There’s no better time to visit Rajasthan than the winters. As we all know the desert state gets too hot for comfort during the summers. Udaipur being a very nice driving distance from Vadodara has always inspired us to visit it. We recently decided to do it finally.
The Journey
Udiapur has an airport, but from Vadodara it’s a pleasant 6 hours drive via Ahmedabad. Ever since the Vadodara Ahmedabad expressway became operational as India’s first, we have loved driving on it. In a large heavy car like Icon, it’s never a problem driving at about 110 Kmph (that’s the maximum that I take it at, though my wife never drives at less than 120 on this road). So we covered this 100 KM in less than an hour, stopping only for some tea at the beautiful Refuel restaurant of Reliance.
Just to elaborate a little more on this place it may be better than many a decent restaurants in Vadodara. It has four different sections, one serving salads, both veg and nonveg, another one for Chinese food, another for North Indian, and another serving Cakes, Croissants, Pastries, Breads and Tea, Coffee and other beverages.
To our surprise we found that the roads after that also are very good four laned highways. The journey on the whole is a breeze and a very enjoyable drive. The traffic is minimal, and plenty of eating places (albeit not too posh) on the way. Once within about 50 km of Udaipur the view of the hills lining the road also adds to the adventure of the drive.
We reached very comfortably in less than 6 hours in spite of stopping twice for tea and once for lunch.
The Hotel
In Udaipur we had booked ourselves at the Rangnivas Palace Hotel. It is listed as a heritage hotel at the various travel websites. The descendants of the founder s of Mewar, Bapa Rawal, own it; so the web site said. It has 24 rooms and 3 suits. Since we had our son with us and did not want to be too crammed up by an extra bed in the room so we had taken a suite. The suite was strictly ok just as the complete hotel was. The decoration is mediocre, and the place is not too spacious as well. There is a small swimming pool, but being winters the water was too cold to swim. There is no gym, and a small restaurant, which no one seems to visit. The place seemed to be occupied with low budget foreign tourists. Even though the room service, cleanliness, food quality was satisfactory, I really would not recommend this place to my readers. If you are a budget traveler save some money and stay at the RTDC Kajari hotel, or if you want luxury try some of the rated 3-4 star hotels. There is no dearth of them in Udaipur.
Just to give you an idea the rates prevailing in Udaipur, the decent RTDC hotel Kajari start from Rs. 800 for double occupancy and those of the most expensive hotel in Udaipur The Lake Palace situated inside the lake Pichola go up to a whopping Rs. 1, 92, 500.00 per night for a suite! Another beautiful hotel The Udaivilas Palace situated at the banks of the lake Pichola is priced at Rs. 1, 80, 000.00 per room per night! Look at the picture of this hotel attached here.
Udaipur City
Truly one of the most stunningly beautiful cities of India, it is rightly called the Venice of the east. The history of the city is amazing. Maharana Udai Singh was plagued by the constant attacks on his kingdom and was on the lookout for a place easier to defend when he met a hermit at the banks of lake Pichola while hunting one day. The hermit read his mind and advised him to build a city there at the banks of the lake, as the Aravali hills provided natural protection from any invading army there and the water of the lake ensured that there was plenty of food and water to sustain in the case of a siege. And thus in the year 1559 AD was founded this famous city. The main palace called the City Palace stands majestic at the banks of the river till today. It is probably one of the most beautiful and well maintained palaces in India. Post independence when the rulers of Mewar realized that all their income was drying up, they thought up of innovative means to keep their royal heritage alive. They converted the property and palatial holdings to a trust to be passed on from generation-to-generation for management. They also named the trust His Royal Highness trust. The properties were then opened to tourists for staying as hotels and for visiting. This way they neither lost their title nor their earnings. The palaces are now beautifully maintained and look nothing less than that “ a royal palace”. There is even a sound and light show there, which vividly relives the history of valor and sacrifice of the Rajputs. A must see for all tourists!
The main city of Udaipur is built around the lake Pichola and consists of small lanes, shops, heritage hotels, temples, and several gates or pols. Several worth visit spots include, the Jagdish temple, Saheliyon ki Bari, Gulab Bagh, Fateh Sagar lake, Maharana Pratap memorial, Sajjangarh Palace, Bagore ki Haveli, Shilp Gram, Crystal Museum, etc.
I will try to give you a small description of the important ones
a) Lake Pichola – This is the central lake of the city and a visit to the city is not complete without a boat ride in the lake. The lake itself is huge. While on the one side there are ghats where the local women still wash clothes, on another bank are hotels like Trident and Udaivilas Palace. In the centre of the lake is the Hotel Lake Palace. This hotel is accessible only by boats and is a masterpiece. It counts as one of the more expensive hotels of the world at above USD 4000/- per night. Another island in the middle of the lake is the Jag Temple. For the movie buffs this is where Raveena Tandon had got married. It currently has a museum and a restaurant. But let me warn you friends this is a very expensive restaurant. For the three of us, tea and one plate of sandwiches cost us Rs. 800.00.
b) Saheliyon ki Bari – This is a beautiful garden where the queens of their time used to hang out with her sahelis. A lovely place full of fountains and lights.
c) Maharana Pratap memorial – Another must visit memorial atop a high hill. The views from here are breathtaking and almost the whole city and lake Fateh Sagar can be seen. The history and valor attached are also interesting. E.g. can u guess why a fighter of the caliber of Maharana Pratap carried two swords. Definitely not as a replacement, since the possibility of his losing the first one or it’s breaking just did not arise. The second one was to give to the enemy in case he did not have any, as Maharana Pratap did not raise his weapons on an unarmed man ! Such is the valor that surrounds this place.