Udaipur Palaces

Udaipur is the best city in India for a stay that's reminiscent of royalty. There are many places with admirable beauty. Here, we saw amazing interior & architecture. Which tells about the marvelous artistic history of Rajasthan, India. We felt that every stone of palace is saying something and every corner is describing the royal past of that place. It was entirely a very pleasant experience.

Lake Palace 

The Lake Palace was built in 1743-1746. It is magical that 250-year-old white marble building sits on Jag Niwas island in 'Lake Pichola'. It was originally built as a royal summer palace, but is now a luxury 5 Star hotel, operating under the 'Taj hotels resorts and palaces'.

After enjoying a 15 to 20 min. Boat ride, we reached lake palace. The location was superb, the views from our room (upgraded to a lake view) were incredible, the ambiance was romantic, and the services were appreciable. We also enjoyed the rooftop dinner; their food was great (the chef sent us complimentary dishes that were just delicious). 

Lake Palace

Jag Mandir

Jag Mandir is another island in Lake Pichola which is known for its garden courtyard. From Lake Palace, we went there. Because of lighting, in the night it looked like a gleam on the water. Guide told that Shah Jaha took refuge here while revolting against his father. He also said that art of Jag Mandir inspired the design of Taj Mahal, which was made by Shah Jaha in later years. There was a restaurant run by the HRH group of hotels. We enjoyed lunch and dinner here. Jag Mandir Island Palace makes a unique place in history. 

Jag Mandir also known as a 'swarg ki vatika' or 'garden of heaven.' When cocktails, theme-dinners, banquets and wedding ceremonies are organized here, the flowers and special lighting, folk dancers and fireworks bring alive this garden of heaven in vibrant colors of celebrations. Jag Mandir Island Palace has dedicated heritage venues that challenge your creativity in pampering guests.

Jag Mandir

City Palace

It is situated on the east bank of Lake Pichola. We enjoyed the history of City Palace and it's beautiful art. In main entrance, we saw a big triple-arched gate-the tripolia, built in 1725. The balconies of the palace provided beautiful views of the Lake Palace, Jag Mandir and the city of Udaipur. 

In palace we visited:

• Suraj Gokhda, where the maharanas of Mewar presented themselves in the times of trouble to the people to restore confidence. 

• Mor chowk (Peacock courtyard), gets its name from the mosaics in glass decorating its walls. 

• Laxmi Vila Chowk- is an art gallery with a distinctive collection of Mewar paintings.

• chini chitrashala is noteworthy where a series of wall paintings  are on display in Bhim Vilas.

• Museum- a part of the city palace and the 'Zenana Mahal' (Ladies Chamber) were together converted into a museum. There was an interesting exhibit of a freaky monkey holding a lamp and also portraits of maharajas.

• Dilkhush mahal- is also known as 'Palace of Joy' 

• Sheesh mahal- is also known as 'Palace of Mirrors and glasses' 

• Moti mahal- is also known as 'Manak Mahal'.

• Rang bhavan-  is the palace that used to contain royal treasure. There are temples of Lord Krishna, Meera bai and Shiva. 

• Krishna vilas - in memory of a princess of striking beauty who poisoned herself to avoid a bloody war.The palace contains many antique articles, paintings, decorative furniture.

• Durbar hall- It was for official functions such as State banquets and meetings. The gallery of the hall was used by the royal ladies to observe the durbar proceedings.

• Crystal gallery- it consists of crystal chairs, dressing tables, sofas, tables, chairs and beds, crockery, table fountains which were never used. There is also an unique carpet here. Maharaja Sajjan singh had ordered these rare items in 1877 from F&C Osler & Co of London but he died before they arrived here. The guide said that the packages containing these crystals remained unopened for 110 years.

After visited this, we went for lunch at city palace restaurant and enjoyed a delicious food with a royal feeling. In evening there was a Light & sound show and it was awesome. In this show they described all the history of City palace with the help of light & sound. After watching it, we felt proud for India's brave maharanas & maharanis. 

City Palace

Sajjan Garh Palace

It is also known as Monsoon Palace. It was the summer resort of the Maharajas. It is situated a top the hill overlooking all of the lakes. This palace had a way to collect rain water for consumption all year around. We enjoyed from here a very wonderful view of Udaipur city. 

Sajjan Garh

Jagdish Temple

It is a large Hindu temple in the middle of Udaipur. It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh. It is an example of Indo -Aryan architecture. There we saw an amazing architecture and art. This is also main tourist attraction in the city. We enjoyed here some special kind of things like rajasthani dress, paintings etc.

Jagdish Temple

After visiting Udaipur I feel that it is a place to visit at least once in a lifetime. If we want to live like Maharana & Maharani then this is the place which gives us a royal feeling. I really enjoyed a lot. and came back with unforgettable memories.