City of Lakes
Udaipur travel guide
Udaipur is the one Rajasthan city that rewards slowing down. The forts are smaller than Jodhpur's and the markets tamer than Jaipur's, but nowhere else in India do water, hills and 16th-century architecture line up like this. We have driven these lanes since 2009 — here is what actually matters.
- Best time to visit
- October to March. September is green and empty after the monsoon and is our own favourite month.
- How many days
- 3 days for the city, 5 with Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur
Top things to do in Udaipur
City Palace
Enter at 9.30 am sharp. The Zenana Mahal courtyards at the far end are where the crowds thin out.
Lake Pichola boat ride
The 5 pm slot from Rameshwar Ghat gives you Jag Mandir with the sunset behind the Aravallis.
Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace
Go for the view, not the building. Private cars stop at the base gate.
Bagore ki Haveli
The 7 pm Dharohar folk show is genuinely good — book by 6.15 pm for front rows.
Jagdish Temple
Free, five minutes from City Palace, and the carving is better than most ticketed sites.
Hidden places most visitors miss
- Badi Lake (Bada Madar) — 12 km out, marble steps into still water, near-empty at sunset.
- Ambrai Ghat at 6.30 am, when the dhobis work and the palace is lit by flat morning light.
- Sas-Bahu temples at Nagda, 22 km north, 10th-century carving with almost no visitors.
- Kagdi Pickup Weir near Sajjangarh for monsoon overflow views nobody photographs.
Where and what to eat
- Dal baati churma at Natraj Dining Hall — locals' thali, not a hotel imitation.
- Millets of Mewar for Rajasthani millet food that will not wreck a sensitive stomach.
- Mewari gatte and ker sangri at Kiran's, off Chandpole.
- Skip the rooftop lake-view restaurants for dinner; the view is the product, not the food.
Photography spots
- Ambrai Ghat for the classic Lake Palace frame — sunrise, not sunset.
- Karni Mata ropeway top station for the whole lake system in one shot.
- The white stepped ghat at Gangaur for the blue-hour reflection.