Udaipur

The city of Udaipur was founded by Maharana Udai Singh jee in the 15^th century. Udaipur is adorned with beautiful lakes, white palaces and the majestic Aravali hills making it one of the most romantic cities of India. It is fondly known as ‘The City of Lakes’ or ‘The White City’.

Connectivity to Udaipur is good. It is connected to major cities via railways and is linked to many major cities via roads-National highways 8 and 76 would lead to Udaipur.

Places I visited:

1.       Lake Pichola:

Lake Pichola is an artificial lake and is one of the most picturesque lakes of Rajasthan. On one side of the lake are all the posh and expensive hotels and on the other adjacent side was our hotel along with many other budget hotelsJ. We had a breathtaking view of the lake from our hotel room. I could spend days at Lake Pichola without getting bored. Just gazing at the lake from the hotel room was a relaxing experience. The boat ride in the evening took about an hour and the sunset over the lake was tranquilizing. Bejeweled with marvelous structures like the Lake Palace, Jag Mandir Palace, Mohan Mandir etc., the lake rightly serves as the backbone of tourism in Udaipur.

Lake Palace: The Lake palace is a luxury hotel built on one of the islands on this lake.

Jag Mandir Palace: This is a well maintained palace with a beautiful garden at the backside. The view from the top is splendid-a treat for people fond of photography.

2.       Bagore ki Haveli:

This is a perfect place to enjoy the famous music and dance of Rajasthan. It is a huge haveli with numerous rooms. Mirror and colored glass used for interior is the specialty of its architecture. There are many items on display that give us a glimpse of the royal era. It was nice to just stroll around and have a peek at some of the rooms. The USP of this place is the cultural event that they host in the evening. It is a great experience to enjoy live dance and music performances by the local artists of Rajasthan. The ticket price is nominal.

3.       City Palace:

It is a gigantic palace and displays a mind blowing union of Rajasthani and Mughal architectural styles. The palace is built using marble and granite.The interiors display exquisite wall paintings, murals, glass work and everything royal. Many gateways lead to the palace.There are many parts of the palace like Badi Mahal, Amar Vilas, Krishna Vilas, Durbar Hall, Rang Bhawan etc, The palace museum possesses some very interesting exhibits. I felt we needed a lot more time to visit the city palace than we had.

4.       Chetak Smarak:

The story of Chetak, Maharana Pratap’s loyal horse fascinated me since childhood. A visit to Chetak smarak brought back all those stories of bravery we read at school. Chetak smarak is built in the memory of Chetak who died after helping Maharana Pratap escape the battleground of Haldighati. I really like the museum dedicated to the Haldighati battle. I would recommend just stopping by on the way to Haldighati.

5.        Fatehsagar Lake:

This lake is situated in the middle of the city and is surrounded by hills. The lake is well maintained and gets crowded in the evening when a lot of street food options are available

6.       Eklingji Temple:

This is an ancient temple dedicated to lord Shiva and has a great historical significance. Temple is surrounded by rock walls and the complex is made of marble and granite. Many other temples are situated within the temple complex. It is situated around 20ish km from Udaipur and I definitely did not find it worth the travel- Nothing extraordinary for me.

7.       Jagdish Temple:

This is situated right in the middle of the city and just behind the city palace. The marble carvings are beautiful.

8.       Vintage Collection of Classic Cars Museum:

I am not into cars and this museum is ONLY about cars. I am not sure why I visited this place :).This would be an interesting place for people who are fond of vintage cars. I would definitely skip this on my next visit to Udaipur.

     My two cents:

1.  You need a lot of time and stamina to enjoy a thorough tour of the city palace. For travelers with kids or elderly people it might be really exhausting.

2. For Bagore ki Haveli, be on time. Buy the camera ticket for a better seat.

3. A guide or an audio guide is a MUST for all the forts and palaces. There is always an interesting story associated with almost everything. Guides would spice up this experience as they narrate these stories with utmost excitement.

4. Do try the street food.

5. Buy a miniature painting as a souvenir. Spend some time at any miniature painting gallery or shop and try to understand about this unique art. It is really very interesting.

6. Read some history on your own about Haldighai battle and to get a better feel of Chetak Smarak and Haldighati. It would definitely be an add on to the experience.

Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is named after Maharawal Jaisal Singh jee who founded this city. The word Jaisalmer means ‘The Hill Fort of Jaisal’.The city is fondly known as ‘The Golden City’ as almost everything in the city is made using yellow sand and yellow sandstone, surrounding it with a mesmerizing golden halo.

Places I visited:

      1. Jaisalmer Fort:

Jaisalmer is the only living fort in India and is situated on Meru hill. There is a nostalgic feel to the fort-hundreds of families have been living inside the fort since generations. The fort is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The main attractions inside the fort are the Royal palace i.e. Raj Mahal, various Jain temples and the Laxminath temple. The architecture is simply splendid.

2. Patwon Ki Haveli:

Patwon Ki Haveli is a cluster of 5 havelis located in a narrow lane quite near to the Patwa complex. These small havelis were built by Guman Chand Patwa, a rich merchant who built these havelis for his 5 sons. The Patwas were traders of gold and silver threads so these havelis are also known as ‘the mansion of brocade merchants’. The construction of these havelis spanned over 50 years. Each of these havelis is a magnificent display of craftsmanship. Like most other buildings of Jaisalmer, these havelis are also constructed using the yellow sandstone but the entrance is brown and the pillars are beautifully carved. The walls display some amazing mirror work and paintings.

3. Gadisagar Lake:

The Gadisagar Lake is located on the outskirts of the city and was built as a water reservoir in the 14^th century to conserve rain water. The lake is surrounded by some temples. The highlight for me was the entrance to the lake- ‘Tilon Ka Pol’ or the ‘Gate of Tillon’ named after its builder. Tillon ka Pol is a gateway made of yellow sandstone that arches across the road to the lake and is very creatively carved. The lake in itself wasn’t much appealing to me. I wish it were cleaner.

4. Desert Visit and Camping:

We reached the desert in the afternoon where extremely disciplined camels were waiting for us and they took us further into the desert. It was a 2 hour camel safari to the sand dunes, a little too much for our bottoms J . We were glad to avoid the overcrowded sam dunes and arrive at a quiet area. We walked up the highest dune and simply gazed at the sun displaying vivid colors as it set beautifully. There was total silence all around and it was mesmerizing. We then proceeded to our camp location and enjoyed some yummy Rajasthani food. It was a just magical to look at the star lit sky in complete wilderness, I sat there for hours trying to cherish the moment. Our camps were clean and cozy. We woke up early to a beautiful sunrise, strolled around for some time .After we had breakfast, the camels dropped us back to the jeep and we came back to the hotel. The desert camping was no doubt the most memorable experience of my Rajasthan trip.

My 2 Cents:

1. Like all major cities of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer too has a decent transport system. If you’re on a budget trip like me, make use of the public transport. Take a rickshaw for the narrow lanes if you don’t prefer to walk and buses or autos to other places. It’s much cheaper and so much cooler.

2. A guide or an audio guide is a MUST for all the forts and palaces. There is always an interesting story associated with almost everything. Guides would spice up this experience as they narrate these stories with utmost excitement.

3. Carry a sunscreen for the desert safari. Prefer open footwear.

4. Do take out some time to explore Kuldhara , an abandoned village in Jaisalmer district that has some interesting history and is thought to be haunted. I did not visit Kuldhara and I really regret it. Will have to plan another trip to visit this place.

5.  Buy an item made up of yellow sandstone as a souvenir.