JAIPUR
The real reason to come is the sunset city view from the ramparts and Padao restaurant terrace — arrive by 5pm to claim a rail spot before tour buses fill it. Little shade, so midday visits in summer are miserable.
Built in 1734 by Sawai Jai Singh II, originally named Sudarshangarh, atop a ridge of the Aravalli hills overlooking Jaipur as part of the city's defensive ring alongside Amber and Jaigarh forts. Local legend holds the fort was renamed Nahargarh ('abode of tigers') after the spirit of Nahar Singh Bhomia repeatedly disrupted construction until a shrine was built to pacify him. During the 1857 uprising it sheltered European refugees, and in the late 19th century Sawai Ram Singh II added the palatial Madhavendra Bhawan complex with matching apartments for the king's wives.
