#EPISODE 7
UDAIPUR
From Jodhpur, we traveled 5 hours to reach Udaipur. We took some rest and after lunch, we started exploring. For lunch, we had regular meals of Udaipur that has poori, chappati, paneer masala, cucumber, dhaal, some rice and bitter guard dish. It was really awesome and delicious.
When I think about Udaipur, I remember lakes, boat rides, beautiful temples, colorful shops, tasty food. Before exploring Udaipur, let us see some facts about it.
QUICK FACTS OF UDAIPUR
- Udaipur is called “THE WHITE CITY” of Rajasthan.
- It is because of many lakes present in Udaipur, gives an illusion of white color everywhere.
- Plenty of lakes in Udaipur leads it to referred as “VENICE OF THE EAST“. Also, it is one of the romantic places in India.
- The city is named after its founder, King Udai Singh II.
- UDAIPUR – UDAI Singh II.
- The city experiences tropical climate.
BOAT RIDES
As Udaipur is the “white city”, (which is meant by lakes) So, after lunch, we went to Lakeside for an evening stroll. We went boating for 15-20 mins and reached the Nehru Park.
By boat, we reached the Nehru Park. We relaxed there, gathered and had snacks, chit chats.
We stayed for about one hour and watched the sunset, returned to the start point through the boat.
In the Nehru park, we saw different varieties of birds. One of them, I captured.
CITY PALACE
The city palace is 400 years old, located in Udaipur. It was constructed by Maharaja Udai Singh II, after shifting the capital from Chittor to Udaipur.
This palace was the fusion of the Rajput and Mughal architecture style. It is located on the banks of Pichola Lake.
From the city palace, we can see the Lake Palace. We can reach there by boat rides.
The city palace is one of the grand and splendid palaces of Rajasthan. So it is also called the “Palace of Palaces“. The palace was built by Maharaja Udai Singh II.
It is believed that Maharaja will weigh the equal amount of gold and silver and distribute them among the local people. The gardens in and around the palace are well maintained. It gives us the pleasant look.
The palace is so majestic and grand. The room doors are beautiful and made of wood.
In those days, the Royals would conduct the elephant fights. Before the fight starts, opium was provided to the elephants.
Some of the shops in and around the palace. I captured one of them below.
One of the important Hindu temples in Udaipur is Jagadish temple. Located in the City Palace of Udaipur. It has 32 steps to reach the top.
The temple is the fusion of Indo-Aryan architecture. Few photos of the beautiful architecture in and around the temple.
This temple has the grand, splendid hand carvings, that decorated the wall, ceilings, pillars.
CABLE CAR RIDE
Later in the evening, we went to enjoy the cable car ride. Through the cable car, we reached a point from there we walked to reach the Karni Mata Temple, also called the “Rat temple”.
It is similar to the one in Bikaner but quite smaller than that. The view from the temple is beautiful.
Some local folks say that in olden days, people used to reach the temple by walking, Nowadays by cable cars.
MOUNT ABU
We started towards Mount Abu, after having breakfast in Udaipur. The breakfast was awesome. We had poori, potato masala, bread sandwich, upma, orange juice, and coffee. It took almost two and half hours to reach there.
Mount Abu is a beautiful hill station, which has cold nights and even the mornings are cold. I did not take off my sweater. Mount Abu is called “the oasis of the desert“.
ADHAR DEVI TEMPLE
The temple is present inside the cave. After climbing 365 stairs, (yes! you heard me right!!) we reach there. Adhar Devi temple is the temple of Goddess Durga.
Adhar Devi temple has many pilgrims while “Navarathri” festival. The view from the temple is stunning. We enjoyed it. I recommend you to wear proper clothing and footwear, or else it will be difficult to climb.
DILWARA TEMPLE
One of the finest Jain temple built in the 11th century is Dilwara temple. The temple is about 2kms from Mt Abu. Cameras prohibited inside the temple. Dilwara temple built using marbles. The architecture is stunning and admirable. One of the best place to visit in a lifetime.
GURU SIKHAR PEAK
The highest peak of Aravalli mountain range is Guru Sikhar Peak, which is 5650ft. It is very famous for Sunset point. We reach the sunset point either by horse riding, walking or in trolley pushed by the “trolley men”. We reached there by walking and watched the beautiful sunset.
NAKKI LAKE
After watching the sunset, we went to Nakki lake for an evening stroll. We roamed around the lake market and had dinner. It was very cold around the lake.
After shopping and dinner, we left to the railway station.
And we have reached the end of #rajasthandiaries. Hope you liked. Feel free to Comment below.
To explore Blue city of Rajasthan, click here – Jodhpur