Udaipur is famous around the world as the City Of Lakes
or the Venice of The East. Pichola, Fateh Sagar, Udai
Sagar and Swaroop Sagar lakes in this city are
considered some of the most beautiful in the state.
Fateh Sagar contains two small islands; one with the
Udaipur Solar Observatory (one of the six stations
participating in the international Global Oscillations
Network Group (GONG) which is aimed at the determination
of the physical properties of the solar interior) and
one with the beautiful Nehru Garden.
Udaipur is well connected to the world through land,
rail and air. It is known for its Rajput-era palaces.
Particularly famous is the Lake Palace, which entirely
covers a small island in the Pichola Lake. Lake Palace
is one of the many palaces in Rajasthan that has been
converted into a luxury hotel. The City Palace, or the
Palace of the then King of Mewar, is one of the most
beautiful places to visit in the city.
Climate
The climate of Udaipur is tropical with the mercury
staying between a maximum of 42.3°C and a minimum of
28.8°C during summers. Winters are a little cold with
the maximum temperature rising to 28.8°C and the minimum
dipping to 2.5°C. The annual total rainfall received at
Udaipur is 61 cm. Winters (September-March) are the best
period for visiting Udaipur.
Must Visit Places
City Palace - Standing on the east bank of Lake
Pichola is a massive series of palaces built at
different times from 1559 A.D. The balconies of the
palace provide panoramic views of "Jag Niwas" (the world
wide famous Lake palace hotel), Jag Mandir and the city
of Udaipur. The palace's main entrance is through the
triple-arched gate - the Tripolia, built in 1725.
When one enters the palace they are greeted by a series
of courtyards, overlapping parations, terraces,
corridors and gardens - a harmonic profusion hard to
describe. There is a Suraj Gokhda, where the maharanas
of Mewar presented themselves in the times of trouble to
the people to restore confidence. The Mor-chowk (Peacock
courtyard), gets its name from the vivid mosaics in
glass decorating its walls. The chini chitrashala is
noteworthy while a series of wall paintings of Krishna
are on display in Bhim Vilas. There are numerous other
temples one will see within the palace such as Dilkhush
mahal, Sheesh mahal, Moti mahal and Krishna vilas - in
memory of a princess of striking beauty who poisoned
herself to avert a bloody battle for her hand by rival
princess. The palace contains many antique articles,
paintings, decorative furniture and utensils and
attracts thousands of visitors every day.
City Palace Museum (Pratap Museum) - Within City
Palace one will find the Government Pratap Museum housed
with old sculptures and inscriptions. The antique
paintings of Mewar, the turban of prince Khurram later
on called Shah Jahan, who built world famous Taj Mahal
has also been displayed here as a token of friendship of
Maharana Khazan Singh.
Lake Palace
- Originally known as the Jag Niwas, took three years to
build and was inaugurated in 1746. Nothing but marble is
used in the composition of this palace. It is now a
luxury hotel.
Jag Mandir -
Another island in the Lake Pichola, which is known for
its beautiful garden courtyard. Shah Jahan took refuge
here while revolting against his father.
Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal - An excellent museum
of folk arts. Also hosts great puppet shows in its
auditorium.
Maharana Pratap Memorial or Moti Magri- Atop the
Moti Magri or Pearl Hill, overlooking the Fateh Sagar
Lake is the memorial of the Rajput hero Maharana Pratap
with a bronze statue of the Maharana astride his
favourite horse "Chetak". More details are available at
Maharanapratap.net, a fantastic collection of facts and
figures on Maharana Pratap and his life.
Sajjangarh Fort - The summer resort of the
Maharajas is atop the hill overlooking all the lakes.
This palace had an ingenious way to collect rain water
for consumption all year around.
Sukhadia Circle
- A landmark built on a traffic roundabout in Udaipur.
This local spot has a three tiered fountain that is lit
at night and is a popular place for Udaipurites in
evenings.
Jagdish Temple - this Temple, Jagannath Rai, now
called Jagdish-ji is situated in the middle of the city
is a big tourist attraction. Raised on a tall terrace
and completed in 1651, it is a tribute alike to the
tenacity of its builders and the resilience of the art
tradition it represents. It attaches a double storied
Mandapa (hall) to a double - storied, saandhara (that
having a covered ambulatory) sanctum. The mandapa has
another storey tucked within its pyramidal samavarna
(bell - roof) while the hollow clustered spire over the
sanctum contains two more, non - functional stories.
Lanes taking off from many of the sheharpanah (city
wall) converge on the Jagdish Temple and walking
leisurely through them brings you face with the many
layers of the cultural palimpsest that Udaipur is.
Jagdish Temple was built by Maharana Jagat Singh Ist in
1651 A.D. It is a good example of Indo - Aryan
architecture.
Fateh Sagar Lake- Lovers Paradise : Fateh Sager
Lake is situated in the north of Lake Pichola. It is a
peaceful and relaxing place to spend leisure time. This
beautiful Fateh Sager Lake is set with infinite beauty
amidst the Aravali hills. It was originally build by
Maharana Jai Singh in the year 1678 AD, but later on
reconstructed and extended by Maharana Fateh Singh, In
the middle of lake, you can see a grand Nehru park,
which is a popular garden island and showcases a boat
shaped cafe. The lake is one of the major attractions of
Udaipur.
Lake Pichola - The Sapphire Udaipur : Lake
Pichola is one of the most fascinating lakes, which has
two islands, Jag Niwas and the Jag Mandir. This
beautiful shimmering lake is 4km long and 3 km wide,
originally built by Maharana Udai Singh II after he
discovered the jewel of Rajasthan "Udaipur". There are
many ghats, like the bathing and washing ghats, which
can be approached through boats from the City Palace of
Udaipur (Bansi Ghat). In the heart of lake, most
delicate world marvel is built the Lake Palace which is
now converted into a heritage palace hotel. The lake is
fairly shallow even at the time of heavy rains and gets
dry easily at the time of severe drought. Once the
island dries, it makes the best time to take the leisure
walk inside the most remote parts of Lake Pichola, where
one can sight rows of crocodiles.
Udaipur Solar Observatory- Asia's only solar
observatory, The Udaipur Solar Observatory is situated
on an island in the middle of the Lake Fatehsagar
(Location: 240 35.1' : 730 42.8' ) and the main office
building is located at its NW-shore near Bari Road -
Rani Road Junction. The site is run under PRL (Physical
Reaserch Lab) in Ahemdabad. The sky conditions at
Udaipur are quite favourable for solar observations. The
large water body surrounding the telescopes decreases
the amount of heating of the surface layers. This
decreases the turbulence in the air mass and thereby
improves the image quality and seeing. The main
objective of obtaining the high spatial and temporal
resolution observations of solar photospheric and
chromospheric activity is to understand the various
dynamic phenomena occurring on the surface of the
Sun.USO(UDAIPUR SOLAR OBSERVATORY) is one of The six
sites comprising the Global Oscillations Network Group
Network in World.
