Landmark · Jaipur

Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

In 60 seconds

Jantar Mantar is an open-air observatory in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India — nineteen masonry instruments built between 1728 and 1734 by Sawai Jai Singh II, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 31 July 2010. The Vrihat Samrat Yantra is the largest stone sundial in the world, and it still reads local time to about two seconds — though local time here runs roughly 27 minutes behind IST. Entry is ≈ ₹600 for foreign visitors, 09:00–19:00.

Fees & timings

CHECKED AGAINST OFFICIAL SOURCES · AUGUST 2026

Entry — foreign visitors	≈ ₹600 (revised January 2026, was ₹300)
Entry — Indian visitors	≈ ₹100 (was ₹50)
Hours	09:00 – 19:00, daily
Allow	An hour, and take the guide — the instruments are unreadable without one
UNESCO	Inscribed 31 July 2010, criteria (iii)(iv)
Built	1728–1734, by Sawai Jai Singh II

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Jai Singh II built five of these, at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Banaras. Jaipur's is the largest and the best preserved, which is why it is the one with the inscription.

The sundial is right, and your watch is wrong

The Vrihat Samrat Yantra reads to about two seconds — but it reads Jaipur's local solar time, and India runs on a single time zone set to 82.5°E. Jaipur sits at 75.8°E, so the instrument is roughly 27 minutes behind the clock in your pocket. It is not broken and neither are you; the country simply agreed to a different noon.

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