Also Known As · AMHP; Anokhi Haveli; Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli
Jaipur, Rajasthan · museum
Cool, calm and studious — a low-lit haveli of chalky lime walls and small alcoves, with the tap of a carver's chisel drifting down from the terrace.
Most visitors to Amber come for the fort on the ridge and leave without ever turning down the lane at Kheri Gate. That lane is where the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing sits — past Panna Meena ka Kund and the Bihari Ji temple, in the quiet northern corner of the old town where Amber stops performing for tour buses and simply goes about its day. The museum opened in 2005 as a project of Anokhi, the Jaipur textile house founded in 1970 by John and Faith Singh at a moment when the region's hand-block printing trade had sunk close to disappearing. It is a small museum with a narrow subject, and that narrowness is exactly why it works: nothing here is trying to cover all of Rajasthan.
Thick, cold lassi in a clay kulhad, plus kachori and Rajasthani mithai
The original pyaaz kachori; ghevar when it is in season around Teej
Paneer ghewar, kesar kulfi and the eggless bakery counter
Rajasthani thali and South Indian dosas in a pure-veg dining room open since 1967
Most visitors to Amber come for the fort on the ridge and leave without ever turning down the lane at Kheri Gate. That lane is where the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing sits — past Panna Meena ka Kund and the Bihari Ji temple, in the quiet northern corner of the old town where Amber stops performing for tour buses and simply goes about its day.
closed Mondays, and shut annually for gallery maintenance between roughly 31 May and 15 July. Phone photography is fine, flash is not. The haveli's stairs make wheelchair access very limited, though the museum offers free ground-floor entry to visitors who cannot manage the upper levels.
Visiting Hours
Entry Fee: Widely listed at about ₹80 for adults, about ₹50 for students with valid ID and about ₹25 for children; the museum does not publish a fee table online, so treat these as indicative and confirm at the desk. Visitors with mobility limitations who cannot reach the upper floors are admitted to the ground floor free of charge. Cash is the safest bet at this counter.
Verified: July 2026
Address
Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli (Anokhi Haveli), Kheri Gate, Amber, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302028, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302028
🚇 Nearest Metro: Chandpole (Pink Line) — about 11 km away; an auto or taxi is required for the final leg. Effectively, this is not a metro-accessible site.
🚶 Walking from Metro: Not walkable from any metro station. From Chandpole it is roughly 11 km by road — take an auto or taxi, about 25–35 minutes.
Distance from
Parking
on-site · Free or nominal
Limited parking directly in front of the museum and a little more behind Kheri Gate. The approach lanes through old Amber are narrow — large cars and vans are awkward here, and on busy winter weekends you may end up parking near the fort and walking in.
🚕 Ride Hailing Tip: Uber and Ola both serve Amber, and drivers reliably recognise Amber Fort but often not the museum. Set your drop pin at Panna Meena ka Kund or Kheri Gate and walk the last few minutes. Getting a return ride from Kheri Gate can be slow — ask your driver to wait, or walk back toward the fort's parking area where autos queue. Agree the fare before starting if you take a street auto.
How to Reach: The museum is at Kheri Gate in the northern corner of Amber town, roughly 1 km beyond Amber Fort and about 10–11 km from central Jaipur. There is no metro anywhere near — Chandpole, the closest station on the Pink Line, is about 11 km away and you will need an auto or taxi from there. The simplest approach is a taxi or auto up Amer Road (about 25–35 minutes from the walled city, traffic depending). If you are already at Amber Fort, it is a pleasant 12–15 minute walk north through the old town, passing Panna Meena ka Kund and the Bihari Ji temple; the lane is signposted but modest, and several shops en route use the Anokhi name, so keep walking to the haveli itself. Drivers can call the museum on +91 141 2530226 for turn-by-turn guidance. Note that any ascent to Amber Fort itself should be made on foot up the ramp (10–15 minutes) or by shared jeep.
History
The haveli at Kheri Gate is generally traced to the 16th century, when Amber was the Kachwaha capital before Jaipur was founded in 1727; its name, Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli, is usually read as marking a community of palanquin makers.
🏛️ Architect: Restoration led by Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri of Abhikram (Ahmedabad), from 1989 over roughly three years; gallery interiors by architect Stephane Paumier. The original 16th-century haveli has no recorded architect.
