Distance : 374km from Jaipur, 259km from Jodhpur
Population : 310 000+
Altitude : 610m
Area: 37 sq km
Temperature : Max 38.3° C and Min 28.8° C in summer, Max 28.3° C and Min 11.6° C in winter
Rainfall : 61 cm
Best Season : September to March
Clothes: Light tropical in summer, Light woollen in winter
Languages : English, Hindi, Mewari

"It was worth a night’s discomfort, and revolverbeds to sleep upon – this city of the Suryavansi, hidden among the hills that encompass the great Pichola lake. Truly, the King who governs to-day is wise in his determination to have no railroad to his capital. His predecessor was more or less enlightened, and, had he lived a few years longer, would have brought the iron horse [railway train] through the Dobarri – the green gate which is the entrance of the Girwa or girdle of his hills around Udaipur; and, with the train, would have come the tourist who would have scratched his name upon the Temple of Garuda and laughed horse-laughs upon the lake. Let us, therefore, be thankful that the capital of Mewar is hard to reach."
Rudyard Kipling, Letters of Marque, 1887-9.

The City of Beautiful Landscapes

The iron horse did interrupt the serenity of Mewar and the Pichola Lake, but Udaipur as such had remained cut off from the outside world for a very long time, even during Kipling’s visit. Udaipur, now popularly known as the Venice of the East or the City of Sunrise, has enchanting landscaped gardens and beautiful lakes that beckon both a tourist and a traveller. Lord Northbrook, the 19th century British Viceroy, described the city thus: "Take a lake about the size of Orta, with lower hills and of a lighter colour; put the walls of Verona on the lower hills with a fort or two, add islands smaller than those on Lake Maggiore, covered with marble pleasure palaces and domes Pile up half a dozen French chateaux on the side and end with a piece of Venice."

Described As The Jewel In The Crown

The city faces no threat regarding beauty from any other Indian tourist spots. Well, perhaps it has some competition from Kashmir, the Paradise on Earth. Udaipur, or Udyapoora in ancient texts, can be best described as `the jewel in the crown’ of Rajasthan with its palaces and pavilions, its gardens and groves, its exquisite lakes and their island palaces, monsoon palaces – a palace for any reason. It has been subjected to never-ending epithets, another one being the City of Enchantment. Louis Rousselet in his book India and Its Native Princes(1878) has said: "I stood in ecstasy gazing on the sublime panorama spread at my feet … It resembled one of the fairy cities in the Arabian Nights."

and now, after Independence, Udaipur has been given the title of the City of Institutions as a number of important institutions have been set up here. The city was named after Maharana Udai Singh, the founder of the city, in the middle of the 16th century.

Location of The City

The city of Udaipur, the fourth and the last capital of the state of Mewar, stands on a low ridge, the icing of which is the palace of the Maharana. The city lies in a fertile valley between the hill fortresses of Kumbhalgarh and Chittor, and is designed around the three lakes of Pichola, Fateh Sagarand Umaid Sagar. The wall that surrounds the old city has five gates, each reinforced with iron spikes to dissuade elephant attacks. They include Suraj Pol or Sun Gate to the east, Chand Pol or Moon Gate towards northwest, Hathi Pol or Elephant Gate to the north, Delhi Gate or Delhi Darwaza to the northeast and Kishan Pol to the south. The Suraj Pol was recently altered and a circular park has been laid out with a statue of Rana Udai Singh, the founder of Udaipur. The streets and lanes of the old city are a picturesque lot and are filled with shrines of Kali, Hanuman and several other Hindu deities. Udaipur’s main street leads from the Hathi Pol to the Maharana’s Palace.

Udaipur - A Shopper's Delight

Bazaars, bazaars and more bazaars, that is what you find in the whole of Rajasthan. Udaipur is also not far behind with some fantastic ones. The Bara Bazaar near the Jagdish temple, the Bapu Bazaar close to the Suraj Pol are full of little shops selling the bandhani (tie and dye) fabric particularly the leharias (wave patterns). You can fill your shopping bags for back home with the Nathdwara pichhwais, terracottas of Molela, silver jewellery, lacquer ware, enamelled jewellery, curios, antiques – whatever it is be sure to be loaded so that you don’t miss any one of the fabulous items sold here.