Romancing the Rains at Udaipur

A piece of pure romance in the Pichola - The Taj lake Palace

When it comes to romantic destinations, there are very few places in India, which can beat Udaipur. Also known as the lake city , there is something extremely magical & romantic about Udaipur which attracts travel couples round the year from all over the world.

Udaipur is also an ideal monsoon destination. It's the time of the year, when the famous lake system of Udaipur gets replenished with the rainfall and the rolling aravalli hills on the backdrop also gets its fair share of green.

Jag Mandir with Green Aravalli at the backdrop

We visited Udaipur this monsoon and was really impressed with the beauty of the city. It really is a perfect monsoon leisure destination, where you can spend some quality time with your loved ones.
In this write-up I have tried to highlight the main attractions of Udaipur which we liked, and some tips so that you can enjoy them thoroughly.

Streets of Udaipur

When in Udaipur the best way to enjoy the city is by walk. Walking through the narrow streets of Udaipur with ornate buildings on both sides, is pure bliss. You can feel the old world charm while walking through the streets. The streets are not as busy or chaotic like Jaipur, and people in general are respectful of your privacy.
The streets also have plenty of shopping options where you can look for leather products , handicrafts and souvenirs. However the most interesting item, I found are Mewari painitings. Udaipur is famous for its Mewari paintings, and the items generally are absolutely gorgeous. It speaks of the rich artistry of this place. The subjects are mostly scenes of war, or the festivals like Holi or Gangaur and occasionally of Royal Ladies. The composition and the colors are fascinating.

Udaipur walks - Ornate buildings open up to the streets

We walked a lot within the old city of Udaipur during the entire duration we were there. Generally the walk started from our Hotel Amet Haveli to the famous Gangaur Ghat spending some quality time over there and then towards city palace or Jagdish temple. While returning it was customary for us to take a long break at any of the numerous roof top restaurants at the old city.

The roof top restaurants at Udaipur are another speciality. Most of them generally provide a beautiful view of the city along with lake Pichola, however our favourite was Harigarh restaurant near to our Hotel Amet Haveli . The view from the corner seats where absolute gorgeous, and the Lal Maas we had there is succulent. We used to sit there for hours looking at the old city and lake pichola, while soaking the cool breeze.

Ambrai Ghat - View from Harigarh restaurant

City Palace complex

The main attraction of Udaipur is the city palace complex. Situated by the banks of Udaipur's nucleus - Lake Pichola, the city palace complex is a cluster of palaces build over a period of 400 years by different Maharana's.
The palace complex has different sections - City Palace Museum, which is open to general public,  the two heritage hotels named Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas palace, both overlooking the gorgeous Pichola lake, and the royal residence Sambhu Niwas palace, where the current Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar, his son and daughter in law resides.

Entering the Udaipur City Palace

The palace museum gives a perfect idea to the visitors about the opulence of the Udaipur royal family, their lifestyle, their patronage for art and craftsmanship and their valour. The struggles of Maharana Pratap with Mughal Empire Akbar to keep the sovereignty of Mewar Kingdom is something which every Mewari people talks with great pride.
The palace complex has some great paintings of battle of Haldighati where these two fought each other.

Mewari Paintings & Inlay Glass Work Inside Udaipur City Palace

On the highest floor of City palace an open air garden named Amar Vilas has been constructed by the Maharana's. Its absolutely an architectural marvel to create such a natural garden within the confines of a palace.
There are some astonishing mirror and inlay glass work displayed inside the palace. Mor Chowk (Peacock Square) is a prime example of that.

Bird 's eye view of the Udaipur City

From the upper floors of city palace you will get a birds eye view of the entire Udaipur city on one side, and the Lake pichola and rolling aravalli hills on another side. It's absolutely beautiful
On a lighter note, please come prepared with a good quality walking shoe. The city palace complex is absolutely huge, and the steep stairs will be demanding to your knees.

