The Grand City Palace of Udaipur - Best place to visit in the City of Lakes to appreciate grandness of Mewar kingdom & well preserved heritage in new-age museums
If you are in Udaipur and have to chose only one place to visit & explore, City Palace has to be that place. Certainly there can be personal choices as for someone visiting a particular restaurant for a meal or take a walk around ghat of Lake Pichola is more important than the City Palace. In this blogpost we will share about why City Palace was a special place for us and what all you see inside this beautiful palace. First photograph of this post is clicked by our guide who helped us explore Udaipur City Palace.
Above photograph shows entry gate of City Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan. This is how it looks in the evening. We went there for evening Light & Sound show as well. That's when this photograph is clicked. We will separately share about Light & Sounds show at City Palace of Udaipur.
The City Palace of Udaipur is located in older part of the city and on the bank of Lake Pichola. The location of the city palace is so special that you not only explore City Palace but a lot from Udaipur - be it handicraft market, beautiful ghats around Lake Pichola, some of the most stunning hotels around Udaipur etc. To reach the entry gate of City Palace, you have walk through the hustle bustle of market and during tour of the City Palace, you see Lake Pichola on the other side and Taj Palace hotel in middle of lake is clearly visible from City Palace.
Above photograph shows front part of the City Palace in Udaipur during evening light & sound show. Just after the the light & sound show, the palace is lit for sometime and that's when this photograph is clicked. All photographs in the blogpost are clicked with phone camera.
Let's talk about timings of City Palace in Udaipur and ticket price for entry.
Entry Ticket Fees at City Palace, Udaipur :
Entry ticket price for Indian adults : 300 Rs
Entry ticket price for kids above 5years (till 18 year) : 100 Rs
No charges for kids below 5 years.
Charges for Tour Guide : 300 Rs
Just to note that you have to pay for guide at counter and then take any of the guides around ticket counter. You can certainly tip the guide at the end if you felt that the guide added lot more value than you expected.
There are no extra charge for cameras, unless you want to go inside for commercial videography.
Timings of City Palace in Udaipur : 9:30am till 5:30pm
Each gate inside the city palace is grand, so take time to spot, admire and move on. Bara Pol of city palace welcomes everyone in a grand way. Tripolia is another one which is significant inside City Palace of Udaipur. Most of the gates inside City Palace and other parts of Udaipur have these huge wooden doors with iron nails jutting out of them. Similar doors can be seen in other palaces & forts like Kumbhalgarh of Rajasthan.
All photographs above except the first one are clicked during Light & Sound Show of City Palace in Udaipur. Light & Sound show is a good way to hear history of Mewar kingdom. Whole narration is done with some interesting light effects along with interesting music in the background. In comparison to other light & sound shows in India, this is certainly not very special. So you won't miss much if you don't plan for evening Light & sound show and rather opt for a guide during daytime tour to the City Palace.
As you enter into the City Palace campus, you see these chains around these concrete anchors. These were used in the past to tie elephants and in the background you see an enclosure which was used for tiger/leopards brought from the hunt. This is also the part of the Udaipur City Palace where elephant fight used to happen on king's birthday. King used to sit on the top of this place and witness action in this open ground. There are some paintings in the City Palace to depict elephant fight.
Construction of this palace began in 1559 and then city palace was continuously rebuilt over the next four centuries. If you closely look at the architecture it reflects Mughal, Rajasthani and even European styles in various parts of this huge City Palace of Udaipur. Sisodia dynasty ruled the former kingdom of Mewar and is India’s oldest dynasty. Udaipur became the capital of Mewar in the 16th century.
Above photograph shows different kinds of royal karts, which are used by royal family of Mewar in horse-karts. It's great to see this collection preserved well in City Palace of Udaipur. Many such royal collections at City Palace of Udaipur make you think about lot of aspects associated. Some of these royal families were smart to convert these heritage places as tourist places on time and Udaipur City Palace seem to be doing much better on this front.
With every passing year, City Palace is adding new collections in museums. There is also a section dedicated to old photographs of the City Palace and same photographs are also painted by artists from Rajasthan. There is also a section which showcases musical instruments used inside the Palace, either my members of royal family or artists in darbar.
