Udaipur — Where to travel? Where to eat?
I will describe to the best possible extent all the places worth visiting so that you can decide where you would like to go. I will also mention good places to eat at the end of this blog.
1. Fatehsagar Lake:
It is a man-made lake and I can easily say the most favourite place for most of the Udaipurites. In the evening people come here to just sit and hang out. Mostly the place is filled with students but still for me it is always peaceful to come here.
The best time to visit it is in the evening or early morning. There is a roadside sandwich place whose sandwiches are famous and coffee of ‘Sai Sagar’ coffee shop.
2. Lake Pichola
It is another artificial lake and the hotel “Lake Palace” is situated inside this lake, “Jag Mandir” is also situated inside this lake and the only way to travel to these places is by boat. If you plan to go here, I suggest you go for a boat ride. It will be a 20-minute boat ride but a very pleasant one. There are two kinds of boat rides possible
a. With Entry into Jag Mandir: For this, you will have to purchase tickets from City Palace. In this boat ride, you will also get to see Jag Mandir. I suggest you to go for this only if you have time. Jag Mandir is good but nothing extraordinary.
b. Without Entry to Jag Mandir: For this, you can get the tickets easily at Pichola Pal, opposite Dudh Talai Lake.
Both the boat rides are same other than Jag Mandir entry.
(The white building is Lake Palace, and behind it, the yellow one is City Palace)
It is a temple located at the top of a hill. It takes around 30 minutes to go to the top. One of the best places to witness sunrise or sunset and get a view of the entire city.
(The lake in the first image is Fateh Sagar Lake)
Also known as Monsoon Palace and is situated at the top of another hill at a height greater than that of Neemach Mata Temple. Although the best time to visit is during monsoon, it is still a good place to get the view of Aravali Hills. It is said that the Maharana Sajjan Singh built it at the top of the hill to get a view of his ancestral home, Chittaurgarh. You can get auto rickshaws or cabs which can take you to the top and they will only bring you back. There are no cab services at the top and you will have to make the auto-rickshaw or cab wait at monsoon palace.
5. Ambrai Ghat
It is a lesser known place, gradually getting famous among students and thus tourist guide websites as well and is one of my favourite places in Udaipur. It is just a small “ghat” (set of steps leading down to a river or lake, in this case, Pichola Lake). It is generally quiet and peaceful. Best time to visit is after sunset, at night. It is just in front of City Palace and thus the best place to witness the lightings and beauty of the City Palace at night.
You can understand the history of Udaipur and Maharana Pratap here. It is also the home to Arvind Singh Ji Mewar who is the son of Bhagwat Singh Ji Mewar who was the ruler of Mewar Province. My old school is also situated inside the city palace complex.
Other places to visit:
Karni Mata Temple (Another trek like Neemach Mata Temple, ropeway also available), Badi Lake (Little outside the city), Jagdish Temple (near City Palace), Gangaur Ghat (near City Palace).
Famous Places to eat:
It is famous for daal baati, which is traditional Rajasthani Food. It is situated at Suraj pole which is one of the prime location and easy to reach.
2. Ambrai Resturant:
It is near Ambrai Ghat (5th point above) and is by the lakeside so the view is spectacular. If you are going here, you can skip the Ambrai Ghat, both of them essentially have the same view.
3. Jheel’s Ginger Coffee Bar & Bakery:
It is a lakeside cafe famous for the view, though the food isn’t the best. It is near City Palace.
It is my favourite paav bhaji. The ambience is not very good and also not the place as such. But the taste is very amazing. There are a lot of duplicate Paav Bhaji stalls and restaurants by the same name so I suggest you go to this particular place only.
