City Palace, Udaipur
Introduction
Udaipur,
located in Rajasthan, has the potential to make tourists feel amorous. It
woos visitors with some of the most stunning palatial structures on earth.
The City Palace, standing on the scenic Lake Pichola, is of course one of
those glaring reasons that invite travellers here from across the globe.
Palisaded with crenellated fort walls, the palace complex also has the
eminence of being the largest in the state of Rajasthan. And therefore,
leaving the city without a visit to this palace is almost blasphemous.
History
The monarchs of the Sisodia Rajput clan are known for their great aesthetic
senses, apart from their chivalry. Maharana Udai Singh, a chief ruler of the
aforementioned clan, originally built the City Palace. Like in most of the
cases, subsequent additions were made to the palatial structure by his
successors. The Raj Angan or the Royal Courtyard, which is the oldest
structure inside the palace complex, was erected by Maharana Udai Singh
himself in the 16th century.
Architecture
The well-planned structure of the palace epitomises a fine amalgamation of
the medieval European and the Chinese architecture. As you start exploring
each and every corner of the palace, you would come across with a number of
remarkable structures including palaces, gardens, fountains, gateways and
temples.
Take the main road and reach the Hati Pol or the Elephant Gate, which is
the main entrance to the palace. The Bada Pol or the Great Gate lies to the
north, leading you into the first courtyard. The courtyard, in question,
joins with the Tripolia or the Triple Gate. It here between the two gates
that you would observe eight marble-carved arches or Toranas. Under these
arches, the kings were weighed against gold and silver. An equal value of
this was dealt out among the needy and the poor.
Raj Angan or the Royal Courtyard happens to be the oldest part of the
palace. It was erected by Maharana Udai Singh himself in 1571. The palace
has numerous elegantly furnished rooms where you would see some exquisite
work of glass, enamel and paintings. At the Krishna Vilas, you can see a
number of miniature paintings depicting various festivals and royal
activities. Other worth seeing structures inside include Mor Chowk, Manak
Mahal, Bhim Vilas, Dilkhush Mahal, Laxmi Vilas Chowk, Sheesh Mahal, Moti
Mahal, Chini Chitrashala etc.
Nearby Attractions
During
your trip to Udaipur, you have to visit a number of attractions other than
the City Palace. The city offers to see such famous sights as the Lake
Palace, Jag Mandir, Saheliyon Ki Bari, Jagdish Temple, Fateh Sagar Lake,
Bahratiya Lok Kala Museum, Shilpgram, Rose Garden etc.
Reaching There
Udaipur has regular flight of the Indian Airlines connecting to places like
Jodhpur, Jaipur, Aurangabad, Mumbai and Delhi. The railway station of
Udaipur is just 4 km from the city centre. You have frequent express and
super-fast trains from here to Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Chittor, Jodhpur and
Ahmedabad. National Highway no. 8 provides good road connectivity to
Udaipur. Regular buses ply connecting the various parts of the state along
with Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.