Above photograph shows the section with palanquins used by royal family of Mewar. Apart from these complete palanquins, there is another collection of cloths used in these palanquins. Take a moment to browse the exhibits in the palace museum including priceless artwork and displays of swords/armor.
City Palace of Udaipur is maintained and run by royal family of Udaipur. Not very sure if Udaipur City Palace is part of HRH group or it's a separate entity. Irrespective of that, it's pretty clear that City Palace of Udaipur is maintained pretty well and with time, it's upgrade pretty well with relevant stuff. Some specific ceremonies also take place in City Palace on certain days, when public also get to meet Arvind Singh ji and his family. Holi of City Palace is quite popular when royal family is also present. Entry tickets are little expensive for those specific events/days.
There is a lot to explore inside City Palace of Udaipur. Above photograph shows the section where lot of stone carved idols are placed and most of them belong to Ekling ji temples. It seems lot of temples are destroyed there and what you see today is smaller part of original temples of Eklingji in Rajasthan. Each of these sculptures have details written along with them.
Above photograph shows some of the utensils used in this City Palace of Udaipur in old times. It's good to see these preserved so well. They are spread in whole City Palace of Udaipur. You find utensils in pathways, corners and also around the museum part of Udaipur City Palace of Rajasthan. Many of them are made up of brass, silver & copper.
City Palace is huge and divided into multiple sections. Salmon coloured Manak Mahal (Ruby Palace) to see a collection of porcelain figures. Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) has some of the most stunning interiors I have seen.
Above photograph shows king's bedroom which has so many mirrors all across. The door of this room is made up of elephant teeth. This room was constructed in inspiration from the sheesh mahal in Amer.
Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) is another section of Udaipur City Palace with stunning interiors & reflective surfaces all around. There is a beautiful peacock mosaics in Rang Bhawan of Udaipur City Palace. That's probably one of the most popular things at City Palace of Udaipur.
A guide typically takes you through various parts of the City Palace in approximately 3 hours and that too when you do it fast. Udaipur City palace is a place where you can spend whole day or at least half a day. There is so much to see, read about and experience the vibe of the place.
Above photograph shows a section of City Palace which is on 4th floor. I was little surprised by seeing trees here. This part of the Udaipur City Palace looks beautiful and surrounded from all 4 sides. There is one section here, where pigeon cages are preserved. Pigeons used to be the messengers in old times. They would carry letters from one place to another. There are also few benches installed around these trees, so you can sit here for some time to take a break.
This is also that part of Udaipur Palace where kind used to play holi with queen and other guests. There is an enclosure which was mainly for king & queen to celebrate holi, while the open area you see above was to celebrate holi with guests.
Above photograph shows main entry gate for Udaipur City Palace and there are these canons installed at the entry gate. May times, people are in rush to see the City Palace but forget to pause here and appreciate these old canons of Mewar.
One of the kings of Mewar was handicapped, so in one section of the Udaipur City Palace you can see a special wheel-chair, a lift and special toilet seat which was imported from London (Oh! the days of luxury). The seat did cost an enormous sum at that point of time. Now, it is one of the proud displays at the city palace Udaipur. To me, it looked more like a luxurious sofa than a toilet seat. However, now I pass the ball to you. You can judge and let me know what you think of it.
It is a luxurious leather chair with a detachable stool below. The stool is also made of leather. The king was short in height. So, the stool was custom made and attached into the original design of the chair to help him step up and sit on the chair comfortably. There is a pull out tray on the side where a water pot can be kept. Quiet stylish..huh!!
City Palace in Udaipur is built over a period of nearly 400 years, with contributions from several rulers of the Mewar dynasty. Construction of Udaipur City Palace began in 1553 which was initiated by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia Rajput family as he shifted his capital from Chittor to the new found city of Udaipur. Udaipur City palace is located on the east bank of Lake Pichola and has several palaces built within its complex.
Above photograph shows relatively new art around the main door of the section where multiple musical instruments are placed inside Udaipur City Palace. The art shows Ma Saraswati in the middle and a man/woman praying in front of her. There is also a lamp in front of Ma Saraswati painting.
Above photograph shows the part of Udaipur City Palace where royal family lives. Arvind Singh Mewar along with his family live in the palace you see above. This photograph is clicked through one of the windows where musical instruments are showcases in City palace of Udaipur.
