Jaipur

The Birla Temple (Birla Mandir), also known as the Lakshmi Narayan Temple, is a modern Hindu temple made of white marble located in Jaipur, India. It is notable for its architecture and intricate carvings. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Narayan) and his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. It was built by the wealthy Birla industrial family in 1988 using white marble that is said to change color in sunlight. It features three large domes, stained-glass windows depicting scenes from Hindu scriptures, and an adjacent museum.

Built by the Rajput ruler Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II between 1728 and 1734, the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a historic astronomical observatory and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. Still in operation, it houses the world's most comprehensive collection of large-scale calculating instruments made of stone and marble, precisely designed for naked-eye astronomical observation. Among its highlights are the Samrat Yantra (the world's largest stone sundial, capable of measuring local time to the second) and the Rasivalayas Yantra (a unique set of twelve calculating instruments corresponding to the signs of the zodiac, used to measure the latitude and longitude of celestial bodies).

It is a five-story building with spectacular architecture and a distinctive pink facade, one of Jaipur's most iconic sights. Built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh and designed by Lal Chand Usta, it forms part of the Jaipur Palace and served as an extension of the zenana, or women's quarters, intended for the harem. The building's original function was to allow the royal women to observe daily life in the city streets without being seen.