View of Lake Pichola from City Palace 

Boating on Lake Pichola

This is the one activity we enjoyed the most. It's absolutely gorgeous, and without doing this your Udaipur visit is incomplete. To reach the boat jetty, you have to cross the city palace museum complex, and show your ticket on the gate at the backside of the museum complex. From here, the road which leads you to the jetty, is gorgeous. The road is named - 'The promenade' and provides some out of the world views of Lake pichola. The road goes by the side of the impressive lofty buiding of Fateh Prakash Palace. With the magnificent building in one side, and gorgeous view of lake Pichola on the other side, this brief walk is as romantic as it can get.

The Promenade Udaipur

The boats are very well maintained. They will provide you a round trip of Lake Pichola. From the boat you will get a gorgeous view of city palace complex.

City Palace Complex from Pichola

Then the boat will move ahead towards the old city area, slowly crossing the Lal Ghat, the famous Gangour Ghat and impressive Bagore Ki Haveli, it will then take you towards Jag Niwas or the famous Taj Lake Palace.

Lake Palace - Against the grey monsoon sky

The lake palace built in white marble is a treat to watch. Under the grey monsoon skies, it looked majestic. Slowly crossing Taj lake palace it will bring you towards the Jag Mandir island, the biggest island within lake Pichola. Here you can disembark from the boat and can enjoy your time at the Jag Mandir courtyard.

View from Jag Mandir Island

The island has Jag Mandir temple complex and a palace which now has been converted into a hotel. From the courtyard you will get some breathtaking views of City palace and Lake Pichola. The palace in the Jag Mandir island was used to give shelter to Prince Khurram (late known as Emperor ShahJahan), when he was in conflict with Mughal emperor Jahangir.

The cool breeze of Lake Pichola just soothes your senses, while you spend time in the Jag Mandir island. We sat with a glass of beer and some snacks in the island restaurant and enjoyed the ambiance for almost an hour. You can spend more time if you like, and then get into any of the returning boats which ply every hour.

The boating charges from lake palace are also very reasonable, considering they provide an entrance to the gorgeous Jagmandir Island. Till 2 p.m the boat charges are 400 rupees per person and from 2 p.m till sunset the rate doubles.

Returning from Jag Mandir

Gangaur Ghat

Gangaur ghat within the old city is another favorite destination for us. It was around 10 minutes walking distance from City Palace. Gangaur ghat also provides some gorgeous views of lake Pichola. The gallery like stairs which comes down to the rippling water of Pichola, provides ample opportunity to just seat and relax.

The rain drenched Gangaur Ghat

It's a popular point for local people to gather and socialize, while soaking the views of Pichola. The more religious ones come here to offer their prayer during the early morning or during the evening time. The flock of pigeons which dot the ghat creates a different atmosphere at Gangaur Ghat. Local people are extremely fond of these pigeons and loves to feed them in a generous manner.

A serene morning at Gangaur Ghat

When in Udaipur, this was our favorite morning destination. We used to come every morning, walking aimlessly at the ghat, and looking at the daily chores of the people. Gangaur ghat also is an architectural beauty with the Tripolia gate behind it. The lofty gate with three symmetric arches and some intricate carvings looks absolutely royal. During evening the tripolia gate also gets illuminated along with the city palace, and looks stunning.

Gangaur Ghat from Lake Pichola

Bagore ki Haveli & Dharwar Show

Just beside the Gangaur ghat is the famous Bagore ki Haveli. Bagore ki haveli is a palatial building built by the Mewar Prime Minister .

Bagore ki Haveli now has been converted into museum with historical artifacts displayed in many of its numerous rooms. However the prime atrraction of Bagore ki Haveli is the evening cultural show organized by WZCC (West Zone Cultural Centre). The show named Dharwar is a one hour long show consisting of performances from some brilliantly talented artists of Udaipur. It includes folk songs, regional dances, Rajasthan's famous dance Ghoomar and an impressive puppet show.

The performances are just brilliant, and you will spend an hour in complete awe.

