The most romantic city in Rajasthan, built around the lovely Lake
Pichola, has inevitably been dubbed the 'Venice of the East'.
Founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai Singh, the city is a harmonious
Indian blend of whitewashed buildings, marble palaces, lakeside
gardens, temples and havelis (traditional mansions). It boasts an
enviable artistic heritage, a proud reputation for performing arts
and a relatively plentiful water supply, all of which have helped
make it an oasis of civilisation and colour in the midst of drab
aridity.
Lake Pichola is the city's centrepiece and it contains two
delightful island palaces - Jagniwas and Jagmandir - that are the
very definition of Rajput whimsy. The former is now an exquisite
luxury hotel. The huge City Palace towers over the lake and is
bedecked with balconies, towers and cupolas. It contains a museum,
some fine gardens and several more luxury hotels. Other attractions
in Udaipur include the gates to the old walled city and its lovely
alleyways; the fine Indo-Aryan Jagdish Temple, dating from the
mid-17th century; and the lakeside Bagore ki Haveli, once a royal
guesthouse, but now a cultural centre.
Despite the long list of sights and attractions, the real joy of
Udaipur is finding a pleasant lakeside guesthouse, scrambling up to
the roof and watching the activity at the ghats, listening to the
rhythmic 'thwomp!' as washerwomen thrash the life out of their
laundry, and sensing the gentle changes of light on the water as the
slow days progress.
Indian Ailines has daily flights to Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and
Aurangabad. Freqent state-owned buses run from Udaipur to other
regional centres as well as to Delhi and Ahmedebad. If you bus it,
choose the express, otherwise it will take forever to reach your
destination. Lines into Udaipur are currently metre gauge only. They
are scheduled to be converted to broad gauge, but nobody is really
sure when this will happen. It's quicker in most cases to catch a
bus. Taxis can take you to regional areas, but practise your
negotiation skills and haggle down the price a bit before you jump
in. |
India
