The palaces and havelis of Rajasthan signify the true historical essence and heritage of this royal state. Some of the palaces are still home to the royal families of Rajasthan. The architecture of the Rajasthani palaces and havelis is a very ethnic combination of Mughal and Rajput architecture. These palaces are a rich reminder of numerous historical stories and legacies of the great kings and queens who ruled this state. Some of the palaces were built with full fortifications for protection against enemy attacks. These palaces are examples of some of the best architectural endeavors of the ancient rulers of the state of Rajasthan. The palaces have their own fountains, gardens, public courts, temples and separate residential apartments for women and men. Most of the palaces are now heritage hotels and museums.

The royal families were on the top of the social chart in Rajasthan. After the royals the merchants were also highly reputed. The royals built grand palaces while the merchants built beautiful havelis to show their high place in the society. The havelis were huge, colorful and beautifully decorated to satisfy the taste of the rich Rajasthani Merchants. The havelis were the residence of the merchants and served as their personal mansions. The havelis are as common as palaces in Rajasthan. The havelis of Shekhawati and Jaisalmer are most popular in all of Rajasthan. Beautiful frescoes in variety of bright colors like yellow, green, red, maroon, indigo, blue, etc decorate the havelis of Rajasthan. The walls are beautifully decorated and are painted with mythological scenes or incidents that prevail in Rajasthan. The decorations you see on the haveli walls are true creativity of Muslim and Hindu workers.

Famous Palaces in Rajasthan

City Palace (Jaipur)

The City Palace is situated in the heart of Jaipur and is one of the major tourist attractions in the city. The initial palace was built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh but the extensions were add-ons by his successors. The royal family of Jaipur still resides in one part of this palace. The ground floor and a few other sections of the palace serve the purpose of a museum and are open for public viewing.

Hawa Mahal (Jaipur)

The Hawa Mahal, more appropriately known as the “Palace of Winds” is located in the center of the city of Jaipur. It is a highly unusual building which has a total of 953 windows constructed on the front face. These windows allow entry of breeze and wind during the hot summer months. It was built in the year 1799 by King Sawai Pratap Singh, who also used to be a poet. He built it for the women in the palace. These innumerous windows allowed the women to view processions and other festivals that were carried out on the streets below the palace.

City Palace (Udaipur)

This palace was built by the same person who was also the founder of the Udaipur city, Maharana Uday Singh. The palace had several add-ons constructed by successors of Maharana Uday Singh but it is still as beautiful as it used be in Uday Singh’s days. The Udaipur City Palace is situated on the beautiful banks of Lake Pichola. There are three gates for entry, the first one is Elephant Gate or Hathi Pol, the second one is a Triple Arched Gate called Tripola and the third one is The Big Gate or the Bari Pol.

Lake Palace (Udaipur)

The Lake Palace was built in the year 1743 by Maharan Jagat Singh. It is said to be the Summer Palace for The Maharana of Udaipur. The palace is constructed on an island situated in the Lake Pichola. Its original name was Jag Niwas.

Umaid Bhawan Palace (Jodhpur)

The construction of this palace was completed in the 20th century. It took 15 years to build this masterpiece palace due to which it is said to be one of the last great palace built in the state of Rajasthan. The name of the palace is in honor of Maharaja Umaid Singh. He was very fascinated with western culture, architecture and style. This fascination caused him to hire Henry Vaughn Lanchester an Edwardian architect to design and build this beautiful palace. It is situated in Jodhpur on the Chittar hills.

Havelis in Rajasthan

Bounded by the proud Aravali Hills, Rajasthan is the land of heritage, royalty, grandeur and architectural wonders. The carefully maneuvered design and architecture, the beautiful and intricate decorations and the bright colored frescoes is what makes the Rajasthani havelis a treat to the eyes of the visitors. You can visit indiaholiday.com to obtain more information about the havelis and other important tourist destinations in Rajasthan.

The beautifully decorated, colorfully painted and intricately constructed havelis of Rajasthan remind people of the royal grandeur of the Rajputs. These havelis can be found in almost every part of Rajasthan. They were once owned by the rich merchants, Rajputs or the local Jagirdars. Their history can be viewed through the paintings and decorations made on the walls of these havelis.

These havelis can be found in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Bikaner and remind us of the glorious past of the Rajputs. The Havelis show us how grandly the Rajputs used to reside in their time. These havelis have the essence of the Rajputi honor, pride and grandeur. These havelis take you back to the time when the fearless Rajputs grandly and gallantly ruled over the state of Rajasthan. The men and women both were fearless and their honor was everything to them. Even in their homes they lead a life of honesty, grandeur and pride which can be clearly seen in the havelis constructed by them.

These havelis and palaces are what make Rajasthan so popular among tourists. All these havelis are museums in itself as they contains objects like antique paintings, antique items, age old artifacts, etc which goes back to the medieval period. These havelis shout out the fact that the kings of this place had a very rich and luxurious lifestyle.

The Havelis is Rajasthan also signify that the Rajputs were great architects and excellent builders. Their architecture was somewhat different from Mughal architecture and was one of a kind. These havelis and palaces situated in the arid Aravali Hills are beautiful and attract a lot of tourists. Many havelis and palaces are now turned into heritage hotels in Rajasthan. As a tourist you can book a room into one of these hotels and enjoy a grand and royal stay. These havelis have the required medieval ambiance to keep you curiosity alive.