Places
of interest in Rajasthan
Udaipur
Udaipur,
a serene and beautiful city, set in the Aravalli ranges is surrounded by
mountains and hills. It is described as the "City of Dawn", "The
Lake City". It is a romantic city with its three lakes, a fresh and
placid spot amidst the desert bound cities with their forts ruined by successive
wars.
Udaipur was
founded by Maharana Udai Singh in 1576, after Chittorgarh was destoryed
by the Moghuls in the third attack on Chittor. The new city was founded
in the banks of the lake Pichola, which is dotted with islands. The
other two lakes are Fateh Sagar and Udai Sagar. Originally there
were eleven gates, of which five remain.
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Maharana's
Palace & Museum |
Overlooking the
lake Pichola is the City Palace, completely white and majestic. It
is one of the largest in Rajasthan and the main entrance is a triple arched
gate called the Tripolia. Within the palace there are beautiful locations
with courtyards, pavilions, terraces, corridors, Chini Chitrasala, the
Sheesh Mahal with inlaid mirror work, Krishna Vilas with miniature paintings,
Bari Mahal Dilkush mahal, Moti mahal, Bhim Vilas palace with its wall paintings
of Krishna and the Museum. Mosaics of peacocks and paintings adorn
the walls. Princess Krishna Kumari drank poison in order to avert
the battle between two rival suitors at the Krishna Vilas.
Two
views of the Maharana's Palace beside the lake
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Island
Palaces |
The lake Pichola
is dotted with islands. On two of the islands stand two palaces Jag
Mandir and Jag Niwas, built by Jagat Singh II. The Jag Mandir is
a yellow standstone palace with a marble dome, a mosaic of black and white
marble tiles on the floor. Prince Khurram & Shah Jehan at a later
period took refuge in this palace. In the evenings parakeets in huge
numbers can be seen flying back to their nest. The Jag Nivas, which was
the summer residence of the royalty now houses a luxury hotel.
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Fateh
Sagar Lake |
This lake is located
north of Lake Pichola and is linked to it by a canal. It was originally
constructed by Maharana Jai Singh in 1678 and was later reconstructed after
its destruction by floods by Maharajah Fateh Singh. Tourists can
enjoy motor boat rides and also visit the island garden situated in the
midst of lake called the Nehru Park.
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Saheliyon-ki-Bari |
Situated near
the Fateh Sagar Lake, these gardens known as the Gardens of the Maidens
of Honour was built by Maharana Sangram Singh. There are four pools
with several fountains with elephant trunks for spouts surrounded by a
lawn, flowers, shady trees and lotus pools.
Saheliyon-ki-Bari
|
Pratap
Memorial |
is a memorial
of Maharana Pratap of Mewar overlooking the Fateh Sagar. It stands
atop the Moti Magri (pearl hill). Homage is paid to Pratap Singh
and his faithful charger Chetak.
Maharana
Pratap on his faithful charger Chetak
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Bharatiya
Lok Kala Mandal - Museum |
This museum houses
a rich collection folk art, dresses, ornaments, puppets, masks, dolls,
musical instruments, paintings, etc.
|
Ahar |
is the ancient
capital of the Sisodias. It is located 3 kms east of Udaipur. There
are numerous chhatris of white marble, memorials to the royalty.
There is an archealogical museum which stores a collection of very old
- atleast four thousand years old earthen pots and remains.
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Gulab
Bagh |
This is the rose
garden planned by Maharana Sajjan Singh. There is also a library
where there is a great collection of old books. A toy train, Aravalli
Express takes tourists round the garden.
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The
Sajjan Garh |
palace fort is
in the summit of a peak and there is a spectacular view of the lakes and
city from here.
a section
of the fort
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Jagdish
Temple |
is constructed
in the Indo-Aryan style and is located about 1 km from the City Palace.
It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and was built in 1651 AD by Maharana Jagat
Singh I. There are relief carvings of animals like the alligator,
elephants and of celestical musicians. There are stone elephants
on either side of the sttep staircase.
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