Visit Udaipur, the City of Lakes and Gardens in India

If you are fond of visiting historical cities full of lakes and gardens, Udaipur in the State of Rajasthan in India should never be missed out. Udaipur is called the city of Lakes. The city of Udaipur is full of lakes, palaces, and beautiful exquisite gardens with fantastic water fountains. Udaipur was established by Maharana Udaisinh in the year 1567. The capital was shifted from Chitorgadh to Udaipur in view of repetitive attacks from the mogul king Akbar. This shifting was done based on the advice of one famous saint who said that if capital is established at the bank of the Pichoula Lake, it will never be lost in a war. This turned out to be true and Udaipur could never be conquered by the mogul kings in spite of their repeated attempts.

Udaipur is well connected by air, rail and road. The nearest airport is Dabor that is only 14 miles away from Udaipur. It is also connected by train from the major cities like Ahmedabad and Delhi. However, if you have to reach Udaipur from any major cities of Gujarat, then, coming here by road through hired car or taxi is the best option. There are hundreds of hotels here to stay of all the types and classes. The best of all hotels is the Hotel Lake Palace that is situated in the middle of the Lake Pichaula. This is the five star hotel and is very expensive in the range of Rs.10000 ($250) to Rs. 16000 ($400) per day depending upon type of the room or the suite you select.

In spite of this, it is worth staying at this lavish hotel at least for couple of days to experience the royal life of the kings. As the hotel is in the middle of the lake, there is an arrangement of taking you to the shore and bringing back through luxurious shikaras. The hotel looks like a large palace with the best interior decorations. You will feel as if you have taken a birth as the king. Even though I was not able to afford this luxurious hotel, I stayed with my wife here at this hotel for 2 days, and these two days were the best days of my life. You also must stay at this hotel, may be for a short period of 2 days.

There are other hotels like Hill Top palace, Heritage Resort, Fateh Prakash Palace, Laxmivilas Palace, Shiv Nivas Palace, and Rajdarshan. All these are higher middle class hotels in the range of Rs. 3600 ($90) to Rs. 8000 ($200) per day for an air-conditioned double room. The hotels like Green Villa international, Ashish Palace, and Chandralok are budget type hotels having the tariff range of Rs.1000 ($50) per day. The cheaper accommodations are also available like Hotel Fountain, Pratap Country Inn, Vinaik, and Hotel Sarovar having the tariff in the range of Rs. 400 ($10) to Rs.1200 ($30) per day for a standard double room. All these hotel charges do not include any meals and these are to be paid and arranged extra.

The best time to visit Udaipur is during the winter from October to March as the summer is extremely hot here with the maximum temperature in the range of around 115 degrees F. if you happen to visit Udaipur during summer, make sure to book the air-conditioned room with emergency power source available in the hotel. The special fair is held at Udaipur in July/August every year to celebrate various festivals. Such fairs can be enjoyable as the local Rajasthani people take part in these fairs whole heartedly wearing most colorful dresses and perform the famous Rajasthani folk dances. Udaipur is a city that is to be enjoyed thoroughly by staying around 4 to 5 days. Make sure to keep lot of financial budget in order to fully enjoy this city of Udaipur. The total expense at Udaipur for staying for 4 nights and 5 days can be around Rs.60000 ($1500) on all inclusive basis for two persons. This is just an estimate and it can vary based on your own standard of living. However, this expense also includes 2 days stay at the most famous Hotel Lake palace.

Udaipur has lots of tourists' attractions that are to be enjoyed. There are some near-by excursions also that can be visited in hired car or taxi. Make sure to live like a king at least for couple of days while you are at Udaipur. It will be the most memorable experience of your life.