Jaipur city of full of historic monuments, including the more celebrated Amber Fort, City Palace complex , Hawa Mahal and other imposing forts of Jaigarh and Nahargarh. But Apart from the above mentioned more celebrated monuments, Jaipur have one more interesting and charming historical piece of architecture, The Temple complex of Galta.
Situated about 10 kms from the city center of Jaipur, just off the Sisodia Rani Bagh. Nestled in a steep-sided valley, into a narrow rocky ravine.lies the 250 year Old complex of Galta. This magnificent temple was built in the 18th century by Diwan Rao Kriparam, a courtier of Sawai Jai Singh II.The architecture of the temple is unique as it looks more like a mansion or Haveli than a traditional temple.The Temple Complex of Galta is religiously important and sacred to Hindu community as it is believed to be the Ashram of Maharishi Galab ( Galav).Legend is , Saint Galav spent all his life here and performed his 'tapasya' for 100 years. Pleased with his penance, the Gods appeared before him and blessed his place of worship with abundant water.
Galta Temple complex have seven tanks also called Holy Kunds. Out of the seven Kunds , two of them are the large reservoirs, with the upper reservoir reserved mostly for Humans and the lower tank being mainly used by hundreds of Monkey ( Red Face Macaque) present there.The most important of the Tanks among the seven tanks is Galta Kund, which is believed to be blessed with eternal supply of water and hence does not go dry. A spring of pure water flows from the 'Gaumukh', a rock shaped like a cow's head in the nearby hillock, into the tanks recharging them perennially.A dip at the Holy Kund is considered to wash your sins. Taking bath in the pool on the full moon day and especially on Makar Sankranti is considered auspicious.
There are two main temples at Galtaji, one dedicated to God Sun and the other dedicated to Lord Hanuman - the Monkey God. Built in Pink Sandstone, with beautiful round roofs (of terracotta style), exquisitely carved pillars and painted walls, it is beautifully set above the top of hill, with the sun temple being on higher altitude that the Temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. Lord Hanuman Temple can be identified from far of, as it is always surrounded by 100's of monkeys, living peacefully.This had lead it to be called as "Monkey Temple', it was recently featured on National Geographic's multi-award winning series 'Monkey Thieves'.
The temples of Galtaji Temple Complex are intricately and brightly painted with the images of Brahma, Vishnu, Parvati and Ganesha. There are engraved stones showing scenes from religious festivals and state occasions, maharajahs playing polo, the exploits of Krishna and the gopis. The chamber, at the end of the lower pool, displays a wide array of original frescoes, depicting acrobat feats - maharajahs playing polo or Lord Krishna coquetting with 'gopis' (milkmaids) in the garden. The ceilings are embellished with colourful swirl motifs.The natural backdrop of hillocks and springs and the beautiful architecture of the temple combined with the chanting of hymns produces an atmosphere of tranquility and inner peace.Other temples you can visit in the vicinity are Krishna Temple, Surya Temple, Balaji Temple and the Sita Ram Temple.
The temple is open to visitors from sunrise to sunset, but it is best to visit in afternoon around sunset, as during this time, you will see most of the monkeys flocking around the temple and you will get to witness their varied activities from close quarter.
Galtaji can be reached by drive from Jaipur, a road just across Sisodia Rani Garden leads you right near to the temple, from where you need to just take few steps to reach the temple complex. For the adventure seekers, a 30 minutes walks across a steep hill from path beyond Suraj Pole gate on the eastern edge of the Pink City can take you to the to the Surya Mandir on the crest of the hill above the main temple complex.
Jaipur in turn is well connected to the rest of the country by road, railways and air ( Jaipur has an international airport)
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Jaipur the pink city is also a perpetual attraction to tourists from different parts of the countries for being the abode of a large number of historical palaces and temples. Mostly the people of Jaipur, are devout of Hanuman and lord Ganesha. There are also ardent worshippers of Lord Shiva and Shri Krishna. As a result festivals like holi, navaratri, diwali are feted with devotion and grandeur. Before you embark on your expedition to land of camel safari and history we have tried to make a list of most visited tourist attractions for you:
Jaipur Tourist Places
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