Udaipur is one of my favorite spots in India. There is a peaceful lake and Rajasthani architecture. There isn't a ton to see here, so it's really about relaxing.
We arrived on the night train from Mumbai that took about 17 hours. It was a cold night with out much sleep in Sleeper class as people kept turning on the light and talking in daytime voices. As we move further north, the shells and sarongs that are doubling as sheets aren't cutting it for the cold nights.
From the train station, we got an auto rickshaw to the center by randomly choosing a hotel that showed up on Maps.me. It turned out to be a good spot, so we stayed at Puskar Guest House for Rs. 500 per night. Wasn't the cleanest spot in the world, but good value and the hosts were very kind. The rest of the place seemed to be inhabited by longterm renters.
For the next 3 days, we wandered around the city taking in a few sights, enjoying rooftop views and sampling coffee (Jheel's Ginger Coffee Bar has the strongest cappuccino).
1. Jagdish Temple
Smack dab in the center of the old city is the Jagdish temple. It is quite spectacular up close due to all the carvings.
 |
| Jagdish temple |
 |
| Jagdish temple tower |
 |
| Jagish temple carvings |
 |
| Jagdish temple carvings |
 |
| Outside the Jagdish temple |
 |
| Jagdish temple from restaurant across the street, which has tasty, but pricier food. |
2. Lake Pichola
The lake is a calming spot and can be viewed from a number of different spots: rooftop terraces, ghats, the walking bridge, the sunset spot, and from a boat.
 |
| Gangur ghat |
 |
| View from Gangur ghat across Lake Pichola |
 |
| Two women watching their children play on Gangur ghat |
 |
| Woman cleaning at Gangur ghat |
 |
| City Palace from across Lake Pichola |
 |
| Udaipur |
 |
| Sunset from Hanuman temple |
 |
| View of mosque from the top of Cafe Satori |
 |
| View of Gangur ghat from Restaurant Harigarh |
3. The City Palace
The palace is best viewed from the outside, unless you have rupees to burn. It is Rs. 30 to enter the grounds and Rs. 250 to go inside the palace museum. The ticket allows you to go in and out throughout the day, so best to go in the am when the light hits the walls and then at night to see it all lit up.
 |
| The City Palace |
 |
| The City Palace |
 |
| City Palace museum tickets only |
 |
| The City Palace |
 |
| Entry to the Palace at night |
4. Wandering the streets
Really enjoyed wandering the streets away from all the guest houses to get a feel for Udaipur.
 |
| Advertising painted on the walls on Jagdish Temple Road |
 |
| Vegetable stall on Jagdish Temple Road |
 |
| Jagdish Temple Road |
 |
| Grapes and garbanzos on Jagdish Temple Road |
 |
| Temple on Hathipol Road |
 |
| Painted house on Hathipol Road |
 |
| Woman peeking out of 2nd story on Hathipol Road |
 |
| Laundry |
 |
| Hospital on Pannadhay Marg |
 |
| Patient at the hospital |
 |
| Guy who wanted to pose at the hospital |
 |
| Amazed that it is possible to ride the scooter with the gas canisters |
 |
| Selling pipes on Pannadhay Marg |
 |
| Boys making stakes outside their house at Shiksha Bhawan Chowk |
 |
| Baby scared of me at Shiksha Bhawan Chowk |
 |
| Vegetable cart outside Nukkad Hotel |
 |
| Cows are everywhere and huge in Udaipur |
5. Royal Cenotaphs in Atar
These were beautiful to see. To get there, we took a couple of shared auto rickshaws for Rs.10/person. It was helpful to have a map as some of the guys didn't know what we were talking about. The guard pointed to a sign that said no photos to let us know that we couldn't take photos, but then proceeded to let us know that if we paid a bit of money, than we could. Based on that, we decided that it wouldn't be a major faux-pas to take photos and we would get out of his line of sight before pulling out the cameras.
 |
| Royal Cenotaphs |
 |
| Royal Cenotaphs |
 |
| Royal Cenotaph |
 |
| Royal Cenotaph |
We left via train to Delhi. Another overnight train, this one only 12 hours. Also did sleeper class and realized that we don't have the proper blankets for sleeper class in the north at this time of year (brrr).
 |
| Udaipur train station porters |
Comments