Udaipur is one of the most beautiful and peaceful Indian heritage sites which I would recommend every Indian as well as non Indian to visit before they plan their huge foreign vacations. The best time to visit Udaipur is from October to February. I specifically chose February since it's not a holiday period and so you expect shorter queues and lesser crowd.
We arrived at Udaipur railway station early morning travelling from Delhi via Mewar Express which takes around 12 hours 30 mins. Uber and OLA work well in Udaipur and my hotel was just about 1 km away so I took an Uber from the station to our pre booked hotel Hotel Mahendra Prakash which is a boutique hotel turned from a palace to an exquisite hotel. The check in time was 12 pm but they were courteous enough to let us have early check in to one out of the two rooms. We freshened up and went on a self tour to City Palace which is at walking distance from the hotel. It will take you 2-3 hours to go through the entire palace and the museum. Post the palace visit, we took an Uber to Nataraj Dining Hall for an experience of authentic Rajasthani thali. From my experience I can tell you that roaming around Udaipur in Uber is super cheap, super easy and convenient.
After that we headed back to the hotel for some rest.
Towards the evening we again took an Uber to the Jagadish Mandir and then walked our way to the Hathipole local market. I really felt that the stuff out there is simply amazing and really reasonable. I am not a big shopping fan but still couldn't stop myself from shopping that beautiful and colourful stuff from the hathipole bazaar. It has an authentic collection of traditional juttis, bedsheets, cushion covers, handicraft items, bandhini and leheriya dupattas, sarees and dress material, hand purses and what not.
Another thing to take note is that since Udaipur is a small city, nothing is really far off for you except the Sajjangarh Fort. Within a radius of about 3km, you can visit most of the tourist attractions. Moreover, the roads in Udaipur are quite narrow so in my opinion opting for autos and taxis is a better option than self drive. The people there are really nice and helpful and it's a safe city for solo female travellers as well hence booking autos or taxis does not sound scary at all. Alternatively, you may also choose to hire a bike/scooty at per day rent basis and see the city at your own ease and freedom.
Post our shopping we headed towards Cafe Upre of Lake Pichola Hotel which gives you an immense pleasurable experience at night as its rooftop restaurant allows you to take a complete illuminated view of the lake Pichola. Do not forget to pre-book a table there before you actually go since its always full.
The food , service and view all together just can't leave without impressing you.
Day 2 started with a lavish and delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel after which we opted for a local taxi tour to various attractions including the boating trip in lake Pichola which takes you to the Jagmandir Island after which we visited Saheliyon ki Bari, Karni Mata Mandir via ropeway, Fatehsagar lake, Gangaur Ghat, Sajjangarh biological park and the Sajjangarh Fort. The boating experience is a must I feel because the garden and lake views from Jagmandir island are out of the world. Sip a Latte at Darikhana while you enjoy the lakeside view. I would advice to club the Lake Pichola boating and City Palace & Museum visit otherwise you end up paying the entry fee twice at the palace.
For lunch we stopped over at the Jhumar restaurant which provides a view of Fatehsagar Lake from its rooftop dining hall and I just loved the food there especially the Paneer Tikka Masala and Missi Roti.
Another attraction is the Sajjangarh fort, popularly known as Monsoon Palace which is a must visit, in case your taxi does not agree to go till the fort since its little off route and you need to pay 200 bucks for your car entry, you can hire the jeep which takes you there for 95 bucks per head. You can experience a mesmerising sunset at the fort. While returning back do not forget to have amazing tandoori chai outside Saheliyon ki Bari. You can also head to the Jheel's Ginger cafe for an evening snack and tea and for dinner you may go to Khamma Ghani, the food is superb out there.
Day 3 we packed our bags and headed towards Mount Abu via Haldighati in a locally hired taxi. The Haldighati museum is really worth a visit. The detailed information about the history of Maharana Pratap is worth knowing. You can purchase gulkand and rose water from the museum as they make it there itself from the roses locally grown in Haldighati. I would recommend having lunch or breakfast at the museum as per your visiting hours as it is delicious as well as very reasonable. I loved the Aloo Parantha and Chai out there. Maharana Pratap and his horse Chetak have been paid homage in an exceptionally stunning manner which you will understand once you get there. We were listening to various stories about them with great interest that our driver told us throughout our journey. After visiting Haldighati we took the Abu road and headed towards Mount Abu. We reached there by lunch time, had a sumptuous Gujarati thali for lunch at the Saraswati pure vegetarian restaurant which belonged to the hotel we were staying in overnight. We had opted for a family suite there. After lunch, we headed to cover the local tourist spots of Mount Abu which include Dilwara Temple, Gurushikhar (the highest point) , Brahmakumari peace park, Achalgiri temple, Nakki lake and its neighbouring Mall road. I would recommend you to try Kesar Doodh and Rabdi at Mount Abu and the tea was amazingly tasteful there.
Today after having a taste worthy breakfast of Aloo and Methi Parantha at Saraswati restaurant, we headed to the Udaipur Airport. This was one of the trips to which I do not wish to bid good bye. Just wanna still be there.
Personally, the best attractions of Udaipur in my opinion were the visit to Jagmandir, authentic Rajasthani lunch at Nataraj, drinks and dinner at Cafe Upre with a beautiful lake view beside you, witnessing the sunset at Sajjangarh, the shopping experience at Hathipole, a well spent evening at Gangaur Ghat, visit to Haldighati museum and most importantly interaction with local people of Udaipur who are extremely decent, helpful and down to earth.
My suggestions to you regarding eateries would be Nataraj definitely as the first choice, Krishna Dal Baati based on the locals' advice, Upre for a romantic dinner date, Jheel's Ginger Cafe for an evening bite, Raasleela for a lavish experience and Jhumar restaurant for a tasteful north Indian lunch/dinner by the Fatehsagar lake.
:( Bye bye Udaipur, see you soon !!!
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