Amber Fort (Amer Fort)

Amber Fort, also written Amer Fort, rises above Maota Lake in the village of Amer, about 11 km north of central Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. The Kachwaha Rajputs ruled from Amer for several centuries before the capital moved to Jaipur in 1727, and the present palace-fort dates mainly from 1592, when Raja Man Singh I began construction on the site of an earlier fortress. Mirza Raja Jai Singh I and later rulers extended it through the 17th century, and it belongs to the Mughal-influenced Rajput era, blending red sandstone and white marble in a layout of terraced courtyards. In 2013 UNESCO inscribed Amber Fort as part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan. The route begins at the Suraj Pol, climbs to the Jaleb Chowk parade ground and passes the Singh Pol into the palace proper. Named spaces include the Diwan-i-Aam, a pillared public audience hall; the Ganesh Pol, a richly painted gateway; the Sukh Niwas, cooled by a channel of water; and the Sheesh Mahal, whose walls and ceilings are inlaid with mirror fragments and coloured glass. Zenana quarters for the royal women sit on the upper levels around a central courtyard, and the Kesar Kyari garden spreads across the lake below. The fort is not a curated museum, and visitors follow an architectural circuit through original rooms rather than a gallery sequence, with signboards giving brief explanations. Restoration work by the Rajasthan government and the Amber Development and Management Authority has stabilised walls, repaired inlay and cleaned painted surfaces, though some stretches of the outer ramparts still show weathering. Today the fort is one of the most visited monuments in India, and the ascent from the car park can be made on foot, by jeep, or historically by elephant, although elephant rides have been restricted in recent years. An evening light and sound show tells the history of the Kachwaha dynasty in the Kesar Kyari garden after dark. The neighbouring Jaigarh Fort, linked by a fortified ridge, formed part of the same defensive system, and the Jagat Shiromani Temple and Anokhi Museum lie in the village at the foot of the hill.