Udaipur, the beautiful city of Lakes provides a breath taking view of natural beauty combined with its amazing concrete structures that have a history to remember for years and years.  Once visited, it allures any tourist and engulfs the mind to mention not only the picturesque views but also the loving and welcoming attitude of the warm hearted Udaipurites.  अतिथि देवो भव: is rightly expressed in the love showered by Udaipur people.

While planning a visit to any place it certainly becomes difficult for any traveler to decide what to visit and what to miss in their short stay. To assist all the tourist friends in taking a round of the city without flipping pages of a guide book, we have compiled the essence of the city here to give you better flavors. With all these, you can quickly read and decide and also increase your visit span at the time of booking itself making it more comfortable for you to enjoy every minute of your stay.

Sukhadiya Circle

It is one of the most popular recreational centres of the city. It has a beautiful fountain that comes alive after sun set and looks amazing with the colourful lights. The food stalls around the circle are good enough for your tummy and pocket, too, providing a variety with Indian, Chinese and Continental food. There is a children’s play area equipped with swings and slides and even merry-go-round where the children can have their share of fun.

Fatehsagar Lake

 

It is an artificial lake named after Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur built in 1680s. It also has a Chowpatti centre just like Mumbai. It is one of the most visited places and stays crowded in all seasons because of the view it provides. Amidst the lake is a park known as Nehru park for which boats go to and fro letting you enjoy the beauty of lake before reaching the park where you can see a variety of flora and fauna.

Moti Magri

Opens 7a.m. to 8p.m. Overlooking Fatehsagar Lake it has a bronze statue of Maharana Pratap astride his favourite horse Chetak. The statue itself arises feelings of love one’s own motherland. Chetak, the faithful horse of Rana Pratap, is a perfect example of love and devotion towards his master.

Saheliyon ki Badi

8a.m. to 7p.m. Location Saheli Nagar .Built by Rana Sangram Singh, the place is also known as garden of maidens. It also has a small museum. The queen used to come here with her females companions for a leisure time. It has fountains, lotus pool and marble elephants.

Rajiv Gandhi Park

This lovely park is alongside Fatehsagar Lake at Rani road and opens 8a.m. to 7 p.m. The park contains a statue of the late PM Rajiv Gandhi. It has many other attractions for children like swings, slides, animal statues and fountains. In all, it is god enough to relax in the evening with family and friends.

Shilpgram

Opens 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., is a craft village 3 kms west of Udaipur.This centre displays rural arts and crafts. The best time to visit is December 21^st to 30^th during shilp gram fare. It also has a theatre Darpanagar by WestZoneCulturalCentre(WZCC) where plays and various shows are held. Village like look of the place attracts people. The gol museum (gol because it is round in shape) displays tribal art and culture.

Badi Lake 

A lake built in Badi village is approximately 10 kms from the city. It is also known as Jiyan Sagar named after Maharana Raj Singh’s mother Jana Devi. It is an artificial fresh water lake which supplied water during the drought of 1973. The lake gives a view of a never ending expanse which gives a sense of peace and calm. It is one of the major attractions for the tourist.

Lok Kala Mandal

Opens 10 a.m. to 6 pm. In the heart of the city stands a folk museum which also holds puppet shows, stage plays… basically depicting the cultural diversity of Rajasthan. It is closed on public holidays.

City palace

Opens 9:30a.m.to 5:30p.m. Distance from the airport is 25kms.The City Palace of Udaipur is the largest of its type in Rajasthan. Built almost 400 years back the construction of this palace was started by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1553. The beautiful palace is located on the banks of Lake Pichola on the eastern side. It has been built entirely in granite and marble. The interior has murals, wall paintings, glass work, and silver work and also inlay work. The upper terrace provides a good view of the city. Tourists look at it with fascination because of the magnificence it holds. Also “Octopussy” a James Bond movie was shot here in the year 1983.

Lake Pichola

Preferred boat ride timing 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm. A fresh water lake created in 1362 by Pichhu Banjara, it is the oldest lake of Udaipur. The spread over is 3 miles in length, 2 miles in width and 30 feet deep. Provides most picturesque view.

Lake Palace

Built in Lake Pichola, Lake Palace is one of the most romantic hotels in the world. It was built in 1746 by Maharana Jagat Singh II. Formerly known as Jag Niwas, it is now converted into a hotel with 66 rooms and 17 suites. As Jag Niwas, it was built as a winter palace and named after its founder. Since Surya worship is considered very holy, the palace was built facing east so that the residents could worship Sun God. Later on it was used by the successors as the summer house and they used to hold their ‘durbars’ (royal court) here. The courtyard has columns, terrace and gardens and fountains, too, add to the beauty. The top most room is made of black and white marble. The palace has a beautiful dome.

Jag Mandir

Distance from airport 25kms. Jag Mandir also known as Lake garden palace is built on an island in Lake Pichola. The construction of this palace was started in 1551 by Maharana Amar Singh. It was continued by Maharana Karan Singh (1620-1628) and it was finally completed by Maharana Jagat Singh (1628-1652) and named after Maharana Jagat Singh. It was used by the royal families as a summer resort and also for rest and recuperation. Jag Mandir endorsed Maharana Jagat Singh as one of the best architects of the Mewar Dynasty. The Jag Mandir Palace includes the Gul Mahal built in 1551 by Maharana Amar Singh, Garden Courtyard where parties were hosted, Darikhana(दरीखाना)- an open sided terrace, Baarah pattharon ka mahal (बारह पत्थरों का महल)- named so because 12 marble slabs were during construction, Zenana Mahal(जनाना महल), the frontage or the facade with statues of 4 elephants and the Kunwarpada Mahal.

