Hawa Mahal Jaipur: Tickets, Timings, Entrance and How to Visit (2026)

Short answer: Hawa Mahal, Jaipur’s “Palace of Winds”, is open every day from 9:00 am to about 4:30 pm. Since 1 January 2026 a foreign visitor pays ₹600 (about US$7) and an Indian visitor ₹100. The famous pink facade is free to see from the street; the ticket gets you inside, up the ramps to the top floors and the view over the Pink City. Allow 45–60 minutes.

What is Hawa Mahal, and why does it look like that?

Hawa Mahal was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, grandson of Jaipur’s founder Sawai Jai Singh II, and designed by the architect Lal Chand Ustad. It is a five-storey screen of red and pink sandstone about 15 metres (50 ft) high, pierced by 953 small latticed windows called jharokhas.

It was never a palace to live in. It was an extension of the women’s quarters (the zenana) of the City Palace, built so that royal women, who kept purdah (seclusion from public view), could watch processions and street life below without being seen. The lattice also funnels breezes through the building, which is where the name “Palace of Winds” comes from.

The surprise for most visitors: the honeycomb facade you see on postcards is the back of the building. The structure is only a few rooms deep, and you enter it from behind, through a courtyard on the City Palace side.

How much is the Hawa Mahal ticket in 2026?

Rajasthan doubled fees at its state-run monuments from 1 January 2026, the first broad increase since 2015, with Hawa Mahal going from ₹300 to ₹600 for foreigners and ₹50 to ₹100 for Indians (Pinkcity Post, 29 December 2025; Zee News, 30 December 2025). Hawa Mahal is run by the state Department of Archaeology and Museums, not the national ASI, so these state rates apply.

Sources: Pinkcity Post (29 Dec 2025) and Zee News (30 Dec 2025), checked 9 November 2026. Foreign student rates of about half (₹300 at Hawa Mahal) are widely reported but were not in the official announcement coverage — carry a student card and ask. Dollar figures are approximate at roughly ₹85–90 per US$ in late 2026. The City Palace is privately run by the royal family’s trust and is not on any government pass; it has its own ticket.

Should you buy the combined pass? For a foreigner doing only Jaipur (Amer ₹1,000 + Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh and Albert Hall at ₹600 each = ₹3,400), single tickets are cheaper than ₹5,500. The pass starts to pay off only if you also visit several state-run sites in Jodhpur, Udaipur or Jaisalmer within ten days. A shorter Jaipur-only composite ticket is also sold at the counters, but its price is reported inconsistently online (₹1,000 to ₹1,700 for foreigners), so confirm on the day.

What are Hawa Mahal’s opening hours, and is it open on Mondays?

The Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India page lists Hawa Mahal as open from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Some private guides print 5:00 pm. There is no weekly closing day, so it is open on Mondays, unlike many museums. Ticket counters stop selling before closing, so plan to be inside by 4 pm.

The building is not open at night as a regular visit. You can still see the facade lit up in the evening from Hawa Mahal Road, and the street outside stays busy until late.

Where is the entrance, and how do you get in?

This catches out a lot of first-time visitors standing in front of the facade looking for a door. The entry is at the rear. From the facade on Hawa Mahal Road, walk towards Badi Chaupar (the big crossroads square at the south end), turn in at the lane beside the building, and follow signs to the ticket counter. Through an arched gateway you reach a courtyard ringed by double-storey buildings, with the Hawa Mahal on its east side. A small archaeological museum sits around this courtyard.

If you come by car or auto-rickshaw (the three-wheeled taxi), ask to be dropped at Badi Chaupar, because stopping on Hawa Mahal Road itself is difficult in traffic. With a private driver in India, the usual pattern is drop-off at Badi Chaupar and pick-up at the same square when you are done.

What will you see inside Hawa Mahal?

Inside there are no grand staterooms. It is a narrow climb through five levels, connected by ramps rather than stairs. According to Incredible India, the floors are named Sharad Mandir and Ratan Mandir at the lower levels, then Vichitra Mandir, Prakash Mandir and Hawa Mandir above.

• The jharokhas from the inside: put your eye to a lattice and you see the street exactly as the royal women did, without being seen.
• The top floors: the upper two levels are only one room deep. The view west takes in the City Palace and Jantar Mantar; to the north you can see Nahargarh Fort on its ridge.
• The museum: a small collection of miniature paintings and objects in the courtyard. Interesting, but not why you came.

