Amber

Amber lies among the Aravalli hills, where a fortified palace overlooks the waters of Maota Lake. It was the seat of the Kachhwaha rulers of Dhundhar, whose courts and temples grew within a landscape of steep ridges and defensive walls. The palace combines courtyards, gardens and richly decorated halls, showing the wealth acquired by the ruling house through its position in northern India.

Raja Man Singh I, a leading commander of the Mughal emperor Akbar, began the great palace that stands at Amber. His successors added to the complex, and the Kachhwahas served the Mughal emperors in campaigns far from their own hills while keeping their ancestral seat. As Amber became crowded, Sawai Jai Singh II founded a new capital on the plain in 1727, naming it Jaipur. The court moved there, leaving the older palace and fort as a reminder of the dynasty’s earlier home.