Udaipur India Travel and Holiday Guides.

Holiday, Touring and Sightseeing Guide for Udaipur including visits to Udaipur's City Palace, Naqda, Sahelion, Ahar and Sajjangarh.

Udaipur Hotels and Accommodation. There are a huge amount of hotels available in and around the City with a variation in prices to match - Heritage Hotels are quite good to stay at and at least their room rates fall into the "perhaps" category for most people - going around the 900 to 1600 Rupee level - rather than for instance the possible 15000 to 50000 Rupees asked for by the top end of the market. In most cases expect to pay quite a premium if you want a lake view - and from our experience do check out the room (and expected views) and it's facilities are not only present but do work before booking in since as is sadly the case with some Indian hotels what you may have seen on the Web or in brochures is not necessarily what you will actually get.

Travelling to Udaipur.
Flying in/out. The airport serving Udaipur is named Dabok Airport (but is also called/known as Maharana Pratap Airport) and is situated around 24 kilometres from the city's centre. Currently the airport is served daily with internal flights arriving from Delhi, Mumbai, Jodhpur and Jaipur - India's main three domestic carriers (Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Indian Airlines) all providing services.
The airport has been given International status so presumably the intention is to eventually operate flights in from outside of India - the airport is currently having some building work but it's quite unobtrusive. With the current price war (2009) going on between India's domestic airlines the speed and convenience of flying is one of the best and amazingly inexpensive ways to get around India's tourist destinations.

Indian Railways. Jaipur Railway Station is around 4 kilometres from Udaipur City Centre - direct trains link the city with various Indian Cities such as Jaipur, Delhi, Chittorgarh, Ajmer and Ahmedabad. The Indian Railway code for Udaipur's Railway Station is UDZ.
Buses. Udaipur is situated as part of India's National Highway 8 and so bus services are quite fast and frequent to for example Jaipur, Delhi and Ahmedabad - and of course Chittorgarh.

Udaipur the City. Udaipur seems to give a nice impression of space and the traffic around the city is not too bad at all compared with places like Jodphur and Varanasi. However the immediate area around the City Palace is of really narrow and bendy streets cluttered up with everything you can think of plus a bit more i.e.. touts, cows, tuk tuks, beggars, us tourists and bicycles with probably the only annoying thing the idiot taxi drivers (cars) who think it clever to race around with their car-horns blasting trying to panic people out of the way. Getting around Udaipur is best achieved (apart from walking) by using an auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk) - but do remember to settle your fare before getting into one and reject any tout who jumps in the front with the eternal Indian saying of "I do not want any money" / "I just want to learn English" or "I am a student" or similar lie. One little trick the rickshaw drivers may try is to say where you want to go is outside the city limits and there is a toll fee or similar - this is total rubbish.

The photo on the second row above on the far right is of Shepherd Memorial Church - i.e. an Anglican Church - it would not look out of place in an English Village. The huge feature about Udaipur are the City's two beautiful lakes and the amazing views particularly concerning Lake Pichola with the Jag Mandir and Jag Niwas sat in the middle - also along this lake there are many ghats and quite a few temples. When we visited in early 2009 both lakes were somewhat depleted of water unfortunately since this part of Rajasthan has suffered from drought in the last few years and levels are really low. Lake Fateh Sagar is located to the north of the city - unlike it's neighbour it is not that surrounded with ghats, buildings and hotels - it simply has an observatory sat in the middle. Fateh Sagar Lake is close to Sahelion - ki - Bari gardens so a nice idea around mid-afternoon might be to take a tuk tuk to the gardens, have a wander around then walk over to the lake and meander back into the city along the lake's wide pavement.

 

Jagdish Temple. Dedicated to Lord Jagannath Jagdish Temple is situated near to the entrance to City Palace and was built in the 17th century. This a working temple and therefore there is no entrance fee - however you will be approached by beggars for money. 

There is a clear sign asking tourists not to give any money to the beggars who are provided for by the Temple - but they do appreciate a donation in their donations box inside.

 

Udaipur City Palace. This huge palace is sat amongst the ghats and buildings in the old part of Udaipur and overlooks Lake Pichola - one of the best views of the Palace and for excellent photos go to the other side of the Lake. The Palace is open daily 09:30 to 16:30 - there are a variety of entrance tickets available depending on how much of the Palace and it's various museums you want to visit - also note there is a camera fee of a massive and ridiculous 200 Rupees (just for non-Indians of course). City Palace is the largest in Rajasthan and the various palaces within are the evolving creations of numerous Maharanas - starting with Udai Singh around 1568. Entry is via a triple arched gate - Tripolia Gate (built in 1725) - you then enter the huge Rajya Angan Chowk and get tremendous views of the various palace buildings built alongside the courtyard.

 

Ahar. At Ahar there are a collection of 19 cenotaphs of the Maharanis of Mewar - the site is located around 4kms outside of Udaipur so just a few rupees tuk-tuk ride away. We are unsure if there really is an entrance fee however the policeman guarding the gate did sort of indicate a donation into his pocket would be appreciated so 50 rupees "camera" fee was offered and accepted. The area is not very large but is well worth a visit as they are impressive and nicely laid out. Unsure about the small museum which is meant to be there - nobody around seemed to know much about that.

 

Nagda - Eklingji. Nagda is located around 22 kilometres north east of Udaipur and certainly worth visiting if you are taking a trip to it's more famous cousin at Eklingji. The site is where Saas-Bahu Temples (meaning Mother and Daughter-in-Law Temples) are located. The temples were originally entered via the Torana and are from the 11th Century and dedicated to Vishnu. Close to Nagda is the huge temple site at Eklingji which is a series of 108 temples and shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva. There is no entrance fee but one drawback is that once inside you cannot take anything with you let along use cameras or video, also the temples are very close together and some are even fenced off. They open daily from 10:30 to 13:30 and 17:15 to 19:45 and tend to be hugely crowded to the extent that seeing anything is very difficult.

 

Sahelion (Garden of the Maids of Honour). The gardens are located on the northern edge of Udaipur and are really worth going to visit especially in the late afternoon, perhaps after a hectic day's sightseeing, as you can just sit in peace and quiet amongst the trees and flowers and relax. There is just about an entrance fee which in 2009 was 10 Rupees each - same price for Indians and non-Indians which makes an nice change. Sahelion was built between 1710 and 1734 by Sangram Singh as a cool and peaceful summer retreat for the ladies of the Royal Household - however the ornamental fountains were a much later addition and were put in by Fateh Singh.

 

Sajjangarh (Monsoon Palace). Overlooking Fateh Sagar Lake the Monsoon Palace as it's generally known was commenced in 1883 by Maharana Sajjan Singh to provide an observatory and summer palace - the idea was that the royal family could watch the monsoon clouds racing along the countryside below. The observatory was not completed due to the Maharana's untimely death - however the palace was completed by Fateh Singh but soon found to be impractical to use as water could not be pumped up to it.

Sajjangarh (generally known as the Monsoon Palace) is around 5kms from Udaipur's centre and an auto rickshaw will take you up there, wait for you and dump you back in the city for around 100 Rupees. However the road to the Palace is very steep and the poor little tuk-tuks need a rest halfway to stop them blowing up. There is quite a lot of work going on at the Palace including restoration so in truth apart from the great views there is not a lot to be seen anyway at the moment - but it's there and clearly visible from Udaipur so of course you have to go - currently there is no entrance fee.

 

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