Above photograph shows one of the wooden doors from Udaipur City Palace. This particular door is now put inside a glass box to preserve art and it's colours. There are quite a few such doors which are preserved around the City Palace of Udaipur. While walking around different sections of the Udaipur City Palace you also see lot of kitchen utensils. Some of them are huge.
The City Palace in Udaipur is considered as largest palace in the state of Rajasthan. It was built atop a hill, in a fusion of the Rajasthani and Mughal architectural styles.
This is part of the Udaipur City Palace where different celebrations used to happen. Above photograph shows windows through which guests used to look at the events happening in central area. There are also windows on other 2 sides for King & queen. This section is essentially divan-e-aam area, which is king’s administrative assembly place with his ministers to discuss the most important issues.
In Diwan-e-aam, the king sat in a decorated balcony on the first floor. The balcony extention can be seen in above photograph. This wall is one of the most beautiful walls in Udaipur City Palace. The ministers would sit across him. On the next floor are balconies which were used by the ladies of the royal family to witness the proceedings. This is also the part of Udaipur City palace, which has most intricate mirror works. You will see a beautiful peacock made of all small mirror pieces. Very first photograph of this blogpost is clicked against this wall which has King's balcony on first floor.
TravellingCamera loved clicking photographs of these beautiful windows of Udaipur City Palace. When you look at the City Palace from outside, you realise that the palace has lot of windows and every section has different kinds of art-work. Like in above photograph you see windows with colourful glasses in wooden frame with interesting design on the top. Don't miss those beautiful brass handles on these windows of Udaipur City Palace.
Above photograph shows one of the jharokhas with small space to take out your neck and look outside. Rest of the window is filled with colourful glassed and a frame of cement. While I was in this part of Udaipur City Palace, I was wondering when these blue tiles were added to the palace. They can certainly be old because this kind of work for kitchenware was available, but I forgot to confirm with our guide.
Above photograph shows one of the ceilings inside royal chambers of Udaipur City Palace. These are pretty old arts which are preserved inside the City Palace. Some of the colours fade early so you see some patches and I guess impacted areas are also those which have very fine designs.
Udaipur City is visible from City Palace on one side and Lake Pichola is on other side. Above photograph shows a view of Udaipur City from City Palace window.
Related Blogpost - Some of the most stunning sunset views around Lake Pichola & Top places to witness sunset in Udaipur , Rajasthan
TravellingCamera loved clicking photographs of these old doors, windows & ceilings.
Above photograph shows ceiling of Ganesh temple inside Udaipur City Palace.
When you moving between different parts of Udaipur City Palace, you have to go through narrow pathways and all of them have different kinds of jalidaar windows for ventilation. Above photograph shows one of such netted windows. One needs to be careful while walking through these as your head can hit the top, especially when there are steps. So mind your head and you need to be extra careful if your height is more than 5 feet 5 inches.
Look at above photograph carefully and notice bird cages hanging there. These cages were for pigeons of different regions and when king wanted to send a message to a particular region, pigeon from that cage is taken out and that pigeon will take message. I am sure this whole system of sending messages with pigeons must be pretty elaborate and there must be some system to train these pigeons. Wondering how would they ensure that message is reached for sure.
Above photograph shows the scale which used to be the equipment for measuring weight of the king. It's placed in men section of the Palace.
Above photograph shows sliver cases which were used for dispacthing messages in a scroll. These are called Silver Kharita tube. This section of Udaipur Palce has lot of silver stuff including silver photo-frames, silver pens and silver cases to to keep those pens.
Above photograph shows silver kart which was used as Elephant-kart for the kind. Notice that sun on front part of this kart. It was believed to be an auspicious sun in Mewar. The king everyday started the day with a view of this sun. No matter if it's a cloudy morning or not, this sun sign always remained important in Udaipur City Palace. The bigger version which was used by the king is now kept on display inside the palace. This section of the Udaipur City Palace more such silver made elephant-karts.
Overall Udaipur City Place is a treasure where you can spend whole day exploring it. I loved the place and wish to go again on my own and without any guide.
If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
1. Manage your waste well and don’t litter Use dustbins.
2. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
3. Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
4. Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
5. Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite.
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