Discovering Udaipur

Udaipur – the city of lakes is on every traveler’s wish list. A city that has a rich cultural heritage, grandeur, royalty, peace, and calm. It is approximately 650km away from Delhi which takes 11-12 hours by road. Flights from Delhi take about an hour and a half, and since the Maharana Pratap Airport is 22km away from the main city add an extra hour to reach the main city of Udaipur. We traveled to Udaipur in October during Diwali that had its pros and cons. While the weather was pleasant throughout the day the crowds that poured in during the public holiday made the tourist hotspots crammed with chaos. 

I have been to Rajasthan earlier and you read about my Jaipur memories here. 

This trip was planned keeping in mind we were traveling with an infant and senior citizens so it was more on the comfort side and unlike the more adventurous ones, we usually plan.

For our four days in Udaipur, we stayed in Panna Villas – a budget hotel near Fateh Sagar Lake. The rooms are clean and spacious, they were short on staff because of Diwali but all of their available staff was extremely helpful and accommodating and the best part of the hotel is the rooftop restaurant that opens to the serene view of Fateh Sagar Lake.

From the rooftop Panna Villas

Panna Villas

This post is not a breakdown of the itinerary or what we did on day one or fourth of our trip. It will be focussed more on the places we visited and the experience of being there. 

Built by the Mewar dynasty in an Indo- Aryan architectural style, Jagdish temple stands tall outside the city palace in Udaipur. This famous Hindu temple attracts a lot of tourists daily and displays brilliant ornate stone carvings.

Opposite to the Jagdish temple is a lane in the local market or bada Bazar and in a corner stowed is a pocket-size blue shop serving delicious hot kachoris. 

Kachoris, thalis, lal maas, Dal-Bati-Churma, Gatte ki Sabzi are all imperative to Rajasthani cuisine. No trip to Udaipur is complete without savoring its delectable cuisine. 

Stock up on silver/sterling silver jewelry from the plethora of jewelry shops lining the market (bada bazaar or hathi pol). You can also pick up authentic handicrafts, miniature paintings, and Rajasthani souvenirs from the numerous crisscrossing lanes.

Amongst the main tourist attraction is Sajjangarh fort or the Monsoon Palace situated on the Aravalli hilltop. Tickets to the fort are available at the entry gate where most of the autorickshaws will drop you, as only cabs or private vehicles are allowed to go to the fort. 

Pack your sunscreen and try to avoid peak sun hours as the fort has plenty of open space. More than the fort itself, it’s the panoramic view of the city and its lake that is the high point of the tourist hotspot. 

While you admire the architecture of the fort and the serenity of the surroundings, try not to miss the tribes India shop and a few other shops near the ticket entry gate run by local artists practicing miniature art which involves the use of dyes and pigments manufactured from scratch.

Patience and Perseverance

City palace – Magnificient architectural marvel located in the heart of the city in the banks of Lake Pichola is a peaceful and serene tourist hotspot.

The main part of the palace is preserved as a museum displaying artillery, paintings, and artifacts from the Mewar dynasty.

Isn’t it beautiful? 

Took the blue pill

There was no red pill

Another splendid attraction on Pichola lake is Jag Mandir Palace. There’s a ferry that takes you to Jag Mandir Palace that runs from the City Palace. You will have to buy extra tickets for Jag Mandir from the main gate of City Palace that costs a whopping Rupees 700 per person. The boat ride changes your perspective of Udaipur from land to water view, gives you a glimpse of the water-front cafes lining the lake Pichola and the opulence of Taj Lake Palace and the Leela Palace. 

Jag Mandir Palace is situated on an island in Lake Pichola. It is a sight to behold with its Mughal and Rajputana architecture. The three-storied palace is also a luxurious hotel that serves breathtaking sunset views. If you book the palace hotel for dinner you will not have to pay the entry tickets, the hotel sends in a boat to pick and drop you. The luxury hotel charges approximately 3500 per couple and on a family trip it cost us 14k, exorbitant for the food and drinks served. 

Enjoy the stunning views from the Jag Mandir Palace for a day visit and enjoy a cup of coffee or a cocktail. I would highly recommend skipping the expensive gourmet meals served in the hotel, they are average at best. The palace hotel on the other hand is splendid and is worth the visit. 

Royal

The luxuriously ordinary food made me miss the simple poha served at Panna villas rooftop every morning. 

Done with the palaces and luxury we decided to reminiscence in the ruins of Chittor fort. If anyone advises you to visit the fort while you are leaving Udaipur and have to catch a flight too, ignore it. The airport is nearly an hour and a half away from the main city of Udaipur, and Chittor fort is easily 3 hours from the city. 

The following image is the ticket counter at the fort. It doesn’t particularly stand out but you won’t miss it either. 

Chittor Fort sprawls through 700 acres, it’s not a few hours of blink and miss visit. You need an entire day to comprehend the striking ruins of the historical marvel that the fort is. 

Word of advice – hire a guide who knows the place around. The fort spreads through acres of land and has temples, ruins, palaces, and a guide who is worth one’s salt will make it a lot easy to comprehend the vast history associated with the fort.

The following image is of the victory tower or Vijaya Stambha, constructed by the Mewar king, Rana Kumbha, in 1448 to commemorate his victory over the combined armies of Malwa and Gujarat led by Mahmud Khilji.

There are many temples in Chittorgarh fort, Hindu and Jain temples all with intricate carvings and ornate designs. 

A large part of the fort is in ruins

You will find intricate carvings in all the temples

History buried in these stones

Rani Padmini palace – widely believed to be the place where Alauddin Khilji was allowed to watch Padmavati’s reflection. 

Khilji’s view

Amongst all the forts and palaces there is also a cultural show with folk dances and puppet shows organized at Bagur ki Haveli from 7 pm-8 pm every night. Tickets are available online for the hour-long show, and you will have to buy an extra ticket for your DSLR or phone camera photography. 

Approximately 45 kilometers outside the city of Udaipur is the highly revered Shrinathji Temple of Lord Krishna. The temple reveres Krishna as a living child rather than a diety and the darshan follows routines of the child and is the only time of the day devotees are allowed to see the Lord. The first darshan of the day is the Mangal darshan during which the doors of the temple are not opened followed by Shringar darshan, Gwal darshan, Rajbhoga, Uthapana, Bhog, arti, and shyan darshan. Photography is prohibited inside the temple and there are experiences you can remember even if you do not have a digital footprint of it. 

This is not all that Udaipur has to offer, there are places, markets, restaurants, and food we missed out on. Four days are enough to travel through the city of lakes and immerse in the history and heritage of it. If you plan to travel in peak season just keep a few things in mind – pre-book your restaurants such as Upre or Khamma Ghani and traveling to Udaipur during Diwali will be chaotic, considerable time will go in queue for tickets, food, pubic washrooms, and conveyance.

But then not every travel can be a retreat from civilization, sometimes it is a managed chaos too.

Presently I am in Muscat as I updated about it earlier. I had overlooked my trip to Udaipur in October 2019 and not posted about it in the distraction of moving to a new country. Covid19 is raging through borders and the social-economic fabric, going out has come down to making grocery runs to the nearest stores in masks. The most successful species on Planet Earth is on a standstill right now and in these unprecedented times all we can do is be patient and let the healthcare workers do their job. So just go back to your phones, browse through old travel pictures, and stay at home. 

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