Day 16 p.m. Lumbering up to the Amber Fort

In the heat of a Jaipur afternoon we drove 20 minutes out from the centre to the Amber Fort. The massive ramparts are some way up the hill above the road, following the contours of a natural ridge. The choice is either walk up the steep incline, or go on elephant back.

Eddie & Margaret, Jo and Rog take the easy way.

The 16th century fort is built on earlier 11th century foundations and is very impressive
View from the ramparts

The Sheesh Mahal is wonderfully ornate, and the roof is embedded with tiny mirrors - when one candle is lit in here the ceiling transforms into a starlit sky. Conservationists are appalled however at the installation of a Cafe Coffee Day within the walls - akin to opening a Macdonalds outlet in the west wing of Buckingham Palace - but the toilets here got our vote as "the best in all India" - so some modernisation really is a good thing ( and I have to say the coffee was good as well )
On the way back into Jaipur we stopped off at Sagar Lake, just to take photos of the floating palace

The day ended with beer and sweeties up on the roof, then a hair-raising Tuk-Tuk drive, in the dark, into central Jaipur to have dinner at the "Copper Chimney."