UDAIPUR

Udaipur is the known as city of Lakes is one of the major tourist destination of Rajasthan state. This city was founded by Rana Udai Singh in the year 1553 AD. Its Location is 24.31 north latitude and 73.42 east longitudes. This city became the new capital of Ranas of Mewar after the death of Maharana Pratap in 1597.   Udaipur still have its royal touch of Maharajas and its glorious history is visible in its Palaces, forts and lakes. The old city of Udaipur houses the famous City palace and Pichola Lake.   Udaipur is well connect by rail from New Delhi and other towns. Over night express train runs between Delhi and Udaipur. Daily train service is also available between Ahmedabad  and Udaipur. Indian Railway station code of Udaipur is UDZ   By Air Udaipur Dabok Airport is located at a distance of 21 KM from city. This airport is well connected from important cities.   Road network is very good in Rajasthan and Udaipur is also well connected to Jaipur and other cities of Rajasthan. National Highway No. 8 connecting Delhi and Mumbai passes through this city. White Marble is available near Udaipur. The big market of Udaipur Marble can be seen near the city by the side of NH 8.   Udaipur to Jaipur  distance is 420 Km Udaipur to Ajmer is 288 KM Udaipur to Jodhpur is 269 KM   Sight Seen of Udaipur city Aravali Vatika Fateh Sagar Lake Sahelion-ki-Bari Mawar Hastkala Udyog City Palace / Museum Maharana Pratap Smark Nehru Island Park Sukhandia Circle Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandir Jagdish Temple. Pratap Memorial By the side of the Fateh Sagar Lake on the top of a small hill known as Moth Magri there is a big bronze statue of Rana Pratap on his famous horse Chetak. Saheliyon ki Bari This is park is constructed for the 48 ladies of the Royal court who came as dowry of the a princess to Udaipur. There are nice lawns and water fountains inside this park. Eklingji At a distance of 22KM this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva the family deity of Mewar rulers. Shivratri festival is celebrated here every year. Entry is free , photography is not allowed inside the complex. Nathdwara At a distance of 48 KM from Udaipur this temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The black marble status of Lord Krishan has got a big diamond on its chin. Foreigners are not allowed inside the temple. Cameras are also not allowed. This temple opens in many times in a day in batches and stays open for half an hour. Huge crowd rushes inside the temple complex for darshan at the time of gate opening. Be careful on pickpocketers and touts offering quick darshan here. Other places of Interest are Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal a museum of folk art exhibition, Shilpgram a craft village, Gulab Bagh or Sajjan Niwas Garden, Aravali Vatika and some other palaces. In some of the Palaces entry is restricted.

Udaipur

Haldighati is located at a distance of 40 KM from Udaipur is famous for the battle took place here on 18th June, 1576 between Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar and Mughal army of Akbar of Delhi. There is a museum storing many weapons and paintings of the famous battle. Light and sound shows give a glimpses of the events inside the museum. Entry ticket is Rs 20 and camera ticket is Rs 10 to carry inside. Inside the museum in some places particularly near the light and sound show photography is not allowed. Visitors can keep the camera with them.

Raktatalai
While passing through Haldighati Mughal army faced many casualties as Bhil tribes of Rajput army attacked from top of the hills. After a retreat the Mughal army reassembled and the main battle took place at a place known as Raktatalai or Khon-ki-talai is a plan are at the other side of river Banas where a furious fight between the victorious Rajputs and reassembled Mughal army. The Rana Pratap riding the famous horse Chetak was leading the Rajputs. Man Singh ( A Rajput and King of Jaipur ) was the commander for the Mughal army. The fight was so deadly that the place was full with dead bodies.

During the battle Rana Pratap Sing's horse Chetak got injured as one of its leg got cut when Rana Pratap attacked the elephant of Man Singh. To save the life of Pratap Singh the injured horse took his mater away from the battle field and cover a safe distance. After jumping a 22 ft river it collapsed and died. This place is marked with a Chetak Samadhi. This circumstance had forced the Rajputs to retreat and the struggle ended at mid day of 21st June 1576 AD

The soil of this Haladighati is deep yellow in color and resembles turmeric powder.

Later at Raktatalai, Maharana Karan Singh had raised on of the Chhatris in the honor of Ram Shah Tanwar of Gwalior and his three sons who fell fighting valiantly to the last drop of their blood for the cause of their patron Rana Pratap.

Memorial to a loved Pet

I was wandering with Samhith around Gulab Bagh, the huge garden where the Udaipur Zoo is located. We had time to kill before we could catch the bus which would take us back to Mumbai, we had checked out of our room, and Shankar had already flown back the day before. Having so much time on our hands, but hesitant to wander into lonely places, we tried to stick to the well marked paths, at the same time trying to avoid the crowds thronging the park. Following a butterfly, we moved away from the well trodden path, and suddenly, right in front of us was a marble edifice. Curious, we moved closer, and both of us were stunned!

Eye of the Peacock

We have seen plenty of peacocks - both in the wild as well in zoos. At the Udaipur Zoo, the birds were peacefully having their siesta, and were totally unconcerned about all the ruckus around them. As we passed by the peacock enclosure, one of them looked up and cast such a disdainful glance at the spectators who were trying to rouse some of the sleeping birds, that I just had to take a pic!