Things to do in Udaipur

Udaipur is built around its lakes. Udai Singh II began the City Palace in 1553, moving the Mewar court out of Chittorgarh, which fell to Akbar in 1568. Things to do in Udaipur cluster on the lake shores and the hills above them.

On and around the lake

Lake Pichola dates to 1362. Boats leave from the Bansi Ghat pier by the City Palace.

• City Palace. Added to by successive Maharanas for nearly four centuries. The east-bank complex is part museum, part hotel.
• Lake Palace. Built in 1743 to 1746 as a summer palace, now a hotel reached only by boat. Its restaurants are for resident guests. The 1983 Bond film Octopussy was shot there.
• Jag Mandir. The second island palace, from the early 1600s. Prince Khurram, later Shah Jahan, sheltered here in 1623.
• Jagdish Temple. Three storeys of carved stone, in continuous worship since 1651.
• Bagore Ki Haveli. An 18th-century mansion of over 100 rooms, with an evening folk-dance show.
• Saheliyon-ki-Bari. The garden of the maidens, laid out with fountains between 1710 and 1734.
• Sajjangarh. The Monsoon Palace, built in 1884 on a hill about 5 km west. Visitors go up for the sunset over the lakes.

Day trips and onward roads

• Eklingji. About 20 km north. A Shiva temple complex from the eighth century, where the Maharanas ruled as the deity's representatives.
• Kumbhalgarh. About 85 km. A fifteenth-century fort with a wall 36 km long, UNESCO-listed in 2013.
• Ranakpur. 91 km. A Jain temple said to stand on 1,444 pillars, no two alike. Jodhpur is 162 km further.
• Chittorgarh. 112 km. The old Mewar fort, besieged in 1303, 1535 and 1568.
• Mount Abu. About 165 km. Rajasthan's only hill station, at 1,220 metres.

Multi-day circuits start here. They pair the city with Mount Abu, Chittorgarh or Kumbhalgarh. A car and driver can be booked one way to Jodhpur, Pushkar, Jaisalmer, Ahmedabad (about 250 km) and Jaipur (about 400).

Practical

• Weather. Winter days in January reach 24C, with nights near 8C. May runs to 40C by day. The monsoon peaks in July and August, with over 200 mm of rain a month. September to March is the pleasant season.
• On foot. The old city is narrow and best walked. Auto-rickshaws cover the outer sights.
• Boats. The late departures catch the sunset over the lake.
• Airport. Maharana Pratap Airport lies 22 km east of the city, at Dabok.