Jal Mahal Jaipur means Water Palace. As the name suggests, the location of the Jal Mahal of Jaipur is in the center of Man Sagar Lake of Jaipur. It is one of the major Jaipur tourist places to visit. Placed in the middle of the lake, the Palace looks fantastic with the green Nahargarh Hills as the background.
It is another Palace of Jaipur which has a combination of the Mughal Architecture as well as Rajput Architecture. The favorite thing for the visitors to do here is boating and photography. Jal Mahal of Jaipur is very popular as the most photographed monument of India.
The interesting fact about Jal Mahal is that we can only see one story of the whole palace, while the rest of the four stories remains submerged in the water. However, entry to the Palace has strictly prohibited but boating facilities are available in the lake. The visitors enjoy boating in the take and take a view of the mesmerizing Palace from all sides.
Architecture of Jal Mahal Jaipur
Built in red sandstone the palace consists of five floors, but when the lake is full four floors get submerged in water and only the top floor can be seen. The roofs and the walls of the palace are filled with paintings of Mahraja’s and their stories. The elevated dome shaped pavilions called as Chattris on the roof resembles the Bengal architecture. These chattris are octagonal in shape. The palace contains a roof top garden called as chameli bagh which contains exquisite lush green garden all around. The four corners of the garden contain high rise flower beds where one can sit and enjoy the greenery all around. The garden consists of many varities of shrubs, many variety of white flowers like Chameli, Champa and Bargad trees. The lake was home for many migratory birds like red shank, coot, ruff, grey wagtail and many more. The lake is also home for many aquatic animals like fish, plants, insects etc. Near the hilly areas soil erosion was caused due to stripping of forest in certain areas. This caused increase in the silt built up inside the lake raising the height of the bed. Hence to improve the condition of lake many new restoration projects have been taken up by the government.
How to reach Jal Mahal in Jaipur
The best time to visit the palace is from October till March as remaining months are very hot in Rajasthan. The palace is open from 9amto 6pm. Reaching any place is Jaipur is very convenient and easy. There are rickshaw pullers and good public transport. One can even drive down from Delhi. Jaipur has also airport, hence one can even fly down depending upon the connectivity.