City Palace - Udaipur :
At a distance of 3 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Udaipur City Palace is a beautiful royal palace complex situated on the banks of Lake Pichola in Udaipur city of Rajasthan. This majestic City Palace is among the top places to visit in Udaipur and often distinguished as the largest palace complex in Rajasthan.
The City Palace was built initially by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559 AD, when he shifted his capital from the erstwhile Chittorgarh to the new found city of Udaipur. The Palace was built over a period of nearly 400 years, with contributions from several rulers of the Mewar dynasty.
The City Palace boasts of the wonderful blend of Medieval European and Indian architectural styles. Set at an average elevation of 598 m, the Palace has several towers, domes and arches, which add to the flavor of heritage site.
Lake Pichola :
At a distance of 2.5 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Pichola Lake is an artificial fresh water lake situated in the heart of Udaipur city in Rajasthan. Surrounded by hills, gardens, temples and havelis, Lake Pichola is one of the most beautiful lakes in India and a popular tourist attraction in Udaipur.
Pichola Lake was built in 1362 AD by Pichhu Banjara, a gypsy Banjara tribesman who transported grain, during the reign of Maharana Lakha. Later, Maharana Udai Singh, impressed by the charm of this lake with the backdrop of green hills, founded the city of Udaipur on the banks of the lake and also enlarged the lake by constructing a stone masonry dam in the Badi Pol region.
Lake Pichola is one of the several contiguous lakes, developed over the last few centuries in and around Udaipur city. Named after nearby Picholi village, Pichola Lake is nearly 4 km long and 3 km wide.
Bagore Ki Haveli :
At a distance of 2 km from City Palace and 3 km from City Railway Station, Bagore Ki Haveli is an old royal building situated in front of the Lake Pichola at Gangori Ghat in Udaipur. This is one of the top places to visit in Udaipur.
Built by Amir Chand Badwa, the Chief Minister of Mewar Royal Court, it dates back to the 18th century. Maharana Shakti Singh of Bagore, who resided in the haveli, incorporated three storeys to the main structure, in 1878 AD. This ancient edifice has more than hundred rooms and displays delicate carvings and glass work. After being deserted for 50 years post-independence, the haveli was finally handed over to the West Zone Cultural Centre in 1986 for restoration. Today, the Haveli looks glorious and also houses a museum in its premises with paintings and costumes of the Royal Kings.
Eklingji Temple :
At a distance of 24 km from Udaipur, Eklingji Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated at Eklingji or Kailashpuri town in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. It is one of the most famous pilgrimage places to visit in Rajasthan and among the top places to visit in Udaipur.
Eklingji Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the tutelary deity of the former Mewar rulers. Ek means 'one' while ling means 'lingum or the life giving phallic symbol of Lord Shiva'. The patron deity of the Mewar clan is considered the actual ruler of the region while the kings are merely the Dewan (or the Prime Minister) of this God of Mewar. Initially, the temple was built in 734 AD by Bappa Rawal, the founder of the Mewar dynasty. In the later years, it was repaired and modified by various Kings, to clean the remnants of obliteration made by the attacks of Mohammedans.
Monsoon Palace - Sajjangarh :
At a distance of 12 km from Udaipur City Railway Station and 10 km from City Palace, the Monsoon Palace, formerly known as the Sajjangarh Palace, is a hilltop royal palace overlooking the Fateh Sagar and Pichola Lakes in the city of Udaipur.
The Palace is named Sajjangarh after Maharana Sajjan Singh (1874-1884) of the Mewar Dynasty, who built it in 1884 AD. He was the 72nd ruler of the Mewar Dynasty. The Place reflects the rich cultural and history of Mewar Kingdom. It was built primarily to watch the monsoon clouds; hence, it is popularly known as Monsoon Palace.
The palace, built with white marble, is located on Bansdara peak of the Aravalli hill range at an altitude of 944 m (3100 feet).
Lake Palace - Udaipur :
At a distance of 4 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Lake Palace or Taj Lake Palace is a heritage hotel situated on Jag Niwas Island of Pichola Lake in Udaipur. Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur is the most romantic hotel in the world.
The Lake Palace was built between 1743 and 1746 AD as a pleasure palace by Maharana Jagat Singh II, the 62nd ruler of the Mewar dynasty. Sprawling over an area of 4 acres, the palace was constructed facing east, allowing its inhabitants to pray to Surya, the Hindu sun god, at the crack of dawn. In the later years, the Palace was used as the summer resort by the descendants of Jagat Singh.
