Lake Pichola Udaipur : Lake Pichola is one of the oldest and largest lakes of Udaipur city. Lake Pichola is a main attraction of Udaipur and other popular tourist places of Udaipur are also located on and around its banks. City Palace and Bagor Ki Haveli are situated on the banks of Lake Pichola and Jag Mandir and Taj Lake Palace are built on its island.
History of Lake Pichola Udaipur
Lake Pichola is an artificial lake which was constructed in the year 1362 by the Banjara tribals living in this area. This lake was named Pichola after the nearby Picholi village. In those days, Mewar was ruled by Rana Lakha, who was the grandfather of Rana Kumbha. So in this way Lake Pichola is about 200 years older than the city of Udaipur.
In the year 1559, when Rana Udai Singh wanted to build a new and secure capital, he was passing through this place with his grandson Rana Amar Singh, when he hunted a rabbit on the banks of Lake Pichola. Considering that place sacred, he buried a stone there. On the advice of Goswami Premgiri, who was doing penance on the nearby hill, he decided to build his palace on the banks of this lake and thus the foundation of Udaipur was laid on the banks of Lake Pichola. Rana Udai Singh also increased the size of Lake Pichola during that time.
The length of Lake Pichola is about 3 kilometers and width is 4 kilometers. In this way, Lake Pichola is spread over an area of about 12 square kilometers between Udaipur.
Lake Pichola Udaipur as Tourist Attraction
Lake Pichola is surrounded by famous tourist places. Not only tourists but also the people living here come to visit in the morning and evening. Especially in the evening, the ghats of Lake Pichola are surrounded by people coming to watch the sunset. Children can also be found swimming in the lake in the morning.
Some famous tourist places around Lake Pichola are City Palace, Lake Palace, Amrai Ghat, Natni Ghat, Gangaur Ghat, Jag Mandir, Mohan Mandir, apart from these, boating in Lake Pichola and vintage walk along the banks of the lake are quite popular.
City Palace – Lake Pichola Udaipur
City Palace is the most popular and most visited tourist place of Udaipur. City Palace is built on the banks of Lake Pichola and behind the palace is the Rameshwar Ghat part of the palace. City Palace was built by Rana Udai Singh of Udaipur in the 16th century. City Palace is a very grand palace which is the second largest palace in India.
The City Palace was built by 22 generations of Maharanas in about 400 years. Currently the City Palace has been converted into a museum and two major parts of the palace have been converted into heritage hotels. To know more about City Palace Udaipur you can click on the link given below.
Lake Palace – Lake Pichola Udaipur
The Lake Palace was built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1740. Lake Palace is today the most popular hotel and tourist place of Udaipur. Lake Palace, built on an island in the middle of Lake Pichola, is also known as Jag Niwas, named after Maharana Jagat Singh. This is one of the main attractions of Lake Pichola.
Now the Lake Palace is a heritage hotel of the Taj Group and one of the most expensive hotels in the world. Maharana used this palace as his summer palace. This palace is in about 4 acres in the middle of Lake Pichola. It is also called Jal Mahal. Tourists like this white colored lake palace very much during boat ride in Lake Pichola.
Jag Mandir – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Jag Mandir is another very popular attraction of Lake Pichola. This is not a temple but a palace which was built by Maharana Amar Singh in the 16th century but was later completed by his son Maharana Karan Singh and after him Maharana Jagat Singh. It was called Jag Mandir after the name of Maharana Jagat Singh. This palace was often used for political refugees.
Mughal emperor Shahjahan had taken refuge in this Jag Mandir to escape from his father Jahangir. The influence of the architecture and art of Jag Mandir can also be seen on the Taj Mahal.
Jag Mandir, built on an island in Lake Pichola, can be reached by boat. There is also a garden and a museum in Jag Mandir. In this museum, the king’s palanquin, the queen’s palanquin, Rajput carvings and paintings on the walls can be seen.
Now this palace has been converted into a heritage hotel and you can often see and hear it in the news of celebrities’ marriages.
Mohan Mandir – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Mohan Temple can be seen during a boat ride in Lake Pichola. It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh in the 17th century. Right now Mohan Temple has been closed. Maharana used to watch the festival of Gangaur from here.
Arsi Vilas – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Behind Jag Niwas is RC Vilas Palace which was built by Maharana RC Singh to watch the sunset. There is also a helipad in this palace. There is also a bird sanctuary on RC Vilas Island. This island was mainly used to store scriptures and ammunition for the army.
Bagore ki Haweli – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Amarchand Barwa, the commander-in-chief of the Maharanas of Mewar from 1751 to 1778, had built Bagore Ki Haveli. After his death, Maharana gave this mansion to his relative Nath Singh. After that, in 1878, Raja Shakti Singh of Bagor built a magnificent gate in this mansion and it was called Bagor Ki Haveli in his name. Now this mansion is a museum and a famous example of architecture of that period.
Swaroop Sagar Bridge – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Swarup Sagar is a small lake near Bagor Ki Haveli which connects Lake Pichola and Lake Fateh Sagar. A beautiful bridge is also built here which is called Swarup Sagar Bridge. This lake was built by Maharana Swaroop Singh in the 19th century.
Gangaur Ghat – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Gangaur Ghats are on the banks of Lake Pichola and near Bagor Ki Haveli. A large number of people gather here to celebrate the festival of Gangaur. The royal family used to watch the celebrations taking place here from the Mohan Temple. Gangaur Ghats are very popular among tourists for watching sunrise and sunset. Many big films have also been shot at this ghat like Ram Leela.
Natni Ghat – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Maharana Jawan Singh, who was the king of Mewar from 1828 to 1838, challenged a dancer to walk from a village to the city palace on a rope over the lake and said that if she could do so, she would be given some part of the state of Mewar. Will be given. It is said that Natani agreed to this and by walking on the rope over the lake, she covered more than half of the lake. Seeing this, the king felt that perhaps Natni would win this challenge and he got that rope cut. Due to this, Natani fell into the lake and died but she cursed the king that she would not have a child. A ghat was named Natni Ghat after him.
Amrai Ghat – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Amrai Ghat is very much liked among the locals and tourists for its scenic sunrise and sunset and photo shoots.
Boating – Lake Pichola Udaipur
Boating in Lake Pichola is an activity liked by everyone. Boats run from Rameshwar Ghat behind City Palace. Tickets per person in these bots are Rs 400. If you want to go boating in the evening then the rate for that is Rs 700 per person. Starting from Rameshwar Ghat, the boats pass by the Lake Palace and then take them to Jag Mandir and drop the tourists. Tourists can spend some time in Jagmandir and return to Rameshwar Ghat by any of the returning boats.
The boats can carry about 10 – 12 people at a time.
Vintage Walk – Lake Pichola Udaipur
A 3 to 4 hour vintage walk is an activity for tourists to see the historical architecture and beauty of Lake Pichola and its surroundings. In this tour, a local guide takes the tourist group on a walk and also explains in detail about the nearby monuments and ghats. This walk starts at 7 am in the morning and 5 pm in the evening.
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