Jaipur is the capital of the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, known as the Pink City for the terracotta-pink wash applied to its historic core, and the largest city of a region whose Mughal-era forts and palaces draw visitors from across the world. Its old city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

Where Is Jaipur Located?

Jaipur lies in eastern Rajasthan in northwestern India, roughly 280 kilometers southwest of Delhi, and serves as Rajasthan’s capital and largest city. It forms one point of India’s well-known “Golden Triangle” tourist circuit alongside Delhi and Agra.

A Brief History of Jaipur

Founding as a Planned City

Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, ruler of the Kachhwaha Rajput dynasty, who moved his capital from the hill fortress of Amber to a new planned city on the plains below. Unlike most historic Indian cities, which grew organically, Jaipur was laid out on a grid according to principles drawn from the Vastu Shastra, an Indian architectural treatise, a planning choice that still shapes the old city’s street pattern today.

Amber Fort and the Approach to Jaipur

Before Jaipur existed, the Kachhwaha rulers governed from Amber Fort, which Maharaja Man Singh I commissioned in 1592 on a hill about eleven kilometers from what became central Jaipur, according to the government of India’s official tourism portal.^[1] Built of pale yellow and pink sandstone, the fort is organized into four main sections around their own courtyards and includes the Sheesh Mahal, a mirrored palace hall the same portal describes as its architectural highlight, along with underground tunnels said to connect it to the neighboring Jaigarh Fort.^[1]

Hawa Mahal and the Pink City

Jaipur’s defining later addition came in 1799, when Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, Jai Singh II’s grandson, commissioned Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, to a design credited to the architect Lal Chand Ustad.^[2] Built as an extension of the royal women’s chambers, its five-story facade of roughly 953 small latticed windows, or jharokhas, allowed women observing the purdah custom to watch street life and royal processions below without being seen themselves, a cooling design that also gives the structure its name.^[2] Jaipur’s walled city, including its distinctive pink-washed facades, was collectively inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019 as an example of planned urban design rooted in indigenous Indian town-planning traditions.

Culture and Economy

Jaipur remains a center of Rajasthani craft traditions, including block-printed textiles, gemstone cutting, and jewelry, alongside a tourism economy built around its forts and palaces. Rajasthani and Hindi are the dominant languages, and the city’s old-city markets continue to trade in many of the same crafts associated with it since the Rajput era.

What Is Jaipur Known For?

Jaipur is known for Hawa Mahal, its five-story pink sandstone facade one of the most photographed single structures in India, and for Amber Fort, the hilltop palace complex that preceded the city itself.^[1][2] Together with its UNESCO-recognized planned street grid, these sites have made Jaipur one of the most visited cities in Rajasthan and a fixture of India’s Golden Triangle tourist route.

Why Jaipur Matters

Jaipur matters as one of the few historic Indian cities built from scratch as a planned capital rather than grown incrementally, and as a continuing demonstration of how eighteenth-century urban design, Rajput court architecture, and a specific color of building wash can combine into a city identity recognized well beyond India’s borders.

Key Takeaways

• Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital, was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II as a planned city laid out on Vastu Shastra principles.
• Amber Fort, commissioned by Maharaja Man Singh I in 1592, was the Kachhwaha dynasty’s seat before Jaipur was built.
• Hawa Mahal, built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, is Jaipur’s best-known landmark and gave the “Pink City” its name.
• Jaipur’s walled old city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

Sources

• Government of India, Ministry of Tourism, “Amber Fort,” Incredible India, Undated, https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/rajasthan/jaipur/amber-fort, accessed 2026-10-20.
• Government of India, Ministry of Tourism, “Hawa Mahal,” Incredible India, Undated, https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/rajasthan/jaipur/hawa-mahal, accessed 2026-10-20.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed October 20, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue