The Amer Fort that stands just on the outskirts of the Jaipur City is actually the immediate ancestor of Jaipur City. Till Sawai Jai Singh decided to create a new planned city, it was the major fortified town of the region.

Amer Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Forts, as you know, are more often than not located on the hilltops. The hill on which Amber or Amer Fort stands is called Cheelon ka Teela – meaning the hillock on which the eagles live. It was first built by the Meenas who are now classified as tribals way back in 10th CE. However, its fortunes changed when Raja Man Singh took it over and built a formidable fort some time in early 17th CE. The work was taken forward by Raja Jai Singh who would later set up Jaipur City – one of the current day planned cities of India.

Today Amer is a small town surrounding the fort. I am told there are 365 temples in the town. Well, you can see tall spires of many temples when you are at the fort but someone needs to go around the town and explore them further.

The fort has the world’s third longest wall going around it after Kumbhalgarh & Great Wall of China.

Amer gets its name from Ambika Temple or the Shiva Temple called Ambikeshwar.