Try GOLD - Free

Peacocks and Palaces of Pink City!

The New Indian Express Kottayam

|

July 17, 2025

For all travel-obsessed princess devotees with a flair for royal girly aesthetics and intriguing narratives, we've found the ultimate staycation and it lies within the Pink City!

- SRUSHTI KULKARNI

Add in its dreamy monsoon-charged greenness, over 200 free-roaming peacocks and voila—you've got your very own Indian Disney princess reverie unfolding right before your eyes.

Check into Jaipur's Taj Sawai Man Mahal—a tribute to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, Jaipur's last ruling maharaja and former ambassador to Spain—and suddenly every corner becomes engaging and appears equally, if not more, aesthetic. The rose petal shower and folk dance welcome aside, enter the palace and you will be marvelling at the restored red sandstone fort-like walls, golden gate and weapons wall art in the lobby—an architectural nod to the grandeur of Amber Fort.

With only 51 rooms, this property offers quiet intimacy that grand resorts often lose. Oh and don't be alarmed if you run into peacocks and peahens every 10 steps or find them perched on the rooftop of your palatial suites, because there are over 200 of them roaming free. Speaking of our Deluxe Suite, it was an elegant setting inspired by royalty, with a private courtyard ideal for stargazing.

MORE STORIES FROM The New Indian Express Kottayam

The New Indian Express Kottayam

The New Indian Express Kottayam

Jail term, fine await owners abandoning their pet dogs

STATE TO TIGHTEN LAWS

time to read

1 min

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

Cong may not field its MPs in assembly polls

THE Congress leadership is unlikely to allow sitting MPs to contest in the coming assembly elections, despite several of them expressing interest

time to read

1 min

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

The New Indian Express Kottayam

After BJP poaches on Cong, Shinde ties up with Ajit's NCP

A major political twist unfolded in the Ambarnath Nagar Parishad in Maharashtra, dealing a setback to the BJP despite its move to induct 12 expelled Congress corporators.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

Want to create a larger pool of South African players: Smith

FOUR washouts in 17 games, thanks to unseasonal rain.

time to read

2 mins

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

BLURRED VISIONS OF FUTURES PAST

PERHAPS the standout event of 2026 is already over—the US campaign against Venezuela, with the plainly-declared aim of taking over its oil resources.

time to read

4 mins

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

The New Indian Express Kottayam

Charges framed against Lalu for running Railways as 'personal fiefdom'

A Delhi court on Friday ordered framing of charges against RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former CM Rabri Devi, and their son and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.

time to read

1 min

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

The New Indian Express Kottayam

After Modi push, new mothers scheme gets tech transparency

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has suggested reforms to make the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PM-MVY),acentral flagship scheme that provides maternity benefits to pregnant and lactating mothers, more technology-driven, transparent and robust, official sources said Friday.

time to read

2 mins

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

Rogue elephant kills two more in J’khand, toll reaches 22 in nine days

AFTER a 48-hour pause, the killer elephant once again trampled two more people to death on Friday, while an employee of the forest department, who was deployed to drive it into the jungles, was critically injured and is battling for life.

time to read

1 min

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

MIND ECOLOGICAL BALANCE WHILE RAISING TEAK OUTPUT

NDIA now needs to import an expensive product it once was the leading producer of.

time to read

1 mins

January 10, 2026

The New Indian Express Kottayam

RBI CUTS U.S. TREASURY EXPOSURE FOR FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS

IN what may be a strategic shift towards foreign exchange reserve diversification and non-dollar assets amid rising global economic and geopolitical risks, the Reserve Bank of India has cut 21% of its holdings of US Treasury securities.

time to read

1 min

January 10, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size