Udaipur
We took a rather civilised train ride from Jaipur to reach Udaipur, the ‘Venice of India’! We’ve not been to the Italian parallel, but Udaipur was wonderful. It has two large lakes which have historic buildings sprinkled arounda as well as luxury hotels which look like landmarks themselves!
We stayed in a couple of beautiful hotels; one was a converted palace and the other looked and felt just like one… It was right next to the lake and a nature reserve (which used to be an old tiger hunting area). Next door, there was a sister resort which had been labelled 6*! That hotel truly was stunning. It was the most elaborately decorated and furnished hotel we have ever seen.
From our hotel we took a sunset boat ride around the important sights. We watched the locals go about their evening routines and saw the white marble palaces and temples turn pink.
We visited the town which was of course bustling and busy, it was Indian after all! However, it was much smaller than Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and seem to have a relaxed character about it. Every street invited a thousand photographs – the light was so good, and the way of life so picturesque. We visited the huge Royal Palace which is the most dominant building around the lake. It had some exceptional examples of paintings, mirrored artwork, which we enjoyed spending time marvelling over, and of course, had great views.
We stumbled across a mirror craft workshop which was selling replica items to that which we saw in the Palace. It seemed like a labour of love as every piece of glass was held by hand and filed. Some pieces were just 1mm wide!
A short stay, but a memorable one, we would love to return to Udaipur and spend more time there.
Udaipur top tips:
- Make sure it is on your list of places to visit!
- Spend some time just walking through the streets, you may meet some interesting characters and can really soak up the feel of the place
- Visit the palace, it is the main attraction, after all
The palace by night
Lots of wildlife
Coloured Glass peacock
Peering inside from the lake
Sunset on the majestic lake
Decorative shutters
Gulab
Street seller
So many eagles