Significance
The Anokhi Museum matters on two counts at once. As a museum, it is one of very few institutions anywhere devoted specifically to Indian hand-block printing, presenting the craft as a living technical sequence — carving, resist, dye, repeat — rather than as decorative backdrop, and preserving both village clothing traditions and a documentary archive of the trade's late-20th-century revival.
A geometric 16th-century stepwell of criss-crossing stairs, five minutes' walk down the same lane — go early for the light and the quiet.
The Kachwaha citadel above Maota Lake; walk up the ramp in 10–15 minutes or take a shared jeep, and allow two hours inside.
The military fort on the ridge above Amber, home to Jaivana — long claimed as the world's largest wheeled cannon — and huge views.
The water palace marooned in Man Sagar lake; you view it from the bund rather than enter, and it is loveliest at dusk.
Ridge-top fort with the classic sunset panorama over Jaipur's grid; combines naturally with Amber on a north-side day.
Family Highlights
💰 Equipment Fees: No separate camera fee is published. Phone and handheld camera photography is included with entry; tripods and video cameras need advance permission rather than a fee.
📍 The Golden Spot: The rooftop terrace, with the carver's workbench in the foreground and Amber's old rooftops and fort walls behind — shoot it in late-morning light with the printer's cloth catching the sun.
🌅 Best Light Time: Late morning, roughly 11am to 12.30pm, when daylight reaches the terrace and the courtyard alcoves without harsh midday contrast.
Jaipur's most persistent tourist fraud. A driver, guide or friendly stranger steers you toward a gem dealer with a story about tax-free export, a certificate of value, and a buyer waiting overseas who will pay several times what you spend. The stones are near-worthless, the certificate is meaningless, and the promised buyer does not exist.
Official AdviceNever buy gemstones as an investment, never agree to carry or ship stones for anyone, and treat any unsolicited introduction to a dealer as a red flag no matter how it is framed. If you want jewellery, buy it because you like it, at a price you would pay for costume, from an established shop you chose yourself.
Several shops on the way to Kheri Gate use the Anokhi name or similar signage, and some drivers will stop at one and tell you that you have arrived. The museum is the restored haveli at Kheri Gate itself, past Panna Meena ka Kund and the Bihari Ji temple.
Official AdviceKeep walking until you reach the haveli with the museum's own signage and entry desk. The museum's staff will confirm directions by phone on +91 141 2530226 if your driver insists otherwise.
Auto and taxi drivers on the Amber run frequently propose a 'quick stop' at a textile factory, carpet showroom or emporium en route. These are commission arrangements; prices inside are inflated well above city rates and the pressure to buy is heavy.
Official AdviceState clearly at the start that you want no shopping stops. If a driver detours anyway, do not enter, and be willing to pay and find another ride. Fix the fare before you set off.
Touts around Amber Fort push animal rides and 'special entry' at inflated prices, sometimes claiming the walking route is closed.
Official AdviceThe ramp walk up to Amber Fort takes 10–15 minutes and is always open; shared jeeps are the alternative. Decline animal rides. Ignore anyone claiming the walking route is unavailable.
🌅 Secret View: From the terrace where the block carvers work, look outward rather than down — you get a rooftop-level view across Amber's old town toward the fort walls, framed by the haveli's own parapets. It is the view almost nobody photographs because everyone is watching the chisel.
🎯 Crowd Hack: Come Tuesday to Thursday soon after the 10.30am opening. The tour-bus rhythm at Amber runs fort-first, mid-morning to midday, and the museum lane never absorbs that wave. Avoid arriving between about 1.30 and 2pm, when the demonstrations pause and you lose the best part of the visit.
💎 Secret Fact: The restoration deliberately refused cement. Working from 1989 with lime, local stone and Amber's own masons, architects Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri of Abhikram treated the ruined haveli as a test case for whether traditional materials and skills could still carry a full conservation project. UNESCO's Asia-Pacific award in 2000 recognised the method as much as the result.
⚡ Express Tour
Forty-five minutes: ground-floor galleries for the carving-to-printing sequence, straight up to the terrace for the live block carver and printer, then the shop. Skip the archive alcoves if you are tight on time.
🔭 Deep Dive Tour
Two hours: read the captions properly through both floors — resist-dyeing and Ajrakh, the Balota village clothing, the Anokhi archive from the 1970s — then spend a full twenty minutes on the terrace asking the carver about teak, grain and how long one block takes. Walk out via Panna Meena ka Kund and the Bihari Ji temple, then on to Amber Fort.
