| | Overview (Source: Frommers) |
405km (251 miles) SW of Jaipur; 260km (161 miles) S of Jodhpur The "City of Sunrise," often described as the most romantic city in India, was built around four lakes, the placid blue waters reflecting ethereal white palaces and temples, beyond which shimmer the distant Aravalli Hills. Udaipur has a real sense of space and peace, and the city is mercifully free of the kind of intense capitalist hucksterism that so marks the Indian street experience. This may have something to do with its proud Hindu history, for the city is not only known for its gracious palaces, temperate climate, and beautiful views, but for maintaining a fierce independence from even the most powerful outside influences. It fought bloody wars to repel Turkish, Afghan, Tartar, and Mongol invaders and rejected allegiances with the Mughals, only to acquiesce in 1818, when the state grudgingly came under British political control. Capital of the legendary Sisodias of Mewar, believed to be direct descendants of the Sun (an insignia you'll see everywhere), Udaipur was built on the shores of Lake Pichola by Udai Singh II in 1559, who returned here after the third and final sacking of the previous Mewar stronghold, Chittaurgarh. Udai Singh's son, Pratap, kept the Mughal invaders at bay for a further 25 years and is said to have been so disgusted by Man Singh and the Jaipur raja's obsequious relations with the Mughals that, after one historic meeting, he had the ground where Man Singh had walked washed wi
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| When To Go (Source: Fodors) | Top | The best time to visit Rajasthan and Gujarat is from October to March. Unfortunately, everyone knows this, so Rajasthan sights are packed and hotel tariffs are at their highest. If you're planning your Rajasthan vacation during the peak season, do so in advance. (Because Gujarat gets a fraction of the tourists that Rajasthan does, this advice is less important if you're heading there.) If you want to get away from the hordes and can bear the heat of a desert summer, go to Rajasthan in April. By May and June, it's brutally hot. The monsoon season (July-September) is fine unless you want to see the wildlife parks, which tend to flood. Southern Rajasthan, especially Udaipur, is lovely at the tailend of the monsoons: everything is fresh and green after the rains.
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