24 November: Our last stop in India is at Udaipur, a city of about 700,000 people in the south of Rajasthan. It is named after Maharana (king) Udai Singh who founded it in 1553 and moved his capital here. He had previously been exiled at Kumbharghal, our previous stop in the Aravali mountains. The mountainous surroundings helped to protect Udaipur from the muslim Moghuls who controlled much of India.
Our hotel, the Jagat Niwas Palace, is in the old city and right on the lake edge. It is a beautiful little hotel, one of the nicest we have stayed in, so a great way to finish our tour.
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| We had to travel by tuk-tuk through the narrow streets to the hotel. |
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| Our rooms had these comfy window seats, looking out on the water. |
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| Our hotel was on the water's edge. Here seen from the tour boat. |
The main nearby attraction was the City Palace, which today houses a museum and a hotel as well as the local royal family. It is also on the edge of the lake and runs along it for about 2 kilometers, so is a very large building.
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| At the gates to the city palace |
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| The life-size elephant statue at the gates. |
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| Inside the walls are decorated with colourful frescoes. |
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| The towering walls of the palace. |
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| Horses and silver carriage once used by the Maharana. |
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| Statue of warhorse disguised to look like an elephant (note the leather trunk!) |
The picture above shows how the Maharana's army attached leather "trunks" to their horses to confuse the Moghuls' battle-elephants, who were supposed to think the horses might be baby elephants and therefore avoid attacking or hurting them!
The lake in front of our hotel, Lake Pichola, is one of seven man-made lakes created to provide water for Udaipur, by storing the water from the rainy season to give a year round supply.
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| Lake Pichola, with the Taj Palace (now a luxury hotel) in the foreground. |
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| Tea and cookies in the hotel restaurant, looking out at Lake Pichola. |
