The city of lakes- Udaipur, is one of the most romantic and beautiful tourist destinations in India. Founded by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1559, this royal city is often referred with different names as “Venice of the East”, “Jewel of Mewar”, “crown of Rajasthan” and many more.
Surrounded by beautiful Aravalli hills and more than 10 lakes in the city, along with the forts and palaces together makes Udaipur as a heritage tourist destination. This city housing the second largest artificial lake in Asia and one of the best solar observatories (Udaipur Solar Observatory) in Asia. Paintings from Udaipur are also a famous, especially miniature painting which is renowned worldwide.
Overall, with the perfect blend of the natural beauty of the city and man-made structures made Udaipur a must-visit travel destination in India.
Here we have listed the best places to visit in Udaipur. If you are planning a trip to the city of lakes, then read on to know about your upcoming travel destination to make your trip an unforgettable one.
Best time to visit Udaipur:
October – March (Udaipur is a hot region, hence winter is an ideal time to visit the city of lakes).
July – September (Monsoon is also a good time to visit Udaipur).
Places to Visit in Udaipur
1. City Palace
City Palace, situated on the bank of Lake Pichola was built by Maharana Uday Singh (1559) is considered as the largest royal palace in the state and a gem of Rajasthan tourism.
This vast complex has around 11 marvelous palaces built over a course of time and the oldest structure built here is “Raj Angan”.
City palace is now a collection of corridors, mahals, courtyards, hanging gardens, and some other architectural wonders. All these amazing things make it one of the best places to visit in Udaipur.
Some parts of the palace have been converted into a different module like the Fatehprakash palace into a luxury hotel, Zanana mahal into a museum. Currently, a part of the palace is the residence of the royal family.
- Tickets: INR 400/-, INR 150/- (below 18)
- Duration: 3 hours
- City Palace timing: 7:00 am – 11:00 pm
- City Palace Museum timing: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
- Visit vintage car museum
- Mewar Light and Sound Show (every evening).
- 23.8 km from Udaipur airport
- Some popular Bollywood and Hollywood movies are shot here, like James Bond’s Octopussy.
A very popular temple (Jagdish temple) at the entrance of this majestic palace.
2. Sajjangarh
Sajjangarh, located on top of a hill, was named after Maharana Sajjan Singh who started the construction of this structure as an astronomical observatory to know about the arrival and pattern of monsoon. This is why it is also known as monsoon palace.
But because of the premature death of Maharana Sajjan Singh, the construction of this site was completed by his successor Maharana Fateh Singh as a hunting lodge for the royal family.
Currently, the palace comes under the possession of the forest department of Rajasthan and opened for tourism recently. Sajjangarh has an underground harvesting system with a reservoir capacity of around 190000 liters.
We suggest visiting the palace someday just before evening so you can witness the popular sunset view from here which is so beautiful and pleasing.
- Tickets: INR 110 for Indians
- Timing: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Appeared in the Hollywood movie “octopussy” of the James bond series.
- You can reach the palace by hiring a taxi or auto-rickshaw from the foot of the hill.
3. Saheliyon Ki Bari
Saheliyon ki Bari, also known as the Garden of the Maidens is an unmatched beautiful garden situated on the banks of Fateh Sagar Lake in the city of Udaipur. It was built by Maharana Sangram Singh in the 18th century as a gift for her queen and her 48 maids (accompanied as a part of dowry). Legends say that the queen admired the sound of rain, and the king added some fountains to replicate the sound of rain and create a monsoon-like feel to impress the queen.
Later Maharana Bhopal Singh beautified the garden by adding some more fountains to the garden. This magnificent garden has flower beds, beautiful fountains, marble elephants, trees, and a museum also.
Saheliyon ki Bari is one of the most popular tourist places in Udaipur and you must not miss witnessing this beautiful site. It is suggested to visit during the evening or morning when the temperature is comfortable.
- Tickets: INR 10 for Indians
- Timing: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
- The fountains draw water from the Fateh Sagar Lake without any electric motor.
- Fountains are still in function as per their original engineering.
4. Jagdish Temple
Jagdish temple is one of the most important temples in the city. It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh (1651) on a raised platform just outside the city palace complex.
The temple is devoted to God Vishnu. Its entrance has 32 marble steps and two huge stone elephants on the sides. Then there is a brass image of Garuda (half bird half human- God Vishnu’s vehicle ) at the door facing the lord Vishnu’s main shrine in the temple. The main shrine of God Vishnu is a statue of Jagannath with four-arms craved out of a single black stone. Temple has other minor shrines of Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Shakti, Sun God.
This 3 stories temple built out of hand-carved stones is about 79 feet tall. 50 exceptionally carved pillars, beautiful ceilings, and corridors built according to the Vedic Vaastu Shastra (ancient science of building) show excellent achievements in the architecture of that time.
One more interesting fact about the temple is that it cost around INR 1500000 to Maharana Jagat Singh for the construction of this temple at that time.
- Tickets: Free
- Timing: (5:00 am – 1:00 pm) (5:30 pm – 9:00 pm)
- Watch the aarti to experience complete calmness and peace (organized every day at sunrise and sunset).
Temple is heavily crowded at the time of aarti, we suggest to avoid carrying any expensive kinds of stuff among the crowd.
5. Lake Pichola
Lake Pichola is the oldest and one of the largest lakes of Udaipur. Located in the center of the city, this beautiful freshwater lake is an identity and an important part of Udaipur. It was built by a tribesman (Picchu Banjara) in 1362. This man-made lake extends around 4 km in length and 3 km in breadth with a depth of 30ft.
Lake Pichola comprises 4 islands: Jag Mandir, Mohan Mandir, Jag Niwas, Arsi Vilas. The beauty of the lake is enhanced by its surroundings that include Eklinggarh fort, Mohan Mandir, Udaipur City Palace, Pichola Palace, etc.. The majestic sight at night of the golden reflections of the palaces nearby is so blissful.
After being impressed with the beauty of the lake, Rudyard Kipling wrote; “If the Venetian owned the Pichola Lake, he might say with justice, see it and die”.
You should not miss the boat ride on Lake Pichola, especially at the time of sunrise and sunset. The boat ride starts from the Rameshwar Ghat. We suggest taking the boat ride in the evening to witness the peaceful sunset and feel the utter calmness. With the unmatched blissful experience from this site, one can surely say that Lake Pichola is one of the most remarkable places to visit in Udaipur.
- Tickets: Free
- Boat Ride Ticket: INR 300/-
- Opening hours: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Admire the relaxing environment and witness the blissful sunset with a boat ride on Pichola.
6. Ambrai Ghat
Ambrai Ghat is one of the most popular ghats in Udaipur and also known as Manjhi Ghat. Situated near Lake Pichola, this ghat is a very popular spot for local peoples to spend their early morning hours in peace.
The Ambrai Ghat is managed by the Nagar Parishad of Udaipur. From 5:00 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening, there are 6 Aartis that take place on Ambrai ghat every day. There you can experience peace. In the evening, the spectacular view around the ghat is very hypnotizing with the lights on surrounding buildings (Jag Mandir, Lake Palace, etc..) and their reflection in the Lake. There are seats available on the ghat for resting.
- Tickets: Free
- Opening hours: 6:00 am – 10:00 pm
Witness the blissful Aartis that place on ghat every day.
