Udaipur

Lake Pichola and its island palaces

The City Palace stands along the lake's eastern bank, and two island palaces sit out on the water: Jag Mandir, built between 1620 and about 1652, and Jag Niwas, built between 1743 and 1746. A boat ride around sunset gives the best view of the palace and the islands.

The City Palace

The City Palace is a sprawling complex of courtyards and halls. Look for the Mor Chowk, known for its peacock mosaics in coloured glass, and the Chini Chitrashala with its blue-and-white ceramics. An evening sound and light show in the palace's Manak Chowk tells the history of Mewar.

Around the city

• Jagdish Temple — a carved, three-storey temple to Vishnu, built in 1651 by Maharana Jagat Singh I.
• Bagore ki Haveli — an 18th-century mansion at Gangaur Ghat on Lake Pichola, built by a prime minister of Mewar, with more than a hundred rooms of costumes and art.
• Saheliyon ki Bari — the 'Garden of the Maidens', with fountains, marble elephants and a lotus pool.
• Fateh Sagar — a second lake to the north, where the hill of Moti Magri carries a statue of Maharana Pratap on his horse Chetak.

Beyond the old city

• Shilpgram — a rural arts and crafts complex near Fateh Sagar, set up as a living museum of the folk and tribal ways of life of western India.
• Ahar — the cenotaphs of Mewar's Maharanas, beside a small museum of earthen pottery, sculpture and archaeological finds, including a 10th-century metal figure of the Buddha.
• Sajjangarh, the Monsoon Palace — a palace on a hilltop above the city, with wide views over the lakes and the Aravallis.
• Udai Sagar — one of Udaipur's lakes, east of the city, begun in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh by damming the river Berach.

Rajasthan Tourism calls Udaipur the 'Venice of the East' for these lakes. Further afield, Jaisamand Lake is, by its description, the second-largest man-made freshwater lake in Asia.

How long to spend in Udaipur

Two days covers the City Palace, a boat on Lake Pichola, the Jagdish Temple and an evening at the ghats; a third day leaves time for Fateh Sagar and the gardens. Udaipur is the final stop on the Royal Rajasthan route.