Udaipur – A stunning destination to visit in winter

By Ananya Ambrit

If you are searching for a perfect winter destination, then Udaipur is the place for you. The City of Lakes, furnished with the soothing colour of white not only offers you a pleasant atmosphere, but also an age-long history, a vibrant culture and a breathtaking landscape.

On the first day of our vacation, we woke up early and boarded the Vistara airlines flight from Mumbai to Udaipur. It was pleasant seeing the lush green fields, mountains and small lakes from the height of 35,000 ft. When we landed in Udaipur, it was freezing cold.

We rented an Innova car and reached our hotel. It was called ‘Justa Sajjangarh’. My room had a beautiful view of the Aravalli range. Our hotel had a swimming pool and indoor as well as outdoor games like chess, table tennis, cricket and badminton. We freshened up and went to have lunch in ‘Rajwada Bites’. It was delicious. After that, we went to watch the cultural/puppet show called ‘Kumbha Sangeet’. Here we saw ‘Dharohar’ (a folk dance of Udaipur) in which a woman carried a sword in her mouth and danced. But the most remarkable dance was when a woman carried 7 to 8 pots on her head and balanced herself on two glasses. The dances and puppet show were fabulous. In the end, I also went up on the stage to enjoy the Rajasthani music.

After that, we visited ‘Saheliyon ki Badi’. This was the place where queens and princesses would spend their evenings. It had a magnificent garden with 7 fountains. It also had jharokhas, a lotus pool and marble elephants.

Our second day was equally adventurous. We started our day with a two-hour drive to the Great Wall of India. It is situated 1900 m above sea level. It is the longest wall after The Great Wall of China in the world. Climbing at the top of the fort was really fun but also exhausting. While climbing we came across numerous Pols (gates) like Aaret Pol and Halla Pol, and many temples like Neel Kanth Mahadev Temple, Mataji Temple, etc., which had their own significance. From the top of the fort, we had a spectacular view of the entire area. There were mountains on one side and a wall extending on the other side.

After that, we returned to Udaipur city and went to the famous shopping market called ‘Hathipole bazaar’. It is famous for exquisite handicrafts, colourful and bright textiles – especially Bandhej and Lehriya. We did a lot of shopping of traditional things in Udaipur.

On the third day, we drove to the City Palace. It is the second largest palace in India after Umaid Bhavan Palace.

Then we went to Fateh Sagar Lake for boating which is surrounded by hills and woods. The waves were calm and peaceful. After the boating, we did camel riding which made us feel like an Arab. After that we visited ‘Bapu Bazar’ which is famous for camel leather bags, footwear, silver and camel bone jewellery, Rajasthani bandhani and batik sarees. The next day was the fourth and last day of our vacation. We had our breakfast, had a nature walk and headed to the airport with sweet memories of Udaipur. It was sad leaving Udaipur behind and returning to the scorching heat of Mumbai. Also, due to time constrain, we weren’t able to cover Chittorgarh Fort, but I hope that soon I would get a chance to visit the largest fort of India.