The next day in Jaipur, renewed after a good night sleep (thank you E) we headed off to Jaigarh Fort. 15 K outside the city up a windy hilly road, where at times you feel like your life may be in your driver’s hands, Jaigarh Fort is one of the less visited forts. Known primarily for housing one of the world’s largest cannons, it’s a quiet wonder waiting to be explored.

First up was the large cannon. At the time it was built in 1720 it was the world’s largest cannon. It needed 4 elephants to get it up the hill and was only fired once. It’s up high on a hill, so our driver drove us up there first. One of the attendants gave us a quick history lesson, then we walked around the edge of the canon tower to see the views of the city below. My son was bored at first until I realized he couldn’t see over the wall. After I lifted him up he was filled with awe. I asked him what he could see and he said “Cars!”. Boys will be boys…

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The cannon which made this fort famous

Next we drove down to see the palace and the museums attached. Inside we saw pictures of the royal family who had lived on the grounds, as well as an impressive armory. This armory had much better signs than the armory at City Palace, even if it is not as extensive.

Another attendant gave us a history lesson and took us around the palace. While the palace was not as well maintained or as elaborate as Amber Fort, the views of the city and the surrounding hills was spectacular, even better than Amber Fort.

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Spectacular Views

In addition, since this fort is not as popular, it was much less populated. There were only a few other tourists at the cannon, and we practically had the palace to ourselves. Note, we had not requested a guide, but we found an attendant tagging along and giving us an explanation anyway and waiting for a tip afterward. His expertise did add value to our trip and since the signs are not great, helped us make sense of what we were seeing, so I didn’t mind tipping him. However, our driver advised us against hiring guides as they tend to be touts for tourist shops, so this is something to watch our for!

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Typical architecture of forts in Rajasthan

All in all we really enjoyed our trip to Jaigarh fort and definitely recommend it. Even our son had a good time, either playing with his trains, riding in the stroller, or pushing it up and down the ramps. I’m glad we found a place that gives us adults the grandeur we wanted to view and and an open place free of crowds for my son to enjoy himself as well. Definitely worth the 15 k drive of death!

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My son finding ways to enjoy his trip and amuse himself

• Timings: 9am – 5pm, 7 days a week
• Fees: 85 rs foreigners, free if you have a ticket from City Palace less than a week old. 50 rs for each still camera.

* Stared photographs taken by Atma Photography