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Udaipur City Palace is one of
the architectural marvels of Rajasthan, located peacefully on the banks
of Lake Pichola. This majestic City Palace is the most-visited tourist
attraction of Udaipur and often distinguished as the largest palace
complex in Rajasthan. Initially, Maharana Udai Singh built this superb
wonder, but the present form of the Palace is the result of subsequent
additions by his successors.
City Palace boasts of the wonderful blend of Medieval, European and
Chinese Architecture. The Palace has various towers, domes and arches,
which add to the flavor of heritage site. Towering on the banks of
Pichola Lake, City Palace is truly a
feast to the eyes. City Palace is a marvelous assortment of courtyards,
pavilions, terraces, corridors, rooms and hanging gardens.
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Encircled by fortifications,
this imposing Palace is wholly built in granite and marble.
City Palace has several gates that are known as "Pols". 'Bara Pol'
(Great Gate) is the main gate to the City Palace complex that will take
you to the first courtyard. On passing 'Bara Pol', you will come across
a triple arched gate, which is known as 'Tripolia'. Between these two
gates, you would see eight marble arches or Toranas, where Kings used to
weigh themselves with gold and silver. Besides Tripolia, there is an
arena where elephant fights were staged. Across 'Tripolia', you would
enter the 'Elephant Gate' or the 'Hathi Pol'.
City Palace comprises 11 wonderful palaces, which were built by
different rulers still they resemble each other. With the sheer glimpse
of unique paintings, antique furniture and exquisite glass mirror &
ornamental tiles work of these palaces, you will get amazed. Manak Mahal
(Ruby Palace) has figures of crystal and porcelain. However, Bhim Vilas
flaunts a fabulous collection of miniature paintings depicting the real
life stories of Radha-Krishna.
The 'Krishna Vilas' is known for the noteworthy album of miniature
paintings portraying royal processions, festivals and games of the
Maharanas. Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace) is celebrated for its lavish decor
while Sheesh Mahal (Palace of mirrors) is known for its breathtaking
mirror work. 'Chini Chitrashala' is renowned for its Chinese and Dutch
ornamental tiles. 'Dilkusha Mahal' (Palace of Joy) is known for the
murals and wall paintings.
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Bada Mahal is the exotic
garden palace that stands erect on a 90 feet high natural rock
formation. Rang Bhawan is the palace that used to contain royal
treasure. There are temples of Lord Krishna, Meera Bai and Shiva,
located right to the 'Rang Bhawan'. 'Mor Chowk' has exceptional
glass mosaics of peacocks, set in the walls presenting the three
seasons of summer, winter and monsoon. 'Laxmi Vilas Chowk' is an art
gallery with a distinctive collection of Mewar paintings.
Situated in the premises of City Place complex,
Jagdish Temple is the biggest and
most beautiful temple of Udaipur. You can also trace a Shrine of
Dhuni Mata in the complex of City Palace. This part is considered as
the oldest part of the Palace where a sage passed his life
meditating here. |
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In 1974, a part of the City
Palace and the 'Zenana Mahal' (Ladies Chamber) have been transformed
into a museum. The museum is open for public and we have discussed it in
our other section about museums. One can locate some striking paintings
in the 'Zenana Mahal' which further leads to Lakshmi Chowk. 'Lakshmi
Chowk' is a beautiful white pavilion. In City palace, the most
captivating sight can be viewed from the towers and terraces of 'Amar
Vilas' from where you can get a breathtaking view of Lake Pichola.
'Amar Vilas' is the highest point of this Palace and has wonderful
hanging gardens with fountains, towers and terraces. City Palace is
structured in a way that it offers a splendid view of the lake from all
its Balconies, cupolas and towers. Unlike the craggy exterior, City
Palace has amazing interiors with delicate mirror-work, marble work,
murals, wall paintings, silver work, inlay work and surplus of colored
glass. The exquisite work of City Palace cannot be bounded in words, so
one must visit this palace to capture the real picture of it.
How to
reach
Located on the banks of Lake Pichola. One
can easily reach Udaipur City Palace either by taking local buses,
tongas, auto-rickshaws and taxis from the city.
Nearest airport is
Maharana Pratap Airport
(also known as
Udaipur Airport or
Dabok Airport (IATA:
UDR, ICAO: VAUD)) which is located 22 km (14 mi) east of Udaipur.
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