hours as a solo traveler
Updated: Aug 6, 2020
Jaipur has always been in my bucket list for a long period of time. To cover the whole city of Jaipur, 6 hours is not at all enough. I have covered almost all the major attractions of Jaipur in just 6 hours on my recent solo trip to the city. If you can manage your schedule properly, you can easily cover all the major destinations of Jaipur in 6 hours.
Rajasthan has always been in my favourite list. When I was planning to do a solo trip earlier this year, the first place came to my mind was Rajasthan. Jaipur was the best destination to start my solo journey across Rajasthan. I had nearly 6 hours of time to cover the most I could of Jaipur. I covered almost all the famous tourist attractions of Jaipur in just 6 hours and by following my itinerary, you can easily cover all the major attractions of Jaipur in just 6 hours.
The arrival: My flight landed at Jaipur International Airport at 23:00 Hrs. I booked a 'paid taxi' from the airport itself and started waiting for my turn. Jaipur in January was quite cold and I could feel that passing through the streets of the city. The roads were quite empty. Finally I arrived at my hostel namely 'Howstel'.Howstel is situated near the Ajmeri circle. I always wanted to stay in a hostel instead of any luxury hotel and I realised I just did the right thing by staying at 'Howstel'. There were 4 other travellers at the hostel. My room could accommodate 6 persons. It was once in a lifetime experience to meet all the travellers from across the country and to get an opportunity to know about their experiences.
The morning of Jaipur: I woke up at 7:00 AM in the morning and went for a walk on the streets of Jaipur. Many tea stalls and poha joints are there which generally opens early in the morning. I had a plate of poha with tea at one of the roadside stalls and went back to my hostel. Time was 8:30 AM by then. I took a bath and started packing my bags and equipments to be ready for the trip. I had nearly 6 hours to cover the best I could of the city of Jaipur as my scheduled bus from Jaipur to Jaisalmer was about leave by evening that day.
The 6 hours in Jaipur: I came out from the hostel gate at 9:00 AM and booked an uber bike to the famous lassiwala of Jaipur. When you are in a solo trip, you should always prefer bikes over cabs and hostels over hotels. My solo journey of 6 hours had stared and I arrived at the famous lane of lassiwala. There are many shops having the same name of lassiwala. I took the lassi and started enjoying the vibe of the city.
The first two hours: From the lassiwala I again booked an uber bike and my next destination was the famous 'Raj Mandir' of Jaipur, a cinema hall inside a building from the ancient time of the Maharajas. I enquired about the entry and I was told that only if I booked a ticket for a movie show, I could enter the hall. As I had a time constraint of 6 hours, I clicked some photos there and returned to the streets.
The final 4 hours: I booked an uber bike again and my destination was the 'Hawa mahal' of Jaipur. I could feel the old town vibes of the city on crossing the Ajmeri gate. When I was about to arrive the hawa mahal,i could see the markets and establishments from the ancient times of maharajas at both sides of the street.
The hawa mahal: As I had only 6 hours to cover the city of Jaipur and I already had invested 2 hours, so I just booked a visitor ticket for all the three locations namely the Hawa Mahal,Jantar mantar and the City Palace. After clicking some photos there at Hawa Mahal I took a round of the building from inside. I was told that the best time to visit the Hawa Mahal is during the night time as a light show happens daily during the evening time.
After taking a round of Hawa mahal, now it was to cover the famous Jantar mantar. Time was nearly 11:30 Hrs by then. To explore all the equipments of Jantar Mantar,one or two hours is not at all enough.
I covered Jantar mantar by 12:30 Hrs anyhow.
The Jalmahal Palace:As time was nearly 12:30 by then, I had only two and half hours left of my 6 hours of sheduled coverage of Jaipur city.I just booked an e rikshaw for a ride to the Jalmahal Palace.I could see the 'Maharani market' from the ancient time by the side of the ride.The rikshaw took just 10 INR to drop me at the nearest point of Jalmahal Palace.The entry to the palace is restricted now due to safety reasons.The mesmerising view of the Jalmahal palace along with the lake was totally breathtaking.
Near the Jalmahal palace area, there is a roadside market which sells only traditional Rajasthani handicrafts, metal arts and other handmade items.The Amber Fort could be seen from the road but due to time constraints couldn't give that a visit.I sat there for sometime, took some photos, bought some traditional Rajasthani items and enjoyed the view.
Time was nearly 14:00 hrs by then and my 6 hours of covering the city of Jaipur came to an end. On returning, I stopped near the 'Hawa mahal' and entered into an old food joint and had a plate of special Rajasthani mutton biriyani.
Finally I booked an uber bike again and returned to my hostel to take some rest. By 4:30 I packed my bag and all the gears I carried and came out from the hostel completing all the formalities. My bus was about to leave for Jaisalmer by 20:00 Hrs.
It was my first ever solo trip and I covered almost all the major locations of Jaipur in just 6 hrs.A feeling of happiness I could sense that time after visiting all the ancient places and meeting all those travellers from across the country be it at the hostel or during the journey.