Welcome to Lake City Udaipur

There is no place in India which appeals more to the imagination of poets and painters, travelers and writers than Udaipur, the lovely lakeside capital of Mewar, by reason of its romance and beauty and its remarkable past bristling with episodes of heroism and splendour. Udaipur, the enchanting City of Dawn, looms up like a vision in white.

Surrounded by hills and mountains and set on the edge of the beautiful lakes which give on to a fertile plain. It is bewitching in all its details – narrow streets lined by vivid coloured stalls, gardens, temples and palaces – every feature, mirrored in the placid blue waters of the lakes. Udaipur is highly cliché – ridden : Venice of the East (for its numerous lakes), City of Lakes, City of Dawn, City of Marble Palaces, Oasis in Desert, Jewel of Mewar… one cannot really blame travelers and travel writers for getting carried away by such hyperboles. The touristy and stately parts of Udaipur are, have always been, and shall remain, a hyperbole. Recently this most romantic city of India has been named as the no 1 city in the world by America’s Travel & Leisure magazine. Udaipur beholds some most fantastic hotels in the world like Taj Lake Palace and Oberoi Udai Villas (which was named as the World’s No 1 hotel in 2007).

Udaipur, the 'City of Lakes' was founded in 1599 by Maharana Udai Singh. The city hailed as the 'Venice of the East' set amidst the Aravalli hills of South Rajasthan, is one of the most romantic destinations in India. Udaipur has a profusion of marble palaces, lakes, temples, cenotaphs and rugged hills. It's also proud of its heritage as a centre for the performing arts, painting and crafts. Famous historical personalities like Maharana Pratap, Rani Padmini and Meera Bai, the poetess and devotee of Lord Krishna hail from here. The enchanting marble palaces and scenic beauty makes it a most fantastic place for leisure.

PLACES TO VISIT :

City Palace

Completely white and majestic, the city Palace stands on a hill surrounded by crenellated walls. Started by Udai Singh, the enormous edifice 30.4 meters high and 244 meters in length was added to by later rulers, but the additions were so carefully planned and integrated with the original building, that it is difficult to believe that it was not conceived as a whole. It stands on a low ridge all along the shores of Pichhola, the main lake. The approach is through Hathi Pole, the Elephant Gate along the main street of the old city, past the Jagdish temple (1640 AD). The Bara Pole, Great Gate (1600 AD), brings you into the first court which leads into Triplolia, the Triple Gate (1725 AD). Between the two gates are eight carved toranas or arches which mark the spot where the rulers were weighed against gold or silver the equivalent value of which was then distributed to the poor. On the right beyond Triplolia, is the court where the elephant fights were staged while the princes watched from a terrace above.

The central chhatri has a facing of deep blue tiles with the whole building in a soft cream color, its massive octagonal towers crowned with cupolas. Each individual palace enclosure is picturesquely decorated. Sheesh mahal has inlaid mirror work and the Krishna Vilas has four rows of painted scenes in miniature style. This is the finest of the enclosures. The paintings depict remarkable scenes of royal processions, festivals of Holi and Diwali, the royal game of chogan and the procession during Gangaur. Incredible as this feast of paintings is, the story of Krishna Vilas is even more so. In 1805, Rana Bheem Singh was the ruler of Mewar. The state lost its power and was beset by enemies. The Marathas from the South-West, the Bombay-Poona area, had overrun parts of the states and extorted levies. Both Jaipur and Marwar (Jodhpur) were ready to attack Raja Bheem And each of these princes also wished to marry Sisodia Princess Krishna Kumari. Raja Bheem was not in a position to refuse wither prince. The young 16 year old beauty was told of her father’s predicament. The only one of her family to maintain the heroic traditions of her race, the young girl drank poison rather than plunge her country into war. The father, too weak to prevent the sacrifice, consoled himself through the lonely years by turning his daughter’s room into a shrine of beauty and splendor.

The museum houses the armour of the valiant Maharana Pratap and the drums and bugles of another great Mewar ruler, Rana Sanga who headed a confederacy of Rajput princes during the invasion of the Moghul Emperor Babar. Chini Chitrashala (1711) is noteworthy for its blue and white Chinese and Dutch tiles. The latter has Biblical scenes including the Flight into Egypt. Bhim Vilas has a boldly striped floor and scenes from the Radha – Krishna stories painted on the walls. The glass Mosaic Gallery with its superb stained glass portraits affords a panaromic view of the city below. South of the main palace is Shiv Niwas, the present home of the former ruler and his family.

Amar Vilas (1699 AD) has exquisite terrace garden complete with fountains. In the Mor Chowk there are brilliant mosaics of peacocks set in panels in the walls showing the three seasons : summer, winter and the rains in the monsoon

Jagdish Temple

Bhartiya Lok Kala Museum

Saheliyon Ki Bari

Pratap Memorial

Fateh Sagar

Pichhola Lake

Ahar Museum

Sajjan Garh

Gulab Bagh

Shilpgram

Jag Mandir

Karni Mata Temple

Neemach Mata Temple....read more.