Amber Fort

The mirror hall on the third courtyard, its walls and ceiling set with thousands of mirror fragments and pieces of coloured glass. It was built so that a small number of candles would light the entire room by reflection, which is the effect the design exists for. It is on the standard visitor route and is the single thing most people remember from Amber.

It is offered, and it is contested. Elephants carry visitors up the cobbled ramp to the first courtyard and there has been a sustained welfare campaign against the practice. Walking the ramp takes about fifteen minutes and jeeps run the same route, so there is a straightforward alternative. Atlas states the position rather than making the choice for you.

Amber was the Kachhwaha capital for six centuries before Jai Singh II founded Jaipur on the plain in 1727 and moved the court down. So the fort is the older seat and the city is the planned replacement — which is why Jaipur is laid out on a grid and Amber climbs a hillside. It is about eleven kilometres north of the walled city.

Two to three hours inside the fort for the four courtyards, the Ganesh Pol and the Sheesh Mahal, and half a day once the drive from Jaipur and time at the Maota lake below are added. Arriving at first entry matters more here than at most Rajasthan forts, because the courtyards are enclosed and they fill fast.