Udaipur, often called Venice of the East, is a city of fairy-tale palaces, temples and narrow lanes framed by picturesque historic houses. Its setting by the calm lake Pichola only adds to its charm and makes the romantic city a relaxing place to visit in Rajasthan, the biggest state of India.
Udaipur was the first stop on our journey around Rajasthan and made us feel welcome to the Indian state of palaces, forts, deserts but also lakes and jungles. We spent two lovely days exploring the historic city, the former capital of Mewar kingdom.
The majestic City Palace towering on a hill by lake Pichola is the main architectural gem of Udaipur. We first saw the City Palace while walking on the foot bridge connecting the two banks of the river and our first impression was that the palace looked really imposing. We couldn’t wait to visit the 500 years old palace the next day!
The City Palace is a complex of courtyards, pavilions, terraces, corridors and beautifully decorated rooms. We wondered what it was like to live in this spacious palace for the kings. Visiting the City Palace was an amazing experience, although the palace was very crowded with the local tourists and we often had to wait long to get through the very narrow staircases and corridors of the palace.
Another wonderful palace of Udaipur is the Lake Palace which nowadays houses a heritage hotel called Taj Lake Palace. We could see its beauty in detail from a boat we hired to take us for a ride around the Pichola Lake on the sunny morning before leaving Udaipur. The famous Oberoi Udaivilās luxury heritage hotel, the world’s best hotel in 2015, according to Leisure and Travel, stands on the shore of lake Pichola too.
the Lake Palace
The third most important site of Udaipur is the Hindu Jagdish temple that was built in 1651 and has remained a very important place of worship for the locals. What impressed us most were all the precise carvings on the outer walls of the temple.
After visiting the major sites of Udaipur, we roamed the streets of the city, enjoyed small conversations with the locals and admired all the small colourful windows and original doors.
The two days we spent in Udaipur were a great introduction to Rajasthan and made us want to explore more of the best architectural wonders of this diverse Indian state.
If you plan a trip to this part of the world, don’t miss Udaipur!
Have you been to Rajasthan? What is the most impressive city you visited?
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