👕 Dress Code: No dress code. Comfortable shoes matter more — the haveli has stone stairs and uneven historic floors, and you will likely walk here from the fort. Modest, cool clothing suits the walk through Amber's old town, and a hat and water are sensible from March onward.
📷 Photography Rules: Photography and filming on phones and handheld cameras are permitted. Flashes and photographic lights are not allowed anywhere in the museum. Video cameras and tripods require advance permission from the museum. Images are for non-commercial use only — copyright restrictions apply to reproduction of exhibits, and you should contact the museum for any commercial use. Ask before photographing the carver or printer at work.
🏧 Nearest ATM: There are ATMs near Amber Fort's main market and parking area, roughly 1 km away, but they are unreliable in peak season. Draw cash in Jaipur before heading up.
📡 Public Wi-Fi: No public Wi-Fi. Download offline maps before you come up — the Kheri Gate lane is not obvious and phone data can be patchy inside the thick-walled galleries.
🔌 Charging Points: No visitor charging points. Carry a power bank, especially if you are pairing this with a half-day at Amber Fort.
Pro Tip: Use the museum's facilities before you set off back down to the city — public options in Amber's old town are poor, and the museum's are well kept and free for visitors.
Bargaining: No
Helplines
👮 Tourist Police: The nearest Rajasthan Police tourist assistance presence is at Amber Fort, about 1 km away near the main entrance and parking area. Amer police station serves the town.
🎒 Lost & Found: Report anything lost inside the museum at the entry desk — it is a small site with attentive staff and items usually surface. For losses elsewhere in Amber, file at Amer police station; for a lost passport, contact your embassy in Delhi and file a police report first.
💊 Nearest Pharmacy: Small chemists operate in Amber's main market near the fort, about 1 km away, with limited hours. For anything beyond basics, the reliable pharmacies and hospitals are in Jaipur city, 10–11 km south.
Air Quality: Amber sits away from Jaipur's worst traffic corridors and generally breathes easier than the walled city, but air quality across the Jaipur region degrades notably from late October through January, worsened by regional smoke and winter inversion. Sensitive visitors should check the daily reading and consider a mask on hazy mornings; the museum's interiors are a comfortable refuge.
Water Safety: Do not drink tap water anywhere in the Jaipur region. Carry sealed bottled water, or better, a refillable bottle filled from a filtered source at your hotel. Amber has little shade on the walk up from the fort, so dehydration is the realistic risk here, not the museum itself.
Yes, it is closed on Mondays. Otherwise it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30am to 5:00pm, and Sunday from 11:00am to 4:30pm. It also closes annually for gallery maintenance between roughly 31 May and 15 July, and on major holidays including Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti, Dhulandi, Raksha Bandhan, Deepawali, Bhai Dooj and Sankranti. Call +91 141 2530226 to confirm before you travel.
It is commonly listed at about ₹80 for adults, about ₹50 for students with valid ID, and about ₹25 for children. The museum does not publish a fee table on its website, so treat these figures as indicative and confirm at the desk. Carry cash. Visitors with mobility limitations who cannot manage the upper floors are admitted to the ground floor free of charge.
Yes, particularly if you have any interest in textiles, craft or conservation architecture. Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours. It is small and focused — two floors of galleries plus a terrace where a block carver and a printer work live — and it is one of Amber's quietest attractions, which is part of the appeal. It pairs naturally with Amber Fort and Panna Meena ka Kund.
It is about 1 km, a 12–15 minute walk north through Amber's old town, past Panna Meena ka Kund and the Bihari Ji temple to Kheri Gate. The lane is signposted but modest, and several shops along the way use the Anokhi name — keep going until you reach the haveli itself. By auto or taxi it is a five-minute drive. There is limited parking in front of the museum and behind Kheri Gate.
Yes, on phones and handheld cameras, with no separate camera fee. Flashes and photographic lights are prohibited throughout. Video cameras and tripods require advance permission from the museum. Images are for non-commercial use only — the museum asks that you contact them for any commercial reproduction of exhibits. Ask before photographing the craftspeople at work.
The haveli — Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli, its fabric generally traced to the 16th century — was a ruin when the Anokhi family acquired it in the late 1970s. Restoration from 1989, over roughly three years under architects Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri of Abhikram, deliberately used lime, local stone, traditional methods and Amber's own craftsmen instead of cement. That approach earned a UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation in 2000. The museum opened in 2005.