The Lake City, Udaipur is one of the few tourist spots in India that boasts of something for everyone. No one who goes to Udaipur can claim that they did not enjoy at least one spot in the city. The lakes of the city are beautiful and well maintained. The palaces, temples and gardens of city offer a wide plethora of spots to be visited. You will not just have enough of the mix of modern and cultural city.
We visited Udaipur in the month of February when the weather was just warming up. We took a bus from Mt. Abu to Udaipur. It was a 5 hour journey. From Delhi Udaipur is well connected by train and buses (ordinary, deluxe and Volvo’s). Overnight journey will be most comfortable and is suggested. Being a hot favorite tourist destination, Udaipur boasts of many hotels that are tailor made to suit your budget. From expensive UdaiVilas to budget hotel of Rajasthan Tourism to cheap lodges are easily available. However do remember to bargain the room tariff.
We reached Udaipur in the afternoon and after a quick lunch in the hotel, we decided to visit some local sites. You are given a choice of an Auto or a car to help you roam around the city. The city of Udaipur has strong linkages with Maharana Pratap and hence many of the tourist spots are related to the great warrior. We went to Pratap bagh, which is a well laid garden with a statue of the warrior in full splendor. It also has a small museum which houses some of the clothes of the same era. From there we went to Fatehsagar Lake.
The Fatehsagar Lake is amongst the most beautiful lakes of the city. With a park laid in between the lake the view of the lake is panoramic in the evening. Ferry services with nominal charges are available to reach the park. Once inside the park, the time seems to stand still and you wish that somehow the evening never ended. The sunset view in the lake is amongst the most beautiful view of the lake.
The next day we hired a taxi to roam around places in the outskirts of Udaipur. Our first destination was Haldighati which is famous for the battle between Maharana Pratap and Akbar the Great. The soil of the place is yellowish orange and resembles the color of turmeric. A museum depicting life events of Maharan Pratap with light and sound effect is a good spot to visit.
Next to be visited was the temple of Nathdwara. People from the neighboring states too visit the temple and people visiting the place have very high regard of the temple. The temple seems always to be full of people and getting to see the deity is considered a fortune.
We then went to Ekling ji temple who is the local deity. Here again the number of people visiting the temple was huge. From here we went to the City Palace that is besides Picholla Lake. The City Palace is the residence of the King of Udaipur and is a vast museum depicting the life, cultures and history of the dynasty. Some of the views of Lake Picholla from the City Palace are breathtaking.
From here we went again to the Fatehsagar Lake as we decided we did not had enough of the place the first time. The second time again we stayed there for about 3 hours without realizing that it was getting dark at the lake.
Coming back from Udaipur, we left few places unvisited so that they are the attractions for our visit the next time.