Lake Palace has a series of courtyards that are aligned with numerous columns, terraces, beautiful fountains and well laid gardens. The walls made of black and white marbles are adorned by semi-precious stones and ornamented niches.
Jag Mandir Palace :
At a distance of 3.5 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Jag Mandir Palace is a beautiful palace located on the southern island of Lake Pichola in Udaipur. This is among the popular tourist places in Udaipur and also one of the famous wedding places in Udaipur.
Also known as Lake Garden Palace, the palace construction is credited to three Maharanas of the Sisodia Rajputs of Mewar kingdom. The construction of the palace was started in 1551 AD by Maharana Amar Singh, continued by Maharana Karan Singh (1620-1628) and finally completed by Maharana Jagat Singh I (1628-1652). It is named as Jagat Mandir in honour of Maharana Jagat Singh. The royal family used the palace as a summer resort and pleasure palace for holding parties.
The history of Jag Mandir Palace goes to the days of Emperor Shah Jahan and Maharana Karan Singh.
Jagdish Temple :
At a distance of 3 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Jagdish Temple is a Hindu temple located in the City Palace complex of Udaipur. This is one of the famous temples of Udaipur and among the top Udaipur attractions.
Sri Jagdish Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Laxmi Narayan), the preserver of the Universe. The temple was built by Maharana Jagat Singh with an estimated cost of 1.5 million rupees in 1651 AD. It is celebrated for being the largest temple in the city of Udaipur. The gateway of this temple can be sited at a distance of 150 meters from the Bara Pol of the City Palace. The temple was originally called the temple of Jagannath Rai but is now called Jagdish Temple.
This temple is built in the Indo-Aryan style of architecture. This three-storied temple is a wonder of architecture that comprises beautifully carved pillars, decorated ceilings, painted walls and lush halls.
Kumbhalgarh :
At a distance of 48 km from Rajsamand, 52 km from Nathdwara, 89 km from Udaipur, 191 km from Jodhpur and 347 km from Jaipur, Kumbhalgarh, also known as Kumbhalmer, is a historical fortress located in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. It is a World Heritage Site included in Hill Forts of Rajasthan and also one of the top historical Rajasthan tourist places.
Kumbhalgarh Fort is a Mewar fortress built by Maharana Kumbha in the 15th century AD. It is the second most important fort of Rajasthan after Chittorgarh. The original fort of Kumbhalgarh is believed to have been built by King Samprati, the Mauryan prince. Kumbhalgarh is also the birthplace of Maharana Pratap, the great king and warrior of Mewar. Although Kumbhalgarh was built in the 15th century it was extended during the 19th century.
Kumbhalgarh Fort was designed by Rana Kumbha keeping the defensive aspect of the fort in his mind.
Chittorgarh :
At a distance of 117 km from Udaipur, 175 km from Kota, 199 km from Ajmer, 313 km from Jaipur and 319 km from Jodhpur, Chittorgarh or Chittaurgarh is a historical city and municipality located on the banks of river Gambhiri and Berach in Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh district and a former capital of the Sisodia dynasty of Mewar. It is one of the top Rajasthan tourist places and also among the best places to visit as part of Udaipur Tour.
The history of Chittorgarh holds an important place in Indian history and is brimming with heroic tales of the great Rajput warriors. Also known as Chittor, Chittorgarh was built by Maurya dynasty in the 7th century AD. It was then known as Chitrakut after Chitrangada Mori, a Rajput chieftain as written on historical Mewari silver coins.
Mansapurna Karni Mata Ropeway :
At a distance of 3 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Mansapurna Karni Mata Ropeway is a popular cable car ride that connects Sri Karni Mata Temple at Machhala Hill Top and Deendayal Upadhyay Park in Udaipur. It is one of the best Udaipur tourist places.
The Mansapurna Karni Mata Ropeway was built by businessman Kailash Khandelwal in collaboration with UIT in 2008. The ropeway links the two places through a fixed grip mono cable of 387 meters and is the first ropeway of Rajasthan. The cable car installed is also called Gondola meaning the compartment that is suspended from an airship and is used for transportation of personnel.
After reaching to the cable car stop point, one has to walk through steps to reach Karni Mata's Temple. Inside the temple there is a white stone idol of the goddess Karni Mata.
Udaipur Solar Observatory :
At a distance of 8 km from Udaipur City Railway Station, Udaipur Solar Observatory is located on an island in the Fateh Sagar Lake near Shilpgram in Udaipur.
