Best Time to Visit Jaipur

October to March

Months to avoid: May to June (peak summer, 42-46°C, oppressive, some forts partially close to visitors during midday)

Recommended stay: 3-4 days

Plan Jaipur for October to March. Give it 3-4 days. The window to avoid is May to June (peak summer, 42-46°C, oppressive, some forts partially close to visitors during midday).

What the season gets you

• Amber Fort at 7am, before the tour groups, when the light hits the Maota Lake and the walls turn gold and the only sound is pigeons
• Johari Bazar and Bapu Bazar sell block-print textiles, silver jewellery, and blue pottery at prices you won't find in Delhi, knowing what you want before you walk in helps
• Jantar Mantar is a 300-year-old working observatory, nineteen stone instruments that calculated celestial positions before telescopes existed, and most visitors walk past without understanding what they're looking at