Udaipur, recognized as the “City of Lakes”, is a wonderful city in the southern part of Rajasthan. Famous for its palaces and monuments, Udaipur has managed to maintain its culture and heritage through the ages. Udaipur has always been a popular tourist destination attracting both foreign and domestic tourists.
In recent times Udaipur is also proving to be a favoured destination for holding marriages. Many film stars, business families and political figures choose Udaipur to hold parties and marriages, as Udaipur lends a majestic and royal aura to the event.
The magnificent Udaipur is full of fascinating sights and places to visit. You can start off by visiting the City Palace. Towering over the Pichola Lake, this imposing building is the largest palace in all of Rajasthan. Even though it is a conglomeration of buildings made by various maharajas of Udaipur over the years, it has still managed to retain a uniformity of design. The terraces of the City Palace provide a wonderful panoramic view of the city. Of all the marvellous places to visit in Udaipur, the Lake palace is one place that you cannot afford to miss.
This palace actually stands on a piece of land right in the middle of the Pichola Lake showcasing exquisite taste of intricate craftsmanship. Built by Maharana Jagjit Singh in the 17th century, it was originally built as a summer palace and now has been converted into a five star hotel. Its courtyards lined with columns, pillared terraces, fountains and gardens all add to its grandeur. Arising from the turquoise waters of the Pichola Lake, this beauty of white marble truly feels like something out of a fairytale.
After a visit to the wonderful palaces, one can spend a quiet evening appreciating the culture of this place in one of the many museums there like the Bhartiya Lok Kala Museum showcasing tribal jewellery and paintings, the Ahar museum and the City Palace Government Museum. Car enthusiasts visiting Udaipur are in for a treat. There is a museum in Udaipur that showcases the maharaja’s Vintage and Classic Car Collection which has a splendid array of cars and boasts of beauties such as a 1938 Cadillac and a 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom that was used in the movie “Octopussy”.
If you decide to seek spirituality while on your trip to Udaipur, then there are a wide range of temples as well like the Jag Mandir, the JagdishMandir, the EklingjiMandir and the Nathdwara. The JagdishMandir is the biggest temple in all of Udaipur where chanting bells and music can be heard throughout the day. The Eklingji is an entire religious complex which houses over 108 temples, all of which were carved out of sandstone and marble.
The best time to visit Udaipur is the autumn or the winter season when the temperature is not soaring and the days are comfortably warm.
Udaipur has various delicacies to offer such as khata, gattakisabzi, pakodi and powdered lentils. Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic. DilJani is the popular sweet of Udaipur.
Udaipur is a wonderful place that truly knows how to provide visitors with a royal experience.