The Udaipur Solar Observatory was built in 1975 by Dr. Arvind Bhatnagar under the aegis of Vedshala Trust, Ahmedabad and Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. Built with the objective to constantly monitor the Sun, the observatory was designed as per the model of the Big Bear solar observatory in the southern California. The observatory was later taken over by the Department of Space, Govt. of India under the administration of Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad in 1981.
This is known to be the best solar observing site in Asia and also one of the few observatories in the world situated on land. The sky conditions at Udaipur are quite favourable for solar observations.
Jaisamand Lake :
At a distance of 57 km from Udaipur, Jaisamand Lake, also known as Dhebar Lake, is a manmade lake situated in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Dhebar Lake is India's second-largest artificial lake after Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar.
Maharana Jai Singh built Jaisamand Lake in 1685 AD while building a dam over Gomati River. The statistics of the lake is 14 km length, 9 km width and 102 feet depth. The lake has a circumference of 30 miles. The dam on this lake is worth mentioning due to its massive size of 1202 feet length, 116 feet height and 70 feet width houses a Shiva temple at its center. Jaisamand Lake was the largest artificial lake in Asia, till the time when Aswan Dam of Egypt was not constructed.
Jaisamand Lake comprises seven islands and one of the islands is still inhabited by the tribe of Bhil Minas. Out of all, the biggest island is known as 'Babaka Bhagra' and the second one is known as 'Piari'.
Haldighati :
At a distance of 48 km from Udaipur, Haldighati is a historical mountain pass in the Aravalli Range and it connects Rajsamand and Pali districts of Rajasthan.
Haldighati is famously known for the historical battle of Haldighati, which took place in 1576 AD between Maharana Pratap Singh and Man Singh, the general of Mughal emperor Akbar. This battle is considered as one of the most significant events in the history of the Rajputs, and this battle was also one of the shortest battles in Indian history, which lasted for only 4 hours. Today, the Haldighati pass, in which the battle took place, stands as a tourist spot, with great memories of Maharana Pratap Singh and his brave horse Chetak.
The term Haldighati has been derived from the yellow colored soil of the place that gives a sense of turmeric.
Shrinathji Temple - Nathdwara :
At a distance of 26 km from Eklingji and 48 km from Udaipur, the Shrinathji Temple is a Hindu temple situated on the bank of the Banas River in Nathdwara town of Rajasthan. It is considered as the second richest Indian temple after the Tirupati Temple of Andhra Pradesh and also one of the popular pilgrimage places in Udaipur.
Shrinathji Temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the term 'Nathdwara' suggests the 'gate of the lord'. The temple was built by Goswami priests in 1672 AD. According to the legend, the idol of the Lord Krishna was being transported during the late 17th century from Vrindavan to protect from the wrath of Aurangzeb. When the idol reached this spot, the wheels of bullock cart in which the idol was being transported sank deep down in mud and could not be moved any farther.
Maharana Pratap Memorial :
At a distance of 5.5 km from Udaipur City Railway Station and 5 km from City Palace, Maharana Pratap Memorial is situated atop Moti Magri or Pearl Hill on the banks of Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur.
Maharana Pratap Memorial is a historic site that is dedicated to the great Maharana Pratap Singh and his loyal horse Chetak. The memorial was constructed in 1948 with the initiative taken by Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar with the help of a public trust. The memorial comprises a life-sized bronze statue of Maharana Pratap balanced on his favourite horse, Chetak. The statue of Maharana Pratap is 11 feet high, with a weight of 7 tonnes. Considered a loyal companion by Maharana Pratap, Chetak stood by him till his last breath, before being killed in the battle of Haldighati between Rajputs and Mughals in 1576 AD.
Maharana Pratap Memorial and its premises are well maintained so that the tourists can enjoy the picturesque surroundings.
Vintage & Classic Car Collection :
At a distance of 1.5 km from Udaipur City Railway Station and 1.5 km from City Palace, Vintage & Classic Car Collection is a vintage car museum located in the premises of Garden Hotel just opposite to Gulab Bagh, Udaipur. It is a paradise for vintage car lovers and also one of the popular Udaipur attractions. This museum is owned by Rana Sriji Arvind Singh Mewar.
Inaugurated on 15th February 2000, the Vintage & Classic Car Collection exhibits an exquisite and diverse collection of classic and rare automobiles. Some of these regal grandeurs of automobiles were the luxurious possessions of the Maharajas of Udaipur, while many of them have been added later to the collection to provide a unique and elite safari to the visitors. The collection is housed in the original former Mewar State Motor Garage, which currently serves as this museum. The semi-circular motor garage with its forecourt is housed within a greater courtyard.
