Amber Palace,Jaipur

Amber fort

Tour to Amber fort,Jaipur

Timings : Duration of Openings (Hrs.): 8.00-17.30 Entry Fee (In Indian Rupees): Indian : 25 Foreigner : 200 Tel: 2530293 Built in 1592 Built by Raja Man Singh I with additions by Sawai Jai Singh Materials Sandstone Amer palace ,is situated on a Aravali Hills ,above the Maota lake near Amer village ,about 11 k.m from Jaipur city,the capital of Rajasthan. The aesthetic ambiance of the palace is seen within its walls on a four level layout plan (each with a courtyard) in a well turned out opulent palace complex built with red sandstone and marble consisting of the Diwan-e-Aam or the "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas or the "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace) or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over the water cascade within the palace. Hence, the Amer Fort is also popularly known as the Amer Palace. The palace was lived in by the Rajput Maharajas and their families. At the entrance to the palace near the fort’s Ganesh Gate, there is also a temple dedicated to Sila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult which was given to Raja Man Singh when he had defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. (Jessore is now in Bangladesh)
Amer fort was built by Maharaja Man Singh I in 1592.Amer Palace, was created in the late 16th century, as a larger palace to the already existing home of the rulers. The older palace, known as Kadimi Mahal ( persian for ancient) is known to be the oldest surviving palace in India. This ancient palace sits in the valley behind the Amer Palace. Amer was known in the medieval period as Dhundar (meaning attributed to a sacrificial mount in the western frontiers) and ruled by the Kachwahas from the 11th century onwards – between 1037 and 1727 AD, till the capital was moved from Amer to Jaipur.The history of Amer is indelibly linked to these rulers as they founded their empire at Amer.
Earlier to the Kachwahas, Amer was a small place built by [Meenas] in the town they consecrated to Amba, the Mother Goddess, whom they knew as `Gatta Rani' or `Queen of the Pass'.The Amer Fort, as it stands now, was built over the remnants of this earlier structure during the reign of Raja Man Singh, the Kacchwaha King of Amber.The structure was fully expanded by his descendant, Jai Singh I. Even later, Amer Fort underwent improvements and additions by successive rulers over the next 150 years, until the Kachwahas shifted their capital to Jaipur during the time of Sawai Jai Singh II, in 1727.
Many of the ancient structures of the medieval period of the Meenas have been either destroyed or replaced. However, the 16th century impressive edifice of the Amer Fort and the palace complex within it built by the Rajput Maharajas are very well preserved
.