Standing on the east bank of Lake Pichola is a massive series of palaces built at different times from 1559. The balconies of the palace provide
Some of the bollywood movies shot here are Guide, Mera Saaya, Phool Bane Angaray, Kachche Dhagey, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Jalmahal, Yaadein, Return of the thief of the bagdad, Eklavya: The Royal Guard, Dhamaal, Jis Desh Mei Ganga Rehta Hai, Chalo Ishq Ladaaye, Fiza, Gaddaar, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Khuda Gawah, Kundan, Nandini, Saajan ka Ghar. In addition, many Bollywood films’ songs were filmed in Udaipur. Udaipur is also the setting of Star Plus’s hit serial Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. TV serials Swayamber of Rakhi Sawant and Swayambar of Rahul Mahajan on NDTV Imagine also filmed here at Hotel Fatehgarh. A hit historical show by Contiloe Telefilms named “Maharana Pratap” on Star Plus is shooting in that place. The pop Star Shakira performed in a party on 15 November 2011 of real estate tycoon owner of DLF Kush Pal Singh.The Party was held in Jag Mandir Palace
Because of its picturesque and scenic locations, Udaipur has been the shooting location for many Hollywood and Bollywood movies. Indian sections of the James Bond film Octopussy were filmed in the city, the Lake Palace, and the Monsoon Palace. The nearby desert was the backdrop of the remarkable rescue of Octopussy (Maud Adams) by Bond (Roger Moore). Some scenes from the British television series The Jewel in the Crown were filmed in Udaipur. The Disney channel film, The Cheetah Girls One World, was shot in Udaipur in January 2008. Additional non-Indian movies/TV serials filmed in Udaipur include: Darjeeling Limited, Opening Night, Heat and Dust, Indische Ring, Inside ‘Octopussy’, James Bond in India, Gandhi, and The Fall.
As the Mughal empire weakened, the Sisodia ranas, and later maharanas (also called the Guhilots or Suryavansh), who had always tried to oppose Mughal dominance, reasserted their independence and recaptured most of Mewar except for Chittor. Udaipur remained the capital of the state, which became a princely state of British India in 1818. Being a mountainous region and unsuitable for heavily armoured Mughal horses, Udaipur remained safe from Mughal influence in spite of much pressure. The rajvansh of Udaipur was one of the oldest dynasty of the world. Even the Nepal kingdom and Jammu kingdom are believed to have been originated from Mewar. Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar(the Royal Family of Udaipur),is the current ruler of the city.
Newspapers in Udaipur include Hindi dailies as Rajasthan Patrika, Dainik Bhaskar, Navbharat Times, Apranha Times, and English dailies such as The Times of India, The Economic Times, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu, etc. Online newspapers of Udaipur include UdaipurTimes.com. The state-owned All India Radio is broadcast both on the Medium Wave and FM bands (101.9 MHz) in the city. It competes with Three private local FM stations — Big FM (92.7 MHz), My FM (94.3 MHz) by Bhaskar Group, Radio Tadka . The public broadcaster Doordarshan (Prasar Bharati) provide a regional channel besides the mainstay channels. DTH is gaining popularity over private cable operators for television viewing.
The city lies on the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway (NH) 8, midway between Delhi and Mumbai, located around 700 kilometres from either city. The East West Corridor which starts from Porbandar and ends at Silchar passes and is intersecting the Golden Quadrilateral and shares the common space from Udaipur to Chittor. The roads in this part of the country are paved and fit for private vehicles. One can either drive from Jaipur (around 6 hours via Chittorgarh), from Kota (3 hours – four lane highway), from Ahmedabad (4.1/2 hours) or Surat (9 hours), or take a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) bus from Bikaner House, India Gate in Delhi.rajasthan roadways
Udaipur pronunciation (help·info), also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Corporation and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located 403 kilometres (250 mi) southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, 248 km (154 mi) west of Kota, and 250 km (155 mi) northeast from Ahmedabad. Udaipur is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar in the former Rajputana Agency. The Guhils (Sisodia) clan ruled the Mewar and its capital was shifted from Chittorgarh to Udaipur after founding city of Udaipur by Maharana Uday Singh. The Mewar province became part of Rajasthan after India became independent
Udaipur was founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II as the final capital of the erstwhile Mewar kingdom, located to the southwest of Nagda, on the Banas River, the first capital of the Mewar kingdom. Legend has it that Maharana Udai Singh II came upon a hermit while hunting in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. The hermit blessed the king and asked him to build a palace on the spot, assuring him it would be well protected. Udai Singh II consequently established a residence on the site. In 1568, the Mughal emperor Akbar captured the The Red fort of Chittor, and Udai Singh moved the capital to the site of his residence, which became the city of Udaipur.
Udaipur has a well-established education infrastructure. There are a number of universities, colleges and schools meeting the requirements of not only the city but the region and country as well. The main universities in Udaipur include IIM Udaipur, Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Sir Padampat Singhania University and Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology. Other educational institutes include RNT Medical College, College of Technology And Engineering, Bhupal Nobles’ College, J.R.N.Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Techno India NJR Institute of Technology,Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital,Cambridge Edupreneurs. Pvt. Ltd., Brainwave institute etc.
Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the most rugged of the Aravali in Pali, Rajsamand and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan. It takes its name after the historic fort of Kumbhalgarh, which comes into view over the Park. It is 578 km² in area and at an altitude of 500 to 1,300 metres. It is home to a very large variety of wildlife, some of which are highly endangered species. The wildlife includes wolf, leopards, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, jungle cat, smabhar, nilgai, chaisingh (the four horned antelope), chinkara, and hare.
A rose garden laid out by Maharaja Sajjan Singh is situated near the palace on the east side of Lake Pichhola. A library in the garden has a collection of ancient handwritten manuscripts and books. Some of the part of the Satyarth Prakash have been written in this library. Styarth Prakash stup is situated in Gulab Bagh. Within the garden, there is a zoo with tigers, leopards, Chinkara gazelle, birds, and many wild animals. Children can enjoy mini train, track of which covers the main part of the garden and the zoo.
Udaipur City has direct trains on the broad gauge network to most of the major cities in Rajasthan and the rest of India such as Jaipur, Kota, Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Indore, Bhopal, and Gwalior and a metre gauge network to Ahmedabad. Famous luxurious trains, The Palace on Wheels, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, Maharaja Express and The Indian Maharaja make a scheduled stop in Udaipur. The popular trains connecting Udaipur with the Capital of India, Delhi are Mewar Express and Chetak Express.
For Encouraging Sports in the city and even for encouraging International Sports in this ‘City of Lakes’.A step has been put forward by establishing ‘Khel Gaon (village)’or Maharana Pratap Khel Gaon in Chitrakoot Nagar. It will be committed to 12 sports namely like Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Handball, Archery, Rifle shooting, Judo – Karate, Boxing, Swimming, Squash. The sum of 7.53 crore has already been spent on the main stadium. At present it has a audience capacity of 15000.
Lake Pichola has two islands, Jag Niwas and the Jag Mandir. This lake is 4 km long and 3 km wide, originally built by Maharana Udai Singh II. There are many ghats, like the bathing and washing ghats, which can be approached through boats from the City Palace of Udaipur (Bansi Ghat). In the heart of the lake the Lake Palace stands, which is now converted into a heritage palace hotel. The lake remains fairly shallow even during heavy rains, and gets dry easily in times of severe drought.
Located about 2 km east of Udaipur is a cluster of cenotaphs of the Maharanas of Mewar. There are about nineteen cenotaphs of Maharanas cremated there. One cenotaph is that Maharana Amar Singh, who reigned from 1597 to 1620. Nearby is also Ahar Museum, where on display is limited but very rare earthen pottery, as well as some sculptures and other archaeological finds. Some pieces date back to 1700 BC, and a tenth-century metal figure of Buddha is a special attraction.
Apart from its history, culture, and scenic locations, it is also known for its Rajput-era palaces. The Lake Palace, for instance, covers an entire island in the Pichola Lake. Many of the palaces have been converted into luxury hotels. It is often called the “Venice of the East”, and is also nicknamed the “Lake City”. Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar in this city are considered some of the most beautiful lakes in the state.
Udaipur’s autumn / winter climate is the most appealing time to pay her a visit. Tourists arrive in numbers, anytime between mid-September to late March or early April. Even in January, the coldest month, the days are bright, sunny and warm with maximum temperature around 28.3 °C (82.9 °F). Mornings, evenings and nights are cold with minimum temperature around 11.6 °C (52.9 °F) especially if there is a slight breeze in the air.
Dabok airport, also known as Maharana Pratap Airport, is situated in a satellite town about 20 kilometres from Udaipur. Daily Indian Airlines flights connect Udaipur with Jodhpur, Jaipur, Mumbai and Delhi. There are daily flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur on Jet Airways and Indian Airlines. The new airport has been constructed by the Airport Authority of India and will be upgraded to international airport status by 2011.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Udaipur. Other popular sports include football, hockey, tennis, badminton, archery, etc. Luv Kush Indoor Stadium is generally used for the indoor sports especially Badminton and TT. Mahrana Bhupal Singh Stadium is a multi purpose stadium used for organizing matches of football, cricket and other sports. The lakes provide an opportunity for the water sports.
Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary: It is said that Sita spend her exile period here in Guru Valmiki ashram, here are many places related to Sita and Luv-Kush. Sita also go into mother Earth’s lap here it is near Bansi, Barisadri and Dhariyawad, famous for flying squirrel, teak forest, tiger and very big fair of Sitamata is also organized every year in May. Jakham dam is also inside this sanctuary.
Nathdwara – Shri Nathdwara (a pathway to Lord Shri Krishna) lies 48 km from Udaipur and literally means the gateway to the Lord. Devotees throng the shrine in large numbers during occasions of “Janmashtmi”, the day of the Lord’s birth, and other festivals like Holi. It is famous for its pichwai paintings, with Shri Krishna in the centre and is recognized for profuse use of gold colour.