The magnificent Amer Fort in Jaipur

The magnificent Amer Fort in Jaipur

I could easily have spent a day here!  In the end I was well satisfied with half a day. 

Apparently some people do, in the height of the tourist season, just to queue for an elephant ride up the Fort! 

 

It was worth getting there early, the guide told us, amidst groans, that our morning call would be 6.30! He was right. By the time we got there around 8.30 there was already a queue. However the wait took just about 20 minutes as each elephant carried 2 persons

 

Forget about taking photos while sitting on the elephant while it trudged up the hillside! It’s so bumpy I had to hold on to the bar of our seat for dear life while my feet dangled over the other side of the wall. I was so afraid to be thrown off! 😱 I did manage to snatch a couple of photos while we stopped to let the elephants pass the other way. (The elephants finish their shifts by noon)

There was no need to worry about not having photos of the ride as there were photographers at the embarking point and en route to take our photos! And they managed to seek us out at the Fort to sell us the photos.

(DON’T accept the photos until the price is agreed, usually half the asking price, or they would not take them back!)

Even though the ride was paid for, a tip of 100 rupees per elephant seemed mandatory. Despite  the agreed amount the elephant rider tried to get us to pay 100 rupees each! 

(Don’t pay at the beginning of the ride, they would ask for it again at the end!)

The Main Event 

The grounds of Amer Fort were huge and the palaces beautiful inside and out.

While all the names, facts and dates faded away as soon as I left the Fort, these photos provide instant recall of the few hours that I spent there on a beautiful day 

                      

The imposing entrance to the palace

The beautiful interiors

 

 Diwan- E-  Aam (Pulic Audience Hall)

and the view of the main courtyard from it 

  

The garden with the boundary wall in the background 

 

The fridge magnet