The
city of lakes,Udaipur is a lovely land
around the azure water lakes, hemmed in by
the lush hills of the Aravalis.A vision in
white drenched in romance and beauty.
Udaipur is a fascinating blend of sights,
sounds and experiences an inspiration for
the imagination of poets, painters and
writers. Udaipur is known as the Venice of
the east. It is also called the city of
lakes. The Lake Palace on Jag Niwas Island
in the middle of Pichola Lakes is the finest
example of its architectural and cultural
explosion.
History :
Udaipur is the jewel of Mewar kingdom ruled
by the Sisodia dynasty for 1200 Years. The
foundation of the city has an interesting
legend associated with it. According to it,
Maharana Udai Singh, the founder, was
hunting one day when he met a holy man
meditations on a hill overlooking the Lake
Pichhola. The hermit blessed the Maharana
and advised him to build a palace at this
favorable located spot with a fertile valley
watered by the stream, a lake, an agreeable
altitude and an amphitheater of low
mountains. Maharana followed the advise of
the hermit and founded the city in 1559 A.D.
Sight Seeing In Udaipur
City
Palace
City Palace complex is actually a
conglomeration of buildings
added by various Maharanis, the palace
manages to retain a surprising uniformity of
design. Building was started by Maharana
Udai Singh II . The palace is surmounted by
balconies, towers & cupolas and there are
wonderful views over the lake and the city
from the upper terrace. The Ganesh Deori is
the entrance to the museum and leads up to
the Rajya Angan, or Royal courtyard , the
very spot where Udai Singh met the sage who
told him to found this city here. The rooms
of the museum are extravagantly decorated
with mirrors , tiles and paintings. In the
Manak Mahal (Ruby Palace) there is the
exquisite glass and mirror work, while
Krishna Vilas has a remarkable collection of
the miniatures.Teh Moti Mahal has beautiful
mirror work and the Chini Mahal is covered
in ornamental tiles. The Surya Chopar has a
huge ,ornamental sun-the symbol of mewar
dynasty, the origins of which are traced to
the sun. The Mor Chowk (Peacock Square) has
beautiful mosaics of the peacocks, the
favourite Rajasthani bird. In the Bari Mahal
there is a fine central garden with good
views over the old city. More beautiful
paintings can be seen in the Zenana Mahal ,
which opens onto Laxmi Chowk;there's a
beautiful white pavilion in the center of
this square. Note the large tiger catching
cage near Zenana Mahal entrance ; a helpless
goat of buffalo would be tied up inside the
cage to lure the tiger in-gruesome.
Saheliyon ki Bari
Saheliyon ki badi, situated in the north of
the city, is well maintained, with fountains
and kiosks, a delightful lotus pool and
marble elephants. There is also a small
museum here; of which the main attraction
are some stuffed cobras.
Pratap Memorial
Atop Moti Magri (Pearl Hill), overlooking
Fateh Sagar, is a statue of the Rajput hero
Maharana Pratap, who frequently defied
Mughals, riding bravely on his beloved horse
Chetak. The path to the top traverses some
pleasant gardens including a Japanese rock
garden.
Sajjan Garh
Sajjan Garh, a former monsoon palace 1100
ft. high above the surrounding and 3100 ft.
from sea level, was built by Maharana Sajjan
Singh in 1884. The palace looks its best
during the rainy season. It offers a
panoramic overview of the city's lakes,
palaces and surrounding country side. The
hillside is thickly wooded and the former
rulers maintained this as a royal shooting
preserve.
Pichola Lake
Beautiful Lake Pichola was enlarged by
Maharaja Udai Singh II after he founded the
city. He built a masonry dam, known as the
Badipol, and the lake is now 4km long and 3
km wide. Nevertheless, it remains fairly
shallow and can actually dry up - in severe
droughts it's possible to walk to Jagniwas
and Jagmandir island. A handful of
crocodiles are believed to inhabit the more
remote parts of the lake, near the inhabited
sections of the shore. The City Palace
extends for a long stretch along the east
bank.
Jagdish Temple
Located only 150 m north of the entrance to
the City Palace, this fine Indo-Aryan Temple
was built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1651
and enshrines a black stone image of Vishnu
as Jagannath, Lord of the Universe. There is
a brass image of the Garuda in a shrine in
front of the temple and steps up to the
temple are flanked by elephants.
Kumbhalgarh Fort
Kumbhalgarh, situated 65 km north of Udaipur
hold a heroic past having sheltered the heir
of Mewar throne in times of Danger. It was
here that the baby prince of Mewar was
hidden from an assassin. It is an isolated
and fascinating place, built by Maharana
Khumbha in the 15th century. Because of its
inaccessibility - at1100m on top of the
Aravalli Range - it was taken only once in
history. Even then, it took the combined
armies of the Mughal emperor Akbar, and of
Amber and Marwar to breach its defenses. The
thick walls of this mighty fort stretch some
36km and are wide enough for eight horses to
ride abreast. They enclose many temples,
palaces, gardens and water storage
facilities. The fort was renovated in the
19th century by Maharana Fateh Singh. It is
worth taking a leisurely walk in the large
compound, which has some interesting ruins
and is very peaceful.
How To Get There
Air
: Udaipur is well connected to all the major
cities which includes Delhi, Mumbai,
Calcutta, Jodhpur, Jaipur.
Rail :
Udaipur is connected to many major cities of
India. There are daily trains from Delhi,
Jaipur.The best train between Delhi and
Udaipur, the daily Chetak Express. Trains
take around 12 Hrs from Jaipur to Udaipur.
Road : Rajasthan Roadways run very
comfortable deluxe & air conditioned buses
from Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad to Udaipur.
The roads are very good, and it takes around
8-9 hr. from Jaipur. You can also come by
taxi from Jaipur and Ahmedabad.
The
city of lakes,Udaipur is a lovely land
around the azure water lakes, hemmed in by
the lush hills of the Aravalis.A vision in
white drenched in romance and beauty.
Udaipur is a fascinating blend of sights,
sounds and experiences an inspiration for
the imagination of poets, painters and
writers. Udaipur is known as the Venice of
the east. It is also called the city of
lakes. The Lake Palace on Jag Niwas Island
in the middle of Pichola Lakes is the finest
example of its architectural and cultural
explosion.
gs
added by various Maharanis, the palace
manages to retain a surprising uniformity of
design. Building was started by Maharana
Udai Singh II . The palace is surmounted by
balconies, towers & cupolas and there are
wonderful views over the lake and the city
from the upper terrace. The Ganesh Deori is
the entrance to the museum and leads up to
the Rajya Angan, or Royal courtyard , the
very spot where Udai Singh met the sage who
told him to found this city here. The rooms
of the museum are extravagantly decorated
with mirrors , tiles and paintings. In the
Manak Mahal (Ruby Palace) there is the
exquisite glass and mirror work, while
Krishna Vilas has a remarkable collection of
the miniatures.Teh Moti Mahal has beautiful
mirror work and the Chini Mahal is covered
in ornamental tiles. The Surya Chopar has a
huge ,ornamental sun-the symbol of mewar
dynasty, the origins of which are traced to
the sun. The Mor Chowk (Peacock Square) has
beautiful mosaics of the peacocks, the
favourite Rajasthani bird. In the Bari Mahal
there is a fine central garden with good
views over the old city. More beautiful
paintings can be seen in the Zenana Mahal ,
which opens onto Laxmi Chowk;there's a
beautiful white pavilion in the center of
this square. Note the large tiger catching
cage near Zenana Mahal entrance ; a helpless
goat of buffalo would be tied up inside the
cage to lure the tiger in-gruesome.