Bagore Ki Haveli

Jagdish Temple

Jagdish temple is the main temple of Udaipur. Dedicated to Lord Jagdishji or Lord Jagannth, this temple is the heart of all religious activity of Udaipur. Situated just outside the city palace complex, the lofty temple is absolutely gorgeous and full of intricate carvings depicting our royal past. The temple is in continuous worship from 1651.

The entrance to Jagdish Temple

The temple is on a raised platform, and you have to climb some serious amount of steep stairs to reach the main sanctum sanatorium. The ambiance within the courtyard is absolutely divine.

When we visited the temple, the Aarti was getting performed, and hundreds of devotees singing for lord Jagannath in unison was a breathtaking experience.

Saheliyon Ki Bari

 Saheliyon ki Bari is another beautiful piece of architecture in Udaipur. This was built by Maharana Sangram Singh for his wife and the 48 royal maids who accompanied the queen. Saheliyon ki Bari is a fountain garden with greenery all around which provided a green retreat to the royal ladies. The ornate fountains and the well laid out pools are a treat to watch.

The central bathing pool and fountain

There are three main section at Saheliyon ki Bari. The main fountain and the pool for the bath of royal ladies with gorgeous looking marble Chattris on all 4 sides of the pool and a central Chattri in the middle of the pool, the Sawaan Bhado Garden with tall trees and a huge central fountain where queen spend time with her companions and the royal lotus pond, with fountains in the form of intricately carved marble elephants on its periphery.

The Lotus Pond with Elephant Fountains

The entire ambiance inside Saheliyon ki Bari is that of an oasis. The constantly running fountains cool down the temperature of the entire place and the thick canopy of greenery provides much needed respite from the harsh heat. It was one of our favorites in Udaipur and we spent almost couple of hours exploring the nooks and corner of this beautiful fountain garden. Incidentally when we were enjoying the garden, a little drizzle started, and the combination of sprinkling fountains and that drizzle really created a perfect symphony.

Monsoon Palace

Monsoon Palace or SajjanGarh Palace is one of the most scenic places in entire Udaipur. The palace was built by Maharana Sajjan Singh to enjoy the monsoon clouds from the slopes of aravalli hills.
The place is almost 15 kilometers away from the city, and on top of almost 3000 feet at aravalli range. The views from the palace are absolutely breathtaking. During monsoon the green aravalli hills, the hanging grey clouds and the distant view of lake Pichola and lake Fatehsagar creates a perfect landscape.

Monsoon Palace at the hilltop

The palace itself is pretty impressively build in Rajasthani architecture with white marble. The front facade of the palace is gorgeous, the grand central court guarded by the high towers on each side makes it look like a fortress.
We visited this place on an afternoon and spent the entire afternoon enjoying the scenery from the hilltop. It's a perfect place to end your day, with a gorgeous sunset on the distance.

Rolling Aravalli all around SajjanGarh - View from the top of the palace

and Finally... our Hotel Amet Haveli

It would be an injustice if I do not mention about our Heritage Hotel Amet Haveli, in this write up. During our sojourn at Udaipur, Amet Haveli was a perfect host.
The Haveli itself has a rich history, and has been constructed during the reign of Maharana Jagat Singhji II between 1734-1752 A.D under his direct sponsorship.Later the haveli was granted to the royal family of Amet, who fought bravely along with the Maharana's of Mewar. The royal family of Amet, still resides in one section of the Haveli.
Amet Haveli itself is an architectural beauty, with a central courtyard encircled by a gorgeous building made of marble. They front facade of the building is absolutely marvelous. The rooms are traditional & oozes class & the facilities top notch.

Amet Haveli from Lake Pichola

We stayed in a lake view suite from where we had the best views of the old town along with the city Palce from the opposite side of Lake Pichola. To wake up to that view every morning was a pure bliss!!

Gorgeous View of City Palace from Ambrai Restaurant

We made a habit to spend every evening of our brief romantic sojourn with a candlelit dinner at the Hotel's own restaurant - Ambrai. A sumptuous dinner overlooking the illuminated City Palace, and the rippling waters of Lake Pichola was a perfect way to end your day!!.