Pedal to Heritage: Morning Bicycle Tour of Jaipur

The starting point of the tour is the Statue Circle, also known as Maharaja Sawaii Jai Singh Circle. Meet your group at 7am. Here, you will be given a brief by the tour leaders and captains.

As you ride your way through the ancient city, you will stop by at a famous lassi joint, which has been around since the Indian independence, just outside the walled city. Here you can enjoy the famed sweetened curd, a signature drink in this region.

Following this, you will cycle towards the Ajmeri Gate, entering Jaipur. With the many buildings coloured in different shades of pink, you will see why the city is also popularly called the Pink City. Pedal through narrow streets that lead to some of the classic havelis and other architectural marvels that will leave you amazed.

From the palaces, you move on to the spiritual alcoves by visiting the famous Govind Dev temple. This is a prime attraction in Jaipur’s city palace, housing the shrine of Lord Krishna. You get to participate in the gathering of the devotees offering their morning prayers, through the “Aarthi” (lighted wicks on a lamp) and fruits. You can procure these from the farmer’s market that is a short walk through the palace garden. You can pick the choicest of your fruits, while haggling a good deal and bring back the bounty to offer to the Lord. 

After propitiating the divine, you hop back on your bicycle to reach the very popular and old sweets and spices market by 8:30am. Even though the shutters will be down, the strong fragrance of freshly ground spices will be revealing enough as to what goes into milling under the grindstone causing the aroma to waft through the air. There is a tea-seller just atop a sweets shop, where you can refresh with piping hot tea. You head for breakfast at the popular Lakshmi Mishthaan Bhandar, which is averred by locals and tourists alike. After recharging your batteries, you visit the last lap of your bicycle tour -the Albert Hall Museum, which was built in the 19th century to welcome the Prince of Wales. 

At the end of the tour, you will be given souvenirs that will be reminiscent of an awe-striking and a lip-smacking experience, cycling through Jaipur’s heritage in its palaces, temples and streets, with all its deep flavours and bright colours.