The top levels are narrow and crowded by late morning, and the ramps are steep in places. The building is not fully wheelchair accessible, although the courtyard and lower levels are manageable with help.

Where is the best place to photograph the Hawa Mahal facade?

The classic straight-on photo is taken from across the road, ideally from a first-floor or rooftop café opposite. Several cafés face the facade (Wind View Café is the best known); most expect you to buy a drink, and the best tables fill by 10 am in winter. From street level, the traffic and power lines get in the way, so step onto the raised pavement on the far side.

The facade faces east, so it gets the sun in the morning. By mid-afternoon it is in shade and looks flatter in photographs. For a different angle, the top floor of Hawa Mahal itself frames the old-city rooftops beautifully, and the evening floodlighting is worth a five-minute stop if you are in the bazaar after dark.

How does Hawa Mahal fit into a day in Jaipur?

Hawa Mahal, the City Palace and Jantar Mantar sit within a few minutes’ walk of each other in the walled old city, so they make one easy half-day. Amer Fort is about 11 km north and is best done first thing, before the heat and the coaches. Here is the day we usually plan for overseas guests.

If you only want Hawa Mahal in its best light, swap the order: Hawa Mahal at 9:00 am, then Amer. For more ideas see our things to do in Jaipur, and if you are arriving from Agra, our page on getting from Agra to Jaipur covers the train and the drive via Fatehpur Sikri.

Practical tips for foreign visitors

• Cash and cards: many counters take cards and UPI (India’s phone payment system), but carry some cash for cafés and rickshaws.
• Guides: use a licensed guide (they carry an ID card from the tourism department) rather than someone who approaches you at the gate. Hawa Mahal is small enough to see without a guide; the City Palace and Amer benefit from one.
• Touts and shops: “free” offers to show you the best photo spot often end in a textile or gem shop. A polite, firm “no, thank you” works.
• Dress: no dress code, but covered shoulders and knees attract less attention in the old city.
• Crossing the road: Hawa Mahal Road is busy with traffic in both directions. Cross with locals or at the junction.
• Season: October to March is the comfortable season in Jaipur; April to June is very hot, so visit at opening time.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hawa Mahal worth going inside?

Yes, if you have an hour. The facade is the highlight, and you can see it free from the street, but the inside explains how the building worked: you look through the same lattices the royal women used, and the top floor gives one of the best views over the Pink City. If time is short, the facade and a café view are enough.

How much is the Hawa Mahal entry fee for foreigners?

₹600 per person from 1 January 2026, up from ₹300 (Pinkcity Post, 29 December 2025). Indian visitors pay ₹100. A Rajasthan-wide 10-day combined pass costs ₹5,500 for foreigners, which only saves money if you visit state monuments in several cities. Rates were checked on 9 November 2026; confirm at the counter.

What time does Hawa Mahal open and close?

The Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India site lists 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, every day of the week. Some private guides say 5:00 pm. Aim to arrive by 4:00 pm so you are not turned away at the ticket counter, and go at opening time for the best light on the facade.

How many windows does Hawa Mahal have?

953 small latticed windows, called jharokhas, spread over five storeys. They were designed so the royal women of the court could watch processions and festivals on the street below without being seen, and they also let breezes flow through the building, which gave it the name Palace of Winds.

Who built Hawa Mahal and when?

Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh of Jaipur built it in 1799, and the architect was Lal Chand Ustad. It was an extension of the zenana (women’s quarters) of the City Palace. The building is made of red and pink sandstone and stands about 15 metres high.

Where is the Hawa Mahal entrance?

At the back, not on the famous street facade. Walk towards Badi Chaupar from the facade, turn into the lane beside the building and follow the signs to the ticket office and courtyard. Cars and rickshaws usually drop at Badi Chaupar, because stopping on Hawa Mahal Road is difficult in traffic.

How long do you need at Hawa Mahal?

About 45 to 60 minutes inside, plus 20 minutes for photographs from a café across the road. Because the City Palace and Jantar Mantar are a short walk away, most visitors combine all three into a half-day, with Amer Fort in the morning and Nahargarh at sunset.