At the entrance to the City Palace is Jantar Mantar, the 'Yantralaya' of Sawai Jai Singh II, the last great classical astronomer in India. The modernistic structures known as 'Yantras' are the unique creations of this astronomer-king designed by him and built by experts to observe the movements of sun, moon, planets and the stars. This is the largest of five observatories founded by him in 1716 AD. The others are at Delhi, Ujjain, Mathura & Varanasi. Its massive masonry instruments are of an extraordinary precision & can still be used to measure local time, the sun's declination, azimuth & altitude, the declination of fixed stars & planets & also to determine the time of an eclipse of the sun.

Jaipur is 260 km from Delhi and 240 km from Agra and forms the most chosen tourism golden triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. It a bustling capital city and a business centre with all the trapping of modern metropolis but yet flavoured strongly with an age-old charm that never fails to surprise a traveller. The old Jaipur painted in Pink can grip any visitor with admiration. Stunning backdrop of ancient forts Nahargarh, Amer, Jagarh and Moti Dungri are dramatic testimonials of the bygone era and a reminder of their lingering romance.

In Jaipur, the capital and gateway to Rajasthan, you will find one of the most precious and culturally non aligned pieces of architecture in the world. A perfect amalgamation of religion and science, the observatory, still in its own unsecularized integrity, is comparable only with the witnesses in stone of the archaic cultures. Jantar Mantar is a famous astronomical monument. As with all other observatories around the country built by Sawai Jai Singh, the one in Jaipur, is a lucid reflection of his belief in the importance of astronomy and passion for architecture. Whether or not you are interested in stars, this place is worth a visit for its pure architectural splendor. Often described as the most surreal and logical landscape in stone, this bewildering piece of art brings curves, corners, colors and the cosmos, all in one complex.

How to reach:
One can easily reach Jantar Mantar from the city by taking local Buses, Rickshaws and Taxis.