Amber Fort (Amer Fort)

Amber (also spelled Amer) was the capital of the Kachwaha Rajput dynasty for around 600 years before Sawai Jai Singh II shifted it to the planned grid city of Jaipur in 1727. The fort that survives is largely the work of Raja Man Singh I (built 1592 onwards) and his successor Mirza Raja Jai Singh I, expanded by Sawai Jai Singh II — sandstone and marble courtyards stepped into the Aravalli ridge above Maota Lake. The fort is organised into four courtyards. The first, Jaleb Chowk, is where returning armies would be paraded. The second holds the Diwan-i-Aam with its double-row of pillars. The third is the private quarters — Sukh Niwas (a 'pleasure palace' cooled by water cascading over marble) on one side, and the Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) on the other, where thousands of glass mosaics turn a single candle into a star-field. The fourth was reserved for the royal women, with discreet corridors connecting the queens' apartments without their having to encounter each other. Elephant rides up the steep approach were a tourist staple but have been increasingly restricted since 2018 over animal-welfare concerns; jeep transfers are now standard. The fort connects to Jaigarh Fort above via a fortified passage — Jaigarh holds the world's largest cannon on wheels (Jaivana), test-fired only once. UNESCO inscribed Amber as part of the 'Hill Forts of Rajasthan' in 2013.