India Guide
Rajasthan
Jaigarh
Address: Behind Amber Palace, 11km north of Jaipur
Price: Rs50; same ticket valid for Jaipur City Palace within 24hr
Opening time: Daily 9am–5pm
Perched high behind Amber Palace, rugged Jaigarh fort, built in 1600, offers incredible vistas over the hills and plains. A small museum in its centre holds a dusty display of old maps and photographs, plus a good little selection of cannons dating back to 1588 – Jaigarh was an important centre for the manufacture of these highly-prized weapons. None can hold a candle to the immense Jaivana cannon, the largest in Asia, which sits in solitary splendour at the fort's highest point, five minutes' walk on. Needing 100 kilos of gunpowder per shot, it could purportedly shoot a cannonball 35km – though it was never fired in anger.