Jantar Mantar Jaipur: Timings, Tickets and How to Read the Instruments

Jantar Mantar in Jaipur: opening hours, ticket prices, the main instruments explained, why a guide helps and how long to allow.

By the Lux India Tours Team·Oct 19, 2026

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Large stone sundial and instruments at Jantar Mantar in Jaipur

Jantar Mantar is an open-air observatory built in the early 18th century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it looks like a sculpture garden, though every shape is a working scientific instrument.

This guide explains what you are looking at, because the site is much more interesting with a little context.

The great sundial and instruments.

At a glance
Where	Next to the City Palace in the old city
Built	1720s to 1730s
Status	UNESCO World Heritage site
Hours	Usually from about 9 am to 4:30 or 5 pm
Tickets	Separate rates for Indian and foreign visitors; combined tickets sometimes available
Time needed	45 to 90 minutes

What it is

Jai Singh built five observatories across northern India, and the Jaipur one is the largest and best preserved. It contains about 19 instruments, made of stone and marble, for measuring time, tracking the sun and stars, and predicting eclipses.

The instruments are accurate. The largest sundial can tell the time to within about two seconds, according to the monument's own description.

The instruments to look for

Samrat Yantra: the great sundial, about 27 metres tall. Its shadow moves visibly across the curved quadrant in a few minutes.
Jai Prakash Yantra: a pair of bowl-shaped hemispheres that map the sky from the inside.
Rashivalaya Yantras: twelve instruments, one for each zodiac sign, that measure the position of a sign as it rises.
Narivalaya Yantra: a small sundial that shows local time.

Why a guide helps

The instruments have no obvious labels for a first-time visitor, and the shapes look abstract. A guide can show you how to read the shadows and explain the zodiac instruments. Audio guides are often available, and a licensed guide is a better choice than a hawker at the gate.

Timings and tickets

The site opens in the morning and closes in the late afternoon. Entry has a ticket for Indian and a higher rate for foreign visitors, plus camera charges. Combined tickets with other Jaipur monuments have been offered in the past. Check the current offer at the counter.

Visit around midday, when the shadows are short and the sundial is easy to read, but bring a hat. The stone gets hot.

Red sandstone instrument with steps and arches at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

An instrument at Jantar Mantar.

How to fit it in

Jantar Mantar is beside the City Palace and a short walk from the Hawa Mahal, so the three sights go together. See the Hawa Mahal guide, and for a longer day see Amber Fort.