Udaipur

What to do in Udaipur? Welcome to the “Venice of the East,” the City of Lakes… relax and enjoy yourself—that’s what the city is designed for 🙂

Udaipur is one of those cities that make you fall in love with India again, and where the progress driven by tourism is most evident.

In Udaipur, you get the impression that the community has come to realize that if tourists are happy, they’ll come back or speak highly of the city, and they’ve gotten to work: the streets are clean—by Indian standards—……

…….The vendors aren't overly pushy, and a significant infrastructure has been built with Western tastes in mind: cafés, a multitude of travel agencies, restaurants with more or less appealing views, etc.

The city enjoys a privileged location on the edge of the Pichola Lake (The photo was taken from a lookout point that can be reached by cable car (ask a tuk-tuk driver about the “cable car”; it costs about 80 Rp))

By building a massive dam—which isn't shown in the photo—one of the ruling maharajas dramatically expanded the lake's capacity, flooding the village that happened to be in its path 😡

THINGS TO DO IN UDAIPUR: VISITING ITS PALACES

And from there on, refinement takes center stage and permeates the entire city, especially through its palaces: the City Palace of Udaipur and the Bagore-Ki Haveli

Let's start with the first one. The ruling dynasty of Udaipur rushed to build a fairytale palace right on the shores of the lake: the City Palace of Udaipur. .

Although construction on the palace began in 1529, successive maharajas continued to add rooms, courtyards, and other features, each in their preferred style (European, Chinese, Mongolian, etc.), resulting in a massive (over 250 meters long) and eclectic building. Set aside a whole morning to explore it at your leisure.

So there you have it: light, color, water, the harem… everything you’d expect from an oriental palace—a frenzy of extravagance to the greater glory of the Maharaja and his successors, who expanded their fathers’ work courtyard by courtyard, facade by facade.

The upper echelons of the bureaucracy weren't about to be outdone when it came to luxury: very close to the former palace, the Bagore-Ki Haveli It was built by one of the prime ministers who followed in his footsteps—albeit on a smaller scale

Intimate and elegant spaces, more in line with good taste than ostentation. He has a curious collection of turbans, including one that weighs about 30 kg—which I suppose could only be worn by the guy with the biggest head in the world…

But the best part of this palace isn't its elaborate rooms—it's the Puppet Museum, which features a whole host of puppets dressed in traditional Rajasthani costumes, including a replica of the former royal family (here in the photo we see one of their princesses).

What are the must-do activities in Udaipur? Well, the evening puppet and dance show in the palace courtyard, with two performances (7:00–8:00 p.m. and 8:00–9:00 p.m.) for just 100 rupees; you won’t have a clue what the plot of the show is, but for me, it’s the one thing you absolutely can’t miss on your visit to Udaipur.

The distance between the luxurious past of these palaces and the present isn't all that great: some (or rather, a great deal of) luxury is represented by the Lake Palace, the iconic hotel that is almost submerged on an island in the middle of the lake.

You can only go there to stay overnight, have lunch, or have dinner, and the boat ride to get there alone costs 450 Rp (you board it at the City Palace ticket office).

You're going to get tired of hearing that scenes from the James Bond movie *Octopussy* were filmed there, and there's even a bar that plays it every night—I can't even imagine how traumatizing this must be for the bartenders 😂

THINGS TO DO IN UDAIPUR: OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST

There are many more palaces, but for a change, I'm going to suggest two other very different places to visit: the Jagdish Temple and the Ahar Cemetery

El Templo de Jagdish

The Jagdish Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Udaipur, a veritable colossus whose main tower rises 24 meters above the ground; it’s all too big to fit into a single photo..

Admission is free. The only requirements are to take off your shoes (there’s a man at the entrance who’ll watch your shoes for you in exchange for a tip) and climb all the steps up to the entrance (which are quite a few and steep…).

The interior is spectacular, with an impressive black statue of Vishnu, but unfortunately, photography is prohibited. I take a stroll through the temple, pretending not to notice, and watching to see if the Indians are breaking the no-photography rule, but no… surprisingly, they follow the rule to the letter, so I decide not to take any chances and end up missing out.

What is allowed, however, is to take pictures of the reliefs as you climb the stairs to the entrance, which is flanked by elephant guardians. To be honest, you could spend half an hour taking pictures here—they’re very finely carved and have been very well preserved.

Well, we can't take pictures inside, but we can take a closer look at the exterior of the temple, which reflects the most authentic side of India through the tradition of the pushpanjali a floral offering to the deity associated with each temple.

I'm sure that if you've visited more Hindu temples or walked through an Indian neighborhood in an Asian city, you've seen many little stalls with small yellow flowers arranged in garlands (they're called malas) or in small baskets.

The pushpanjali It consists of an act of devotion and respect toward the deity who has deigned to visit the temple through the presentation of these flowers, and is usually accompanied by food offerings such as rice or sweets. You can see these offerings not only on the altar dedicated to the corresponding deity inside the temple but also in shops and businesses in cities that seek the gratitude and protection of a particular god so that their business may prosper.

Ahar Cementery

And from the present, we move on to the Hereafter—specifically to the Ahar Cementery

Historically, it was the place where the monarchs' wives and concubines practiced Sati, the ancient and outlawed ritual in which women voluntarily threw themselves onto the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands. From there, the site fortunately evolved into the official venue for the cremation of former members of the Royal Family, whose remains are housed in these small domes.

The scene created by dozens of snowflakes and marble is quite moving and elegant. Less elegant is the behavior of the guard stationed at the mausoleum, who brazenly extorts 100 Rp from you for the right to take photos.

Leaving these palaces and cemeteries aside, you can simply take a stroll through Udaipur’s Old City and soak up the city’s middle class: its merchants and artisans. Leather-bound journals, handicrafts, textiles, and more—all in clean, well-maintained shops, with staff who’ll speak English (or whatever it takes) just to sell you something….

There are also some rather unusual businesses

But if someone asked me to name just one thing to do in Udaipur, I'd say to visit it… at night.

While this isn't Europe, at least they've taken the trouble to light up the main buildings in Udaipur, and the truth is, the effect is beautiful.

You can go out to dinner at one of the many rooftop restaurants that have opened, or enjoy the cool evening air at any of the ghat on the shores of the lake

Notwithstanding all that has been said, Udaipur is still India: the tuk-tuk drivers will try to rip you off, the shopkeepers are pushy, and the city doesn't exactly smell like roses, but all things considered, it's a place made for relaxation—a pleasant oasis amid the chaos that is this country.

I hope this has helped you figure out what to do in Udaipur. Whether you liked this post (or not), please let me know by leaving a comment!!

And if you want to know more about India: https://999millas.net/category/paises/india/

Or you can visit the Indian government's official website: https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/rajasthan/udaipur

Texto y fotos : Mike !