Palaces that appear to float, a dynasty that has not been interrupted in thirteen hundred years, and a lake that turns the whole city gold at six in the evening.
Udaipur is the least likely city in Rajasthan, because Rajasthan is a desert and Udaipur is built around water. Three artificial lakes, dug and dammed in the sixteenth century, hold a city of white palaces that seem — from certain angles, at certain hours — not to be resting on anything at all.
The House of Mewar has ruled here since 734 AD. It is one of the longest unbroken dynasties in the world, longer than any European royal line, and the present custodian still lives in part of the palace. This matters practically as well as historically: the doors that open in Udaipur open because of relationships, and the difference between touring a palace and dining privately inside one is entirely a question of who is asking.
We keep the mornings for the city and the afternoons for the water. Udaipur rewards slowness more than any other place in Rajasthan — it is a city best understood from a boat, at the hour when the light gives up.
Four days is right. Three is a stopover; five starts to feel like a holiday, which is a different thing entirely.
What you will see
Lake Pichola at six o'clock Lake Pichola at six o'clock
The hour the light goes copper and the entire west face of the City Palace turns the colour of a coin. Shot from the water, because that is the only place it works.
The City Palace The City Palace
Four hundred years of continuous building by twenty-two successive rulers, which is why it reads less as one palace than as a small walled city that grew inward.
The mirrored rooms The mirrored rooms
Interiors of coloured glass and mirror-work, built when a room's purpose was to make candlelight behave impossibly.
Where you stay
2 places, chosen one at a time.
Property to be confirmed Palace hotel
On Lake Pichola
Property to be confirmed.
2 nights
Property to be confirmed Country house
Outside the city
Property to be confirmed.
1 night
What is included
Return international flights are included.
We book them with the journey, from your nearest major airport. Travellers who would rather use their own miles, or fly from somewhere we don’t serve well, can simply opt out and we adjust the rate.
Included
- Return international flights, in the cabin of your choosing
- All transfers from your door — car to your home airport included
- Private guiding throughout, and a Shunyaway lead on every journey
- All accommodation, and all meals taken together as a party
- Permits, entry fees and internal travel
- 24-hour contact with the person who designed your journey
Not included
- Visas — we prepare the paperwork, you make the application
- Travel insurance, which we require you to hold
- Personal spending, and anything bought for yourself
Practical
- Duration
- 4 days
- Altitude
- 1,988 ft / 606 m — no acclimatisation needed
- Best months
- October – March
- Pace
- Slow; mornings out, afternoons on the water
- Staying
- A lake-facing palace, or a private haveli
- Party
- Twelve travellers maximum
Rates on request
A door-to-door journey cannot be quoted until we know which door, and which cabin. Design yours and we will price it, or simply write to us.