It is that time of the year when Udaipur, the City of Lakes, blossoms with her stunning scenery. With greenery all around, lakes extravasate waters of the newly born rain and travelers ready to enjoy them.
If extravagant palace, lavish resorts, historical museums, man-made lakes, or heritage city life allures you, then Udaipur is open for you anytime of the year. But if you like to explore the raw beauty of this city and are a traveler who like offbeat destinations that are peaceful, beautiful and less explored, then you must plan to travel in the monsoon season
Most of the rural areas worth visiting are within a range of 20-30 km from downtown Udaipur. If you love road trips, then you should jump on your bikes and have an amazing ride to enjoy the lush green hills and scenic beauty. We decided to take one such road trip to Alsigarh which is around 25 km from the city.
Alsigarh is located in the southern west part of Udaipur district. It is surrounded by mountains, natural lakes, dam and small green hills, enough to mesmerize you with its peaceful aura.
In my view, to know a destination from a perspective which no travel blogs or magazines provide, you should:
1) Take a road trip to nearby rural areas.
2) Travel with a mindset like that of a local.
3) Monsoon is the best season for most of the places.
The black clouds roaring and mild drizzling gives you a pleasant experience. We were lucky to experience such drizzling on our trip. As soon as we left the city, drizzling started and everything turned green. Not literally but the greenery from the flora blossomed and as if they were expressing happiness and paying their respect to the clouds.
The ride was not so smooth, as there are areas where you will find no roads. But then the fun of biking is on such paths only. After about an hour, we reached Alsigarh. We asked the locals and they said to travel further inside about 3-4 km. And this time we had to drag our bikes on the mountains. We rode the bike on the mountains, but to our disappointment, we landed at the wrong hill. Now we asked the locals and found out that the dam was accessible from another mountain which was about 2 km from there. So we again rode to the right mountain. But our disappointment had long gone, when we saw the stunning lake and the dam from up the hill. It was so peaceful, that if you kept complete silence, you could only hear the cool breeze blowing past you giving chills.
We trekked the mountain from top to bottom, to enjoy a bath in the lake which was created because of the over flow of the dam. We had already brought out snacks, so we had our breakfast at the lake. The trek down the mountain was not so difficult, but it was steep so a bit risky. We enjoyed a good swim in the lake for about 2 hours, then trekked back to our bikes, which were parked on the hill. The climb was tiresome, but the best feeling is when you relax after the climb and enjoy the scenic beauty.
After resting we rode back to city, had our lunch and that day we had the best afternoon nap.
1) If you find the route confusing, don't hesitate to ask the locals. They are all happy to help.
2) Take your stock of snacks, drinking water, first aid as there are hardly any stores nearby.
3) If you don't know swimming, bath near the shore.
4) Always carry plastic bags with you during rains.
5) Have a cheerful mind when you travel anywhere, this doubles your happiness.
So next time if you plan to explore something new nearby Udaipur. Just keep your options open for Alsigarh and keep this photograph in mind.
A product design engineer by profession and traveler, photographer by passion.
This trip was originally published on 'Indian Excursionist'