Tourist Place in Udaipur

Romantic and divine, Udaipur is much more than an oasis in the desert with its beautiful lakes, exquisite palaces and architectural heritage and deserves the nickname of ‘the Venice of the East’. The Lake Palace situated on Jag Niwas Island in the midst of Lake Pichola is the supreme example of its delicate architecture and refined culture. The banks of the lake have another beautiful building to boast of - the magnificent City Palace. Known for its arts and crafts and miniature paintings, Shilp Gram festival is a favorite tourist attraction of the city. Maharana Udai Singh II founded Udaipur in 1568 after he lost Chittorgarh to Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is believed that a saint meditating on a hill near Lake Pichola guided him to establish his capital here as it is surrounded by Aravallis, forests and lakes that makes it a safer place than Chittorgarh. His heir Maharana Pratap was a legendary hero who is still revered for his valor and chivalry and being the most ferocious Rajput warrior who gave a tough time to the Mughals all his life.

CLIMATE
Pleasant winters and scanty rainfall characterizes the climate of Udaipur. Though temperature rises to 40ºC in summers, but mostly it is tolerable and is around 30's.

HOW TO REACH
By Air : Udaipur has a good network of air services linking it to from New Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad and Mumbai. Nearest airport is Dabok Airport, which is 21 km from the city centre.

By Train : It is well connected to and from all the major cities of India such as Chittrogarh, Ajmer, Jaipur and Delhi by trains. Palace On Wheels is a major attraction of course. The railway station is 4 km from the heart of the city.

By Road : The roads are smooth and link Udaipur to various major cities of India such as Delhi, Jaipur, Chittrogarh, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Indore, Kota, Mount Abu and Mumbai. Thus, there are bus services to and from Gujarat, Delhi and major cities of Rajasthan that end at the bus terminal, 2 km from the railway station.

Location : Rajasthan, India
Significance : Known as the City of Lakes
STD Code : 0294
Best Season : October To April
Language : Hindi, English, Rajasthani
Distance From Jaipur : 405 Km
Distance From New Delhi : 663 Km

SHOPPING ATTRACTIONS
Beautiful local arts and crafts and countless shops flood the markets of Udaipur. The tourists love to buy hand painted fabrics, silver jewellery, folk toys, colorful tie-dye and batik saris and clothes, turbans, miniature paintings done in Rajput style and ‘Pichwais’, the brightly colored and themed wall hangings. One may shop for splendid metal images of gods and goddesses that are made in the nearby village of Molalla. The popular shopping spots are a cluster of stalls on the Lake Palace road, near Rang Niwas Palace Hotel and Jagdish Temple. Hathipole, Clock Tower, Chetak Circle and Bapu Bazaar are other favorite places to shop from.

Prime Attractions
Udaipur is known as the ' City of Lakes'. The two most scenic and famous lakes of the city are Lake Pichola and Lake Fateh Sagar. Lake Pichola is surrounded by hills, palaces, temples, bathing ghats and has two island palaces- Jag Niwas and Jag Mandir. Lake Fateh sagar lies to north of Pichola and was built by Maharana Jai Singh but it got the name of Fateh Singh who rebuilt its dam. Both the lakes are breathtakingly beautiful and one can take a cruise on their waters. The sunset over these lakes is a sight to be cherished.

Palaces
City Palace: This majestic white royal building towers itself on a hill and is surrounded by crenellated walls. The palace stands along the shores of Pichola.

Lake Palace : This former summer residence of the royal family has now been converted into a fabulous hotel.

Gardens
Sahelion-Ki-Bari : On the shores of Fateh Sagar Lake was built a garden for the 48 young girls waiting to be sent to the royal house as part of dowry. This garden is laid with extensive lawns, fountains and shady walking lanes. There are four pools with dainty kiosks and fountains with elephant trunks for spouts. These gardens appear discrete and impeccable in taste.

Museums
Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal : This is a museum of folk arts, which has rich collection of folk dresses, ornaments, puppets, masks, dolls, folk musical instruments and paintings. World famous puppeteers put shows here, on request in advance.

Pratap Memorial : Erected atop Modi Magri is this equestrian bronze statue of the valiant hero, Maharana Pratap. Sajjan Garh, Gulab Bagh, Dudh Talai Park, the Sunset point are also the places to be seen.

Temples
Jagdish Temple : Dedicated to Vishnu, this temple was built in 1651 AD by Maharana Jagat Singh.