Drive to Mandawa. Mandawa is one of the favorite excursion sites around Jaipur. Mandawa is mainly frequented for its unique Fresco paintings dating back to 18th century. It is situated 190 km away from Jaipur. One can start early in the morning to enjoy day trip to Mandawa from Jaipur.

Upon arrival, you are met with a tour guide who will explain about Havelis, forts, Chhatris and fresco paintings.

Mandawa Fort (Now a converted heritage hotel): It was built by Thakur Nawal Singh, Rajput ruler of Nawalgarh and Mandawa in 1812. The fort with a painted arched gateway decorated with Lord Krishna and his cows is worth visiting. Fort is adorned with beautiful frescoes from inside along with mirror work making it different from other forts in Rajasthan. Fresco was used to be a unique art of painting. The walls were served as a canvas in this form of painting, which can be seen in Mandawa’s forts and Havelis.Rooms of Palaces, walls of Havelis and small settlements of Mandawa are decorated with wide variety of themes such as floral (mostly used in pillars and arches), religious (mostly used in interior and entrances), Historic (battle scenes of historic events and several ceremonies, mostly used in outer walls) etc. Mandawa is often called as an open art gallery of Rajasthan, because whole the township is blessed with fascinating mansions (Havelis) decorated with frescos. Some of the famous Havelis of Mandawa with lavishly painted walls are: Hanuman Prasad Goenka Haveli - It is a religiously inspired frescos depicting Indra Dev on an elephant and Lord Shiva on his Nandi bull. Goenka Double Haveli- Painted by finest skillful Rajput artisans, displaying its two gates that have a monumental façade of elephants and horses at the entrance. Haveli is adorned by portraits of traditional Rajasthani women and religious motifs Murmuria Haveli- This particular Haveli is adorned with some modern paintings also such as trains, cars, George V and a young Nehru depicted on a horseback holding the national flag. It is perfect example of theme blending of the East and the West.