In late July, I had a work trip to Noida. After a hard but exciting week of meetings, my friend and I decided a weekend break in Udaipur was necessary to relax and recharge before returning to our work grind.
We have done this before in the past – Jaipur, which was great but also unbearably hot. Thankfully, the weather in Udaipur was a breath of fresh air after the sultriness of Noida.
It was all a last-minute plan, so we were thrilled that everything worked out so beautifully. We booked this Airbnb, which turned out to be the best decision – very central location, cheap, heritage background (it used to be a palace of a minor royal), great breakfast, and a fantastic restaurant attached. Great choice!
We landed there late on a Friday evening, checked in, and lingered over drinks at the charming restaurant next door – Royal Repast – just decompressing from all the stress and planning the next two days.
We had two full days and the first half of Monday and wanted to make the most of it. After many permutations and combinations, we decided to squeeze in as much Udaipur as possible in one day so that we could spend the second day visiting the nearby fort city of Kumbalgarh (whose walls are second in length only to the Great Wall of China).
The last half day, we would drive to Chittorgarh, visit that fort, and then get dropped off at the airport to return home.
Our plan was tight, but everything worked out like clockwork!
Day 1 in Udaipur
We got up bright and early and made our way to the city center of Udaipur as soon as we could in the morning. We knew it would be impossible to tour the entire city in a day, so we picked out attractions in the city center only – City Palace, Lake Pichola, Jag Mandir, and Bagore ki Haveli. While there are other lakes and palaces, we knew it would be impossible for us in the limited time we had on hand.
City Palace
The City Palace of Udaipur is an architectural marvel. It’s immense; one part is accessible to tourists, part of it is a government office, and there is another portion sectioned off for the current royal family.
Be prepared now for an avalanche of photographs.
The weather was very weird – sunny one moment and cloudy the next. I didn’t mind, it made for some pretty dramatic silhouettes.
The palace was so big, and crowds were already gathering, so much to my disappointment, I couldn’t get a full photo of the palace. Plus, our guide was in a hurry to get us in through the doors and get a head-start on the crowds.
We walked through the palace, climbed several stairs, and marveled at a few rooms. But the one place I loved was a sort of terrace garden.
Enjoying the ambience of the garden
I was amazed that such tall trees were growing on the palace roof. But the guide explained that the palace backs into a big rock, and although it looks like the roof of the palace, and in a way it is, but the roots go through down to the earth.
After lounging in the terrace garden for a bit, we moved through the women’s quarters, the dining areas, and a lot more. The palace is massive, and there is a lot to see. The interiors were interesting, but there were too many people, and I couldn’t do much in terms of photographs.
I did manage to capture the dazzling Hall of Mirrors.
I think our guide told us that the mirrors were imported from Europe – Belgium, maybe? But whatever the origin, it was dazzling. There were several other rooms as well – fascinating; we saw the women’s quarters, kitchens (with all the original cooking equipment and vessels left intact), a wonderful old-fashioned fan imported from Italy, and even an early seated modern toilet (which looked more like a luxurious leather armchair with a hole and bucket), again imported from Europe.
After the dazzle of the Hall of Mirrors, we emerged into the sunlight at the highest part of the palace. From here, you get a lovely view of the city as well as other tourist attractions such as Lake Pichola, the Lake Palace in the middle of the lake (now converted into a hotel, and you can’t visit unless you stay or dine there), and Jag Mandir (another palace/temple in the middle of the lake).
It was very breezy and cool on the rooftop of the palace
It took us a good 2-3 hours wandering around the palace. Afterward, we made our way to the lake for a spot of boating.
Lake Pichola
The only reason to go boating in Lake Pichola is to get wonderful views of the City Palace and Lake Palace. The boat briefly halts at Jag Mandir, where you can wander around.
Jag Mandir
The Jag Mandir is nice, but there’s not much to do during the day. We wandered around, clicking a few pics of the lawns. It’s apparently a great place to see the sunset and have dinner. However, we had other plans for the evening, so we decided to just take a quick wander in the afternoon.
One interesting fact is that Shah Jahan stayed here briefly protected by the Rajputs when he was hiding after his rebellion from his father.
More than the structure, I loved the lawns and how well it was maintained.
Immaculately maintained
Shopping and Bagore ki Haveli
After the leisurely boat ride back to the city, we shopped a bit okay, a lot. I bought a bunch of knick-knacks for the kids. My friend bought some really lovely clothes. Around 6ish, we then made our way to Bagore ki Haveli, famous for the evening folk dances.
This show is called Dharohar folk dance and is an absolute must-see. Bagore ki Haveli is a kind of crumbling palace, where you sit on the floor cross-legged and watch the show. It’s very atmospheric and was the second-best thing we did that day.
I will be sharing a couple of videos on Instagram soon, but if you are planning a visit to Udaipur, check out TripAdvisor reviews. This is a 5 star experience.
We were so hyped up after the dance that we just didn’t want to go back to our hotel. We hung around the banks of the lake enjoying the wonderful city all lit up.
So, that was our utterly blissful day in Udaipur. More to come from our wonderful day in nearby Kumbalgarh and nearby Chittorgarh forts.