Jagdish Mandir 

4a.m. to 1p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8m. built in 1651 by Maharan Jagat Singh, this temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.  The temple was originally called the temple of Jagannath Rai, but now it is Jagdish temple.  The temple is raised on a terrace many roads from the sheharpanth (Walled City) lead to the temple.  An exemplary example of Indian architecture, it is decorated with beautiful ornate carvings.  Complete with three stories of hand carved stone, the temple is having a 79 feet high steeple and is the largest temple of Udaipur.

Bagore ki Haveli

Opens 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily…Situated on the water front at the Gangaur Ghat, the haveli is converted into a museum which houses the arsenal of ancient rulers. Also cultural programmes are held between 7 to 8 p.m. daily. A must see place for all since it keeps the memories of folk dances and music alive.

Gangaur Ghat 

A calm place on the banks of Lake Pichola give a wonderful view of sunrise and sunset. This is the place where all Hindu festivals are observed.

Doodh Talai

A beautiful garden atop a hill with musical fountains on Pichola lake side. The musical fountain starts at 6 p.m. It is also known for its rock garden. A ropeway links dudh talai to Karni mata temple uphill. This is the first ropeway of Rajasthan.

Gulab Baag

The garden of roses, also known as Sajjan niwas garden is spread over 100 acres and has an innumerable variety of roses and that’s how it got its name. It was built by Maharana Sajjan Singh in 1881. It is one of the most beautiful and largest garden in Rajasthan. In 1882 T.H.Story, a horticulturist from Chennai was appointed to grow medicinal plants and he stayed here till 1920. The garden has various trees like mango, neem, mulberry, banana, guava, lichi, pomegranate, aamla and many more. At that time, each tree had name tags with English, Hindi and botanical names. A lotus pond was also built in the garden which was demolished later to build a water works complex. The garden was also known as Badaa Baag but Gulab bag became more popular due to the variety of roses. Zoo timings 8 a.m. to 5:30p.m.

Bohra Ganesh temple

A temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha near Sukhadia University has a standing statue of Lord Ganesh. It is believed that Lord Ganesha grants wishes of his devotees and there is a certain ritual to be strictly followed to have a wish granted.

Mahakal temple

A beautiful temple amidst natural surroundings at Rani Road, Ambamata, and this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It stays flooded with devotees throughout the year. A boat ride is now available between Fatehsagar Lake and Mahakal temple.

Sajjangarh

Monsoon Palace of Udaipur (10 kms from city) opens 9a.m. to 6p.m. Maharana Sajjan Singh (1874-1884) built the Sajjangarh Fort in 1884. He was one of the rulers with an artistic flair who also developed the infrastructure for railway, water and road. The fort overlooking Fatehsagar Lake gives a panoramic view of the city. It was built so that the royal family could enjoy the monsoon view. Maharana Sajjan Singh wanted it to be a five storeyed astronomical centre to keep track of the monsoon clouds but with his untimely demise, the plan couldn’t be carried out and the fort was turned into a hunting lodge and a monsoon palace. One can enjoy the beautiful sunset view while in the fort. Sajjangarh wild life sanctuary surrounds the palace. The biological park opens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Charbhuja temple

Rajsamand- 100 kms north of Udaipur, timings 5a.m. to 10 p.m. Lord Vishnu is known by the name Charbhuja because of four arms. The Charbhuja temple is located in Rajsamand district. The nearest village is Desuri. River Gomati flows near the temple.

Eklingji Temple

A form of Lord Shiva, Eklingji is believed to be the ruling deity of Mewar Empire. The temple holds 108 other temples within its high wall structure. It is 22 kms north of Udaipur enroute Nathdwara Temple.

Nathdwara temple

It is the most popular religious tourist centre where maximum devotees flock in to pray to Lord Shrinathji from around the world.  The distance is 45 minutes from the city…almost an hour from Udaipur airport.  Seek Blessings and feel the difference.

Udaisagar Lake

13 km east of Udaipur, the lake was built by Maharana Udai Singh in 1565. The depth of the lake is 9 meters, length 4 km and it is 2.5 km wide. As per available facts, Maharana Udai Singh had constructed a dam on Bedach(बेड़च) river to provide proper supplies of water to his kingdom and Udaisagar lake was later developed as an outcome of this project.

Roothi Rani ka Mahal /Jaisamand lake

48 kms from Udaipur. Jaisamand lake- India’s second largest artificial lake…48kms from Udaipur city built by Maharana Jai Singh in 1685. The palace more popular by the name of Roothi Rani ka mahal was built by Maharana Jai Singh(1680-1698 AD) for his youngest queen in Veerpura of Jaisamand. It went on to be called as Roothi Rani ka mahal as the queen had become upset with the king for some reason and after leaving the king’s palace had started living here.

An Overview of Jaisamand lake, Udaipur