Udaipur Tourism - More About Udaipur
Distance : 374km from
Jaipur, 259km from Jodhpur
Population : 310 000+
Altitude : 610m
Area: 37 sq km
Temperature : Max 38.3° C and Min 28.8° C in summer,
Max 28.3° C and Min 11.6° C in winter
Rainfall : 61 cm
Best Season : September to March
Clothes: Light tropical in summer, Light woollen in winter
Languages : English, Hindi, Mewari
"It was worth a night’s
discomfort, and revolverbeds to sleep upon – this city of the
Suryavansi, hidden among the hills that encompass the great Pichola
lake. Truly, the King who governs to-day is wise in his determination
to have no railroad to his capital. His predecessor was more or less
enlightened, and, had he lived a few years longer, would have brought
the iron horse [railway train] through the Dobarri – the green
gate which is the entrance of the Girwa or girdle of his hills around
Udaipur; and, with the train, would have come the tourist who would
have scratched his name upon the Temple of Garuda and laughed
horse-laughs upon the lake. Let us, therefore, be thankful that the
capital of Mewar is hard to reach."
Rudyard Kipling, Letters of Marque, 1887-9.
¤ The City of Beautiful Landscapes
The iron horse did interrupt the serenity of Mewar and the Pichola
Lake, but Udaipur as such had remained cut off from the outside world
for a very long time, even during Kipling’s visit. Udaipur, now
popularly known as the Venice of the East or the City of Sunrise, has
enchanting landscaped gardens and beautiful lakes that beckon both a
tourist and a traveller. Lord Northbrook, the 19th century British
Viceroy, described the city thus: "Take a lake about the size of
Orta, with lower hills and of a lighter colour; put the walls of
Verona on the lower hills with a fort or two, add islands smaller than
those on Lake Maggiore, covered with marble pleasure palaces and domes
Pile up half a dozen French chateaux on the side and end with a piece
of Venice."
¤ Described As The Jewel In The Crown
The city faces no threat regarding beauty from any other Indian
tourist spots. Well, perhaps it has some competition from Kashmir, the
Paradise on Earth. Udaipur, or Udyapoora in ancient texts, can be best
described as `the jewel in the crown’ of Rajasthan with its
palaces and pavilions, its gardens and groves, its exquisite lakes and
their island palaces, monsoon palaces – a palace for any reason.
It has been subjected to never-ending epithets, another one being the
City of Enchantment. Louis Rousselet in his book India and Its Native
Princes(1878) has said: "I stood in ecstasy gazing on the sublime
panorama spread at my feet … It resembled one of the fairy cities
in the Arabian Nights."
and now, after Independence, Udaipur has been given the title of the
City of Institutions as a number of important institutions have been
set up here. The city was named after Maharana Udai Singh, the founder
of the city, in the middle of the 16th century.
¤ Location of The City
The city of Udaipur, the fourth and the last capital of the state of
Mewar, stands on a low ridge, the icing of which is the palace of the
Maharana. The city lies in a fertile valley between the hill
fortresses of Kumbhalgarh and Chittor, and is designed around the
three lakes of Pichola, Fateh Sagarand Umaid Sagar. The wall that
surrounds the old city has five gates, each reinforced with iron
spikes to dissuade elephant attacks. They include Suraj Pol or Sun
Gate to the east, Chand Pol or Moon Gate towards northwest, Hathi Pol
or Elephant Gate to the north, Delhi Gate or Delhi Darwaza to the
northeast and Kishan Pol to the south. The Suraj Pol was recently
altered and a circular park has been laid out with a statue of Rana
Udai Singh, the founder of Udaipur. The streets and lanes of the old
city are a picturesque lot and are filled with shrines of Kali,
Hanuman and several other Hindu deities. Udaipur’s main street
leads from the Hathi Pol to the Maharana’s Palace.
¤ Udaipur - A Shopper's Delight
Bazaars, bazaars and more bazaars, that is what you find in the
whole of Rajasthan. Udaipur is also not far behind with some fantastic
ones. The Bara Bazaar near the Jagdish temple, the Bapu Bazaar close
to the Suraj Pol are full of little shops selling the bandhani (tie
and dye) fabric particularly the leharias (wave patterns). You can
fill your shopping bags for back home with the Nathdwara pichhwais,
terracottas of Molela, silver jewellery, lacquer ware, enamelled
jewellery, curios, antiques – whatever it is be sure to be loaded
so that you don’t miss any one of the fabulous items sold here.
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