There is so much to explore in each state of India. I always wondered how people complete touring the entire Rajasthan in mere 10 days. I prefer slow travel. Few years back we covered Jaipur along with Ranthambore and Jhalana. This time we decided to revisit Rajasthan for Udaipur and Bera, Jawai. I prefer to club an offbeat wildlife experience to break the monotony of constant fort visits with some wildlife sightings.
Here is an itinerary for 7 days covering Bera, Jawai and Udaipur.
Day 1: Bera, Jawai
Reach Udaipur as early as possible. We took a flight from Mumbai to Udaipur. Our first destination was Bera, Jawai. We booked a cab to pick us from airport and reached Castle Bera in Bera, Jawai, which was approximately 3 hours from the Udaipur airport.
Castle Bera is an amazing heritage homestay in Bera, Jawai.
Here one can engage in 2 safaris, one in the morning and one in the evening for Leopard sighting, visiting the Jawai dam, temples around and just to view the rustic rural surroundings. This area has a very unique and beautiful landscape. We enjoyed our drives through these landscapes and also had a sighting of 2 leopards and a cub.
Day 2: Bera, Jawai to Udaipur
After a beautiful safari in the misty cold mornings through the rocky terrain, we had a sumptuous breakfast and left for Udaipur by our hired cab. It takes roughly 2.5 hrs to reach the city. Our stay was at Jagat Niwas Palace hotel which is one the best heritage hotels in Udaipur. We had some lunch and a good rest.
We set out in Udaipur with our first pit stop at the Jagdish Temple, which was a walking distance from the hotel. This is a very beautiful temple with intricate carvings. It was so serene and peaceful.
We then took a stroll to get acquainted with the neighborhood. We strolled over the Chand Pole Puliya pedestrian bridge to reach the other side of Lake Pichola and walked to Ambarai ghat. This is my favorite place in Udaipur. It has beautiful street art, a temple and a ghat to dip your feet in water or just sit by the lake and admire its beauty. The colorful sky lit at sunset is a sight to behold. After sunset the surroundings are illuminated with sparkling lights and one can view the city Palace as well as Taj Lake palace from this ghat.
Note: The entry here is charged during sunset and also many times the ghat is full of photographers for wedding shoots.
Day 3: City Palace, Boating on Lake Pichola, Karni Mata temple
We started the day early after a quick breakfast and headed to the City Palace. The grandeur and the massive size of the palace is beyond imagination. we covered Suraj Gokhda, Ganesh Chowk, Mor Chowk, Rajya Angan, Dilkhush Mahal, Badi Chitrashali Chowk, Zenana Mahal, Surya Chopar, Sheesh Mahal, Moti Mahal, Krishna Vilas, Bhim Vilas, Amar Vilas, Rang Bhawan, Laxmi Vilas Chowk, Badi Mahal, Manak Mahal, and City Palace Museum. Badi Pol, Tripolia, and Hathi Pol are the gateways or entry points. The highest point of the palace, Amar Vilas offers breathtaking views over Lake Pichola, its islands, and surrounding mountains.
We skipped the light and sound show as we had already heard the history and stories from our guide. The Crystal gallery, though full of beautiful and ornate crystalware wasn’t worth the hefty ticket for it. Also, photography inside wasn’t allowed.
Tips:
- Start early to avoid crowds, as early as 9/9.30am at the least.
- Do hire a guide to get knowledge of the history of the palace and interesting stories.
- Do not shop at the city palace shops as they are pretty expensive compared to the ones on the outskirts of city center.
- Be prepared to walk/climb the multi stored palace.
- Boating from city palace for sunset is pretty expensive. Like us, if you are not interested in visiting Jag Mandir Island you can take the boat from Lal ghat or other ghats.
After a quick lunch we headed back to the hotel for some respite from the heat. On the way we booked the sunset boating tickets from Lal ghat, for 5.30pm.
The sunset boating over lake Pichola is a must do thing when in Udaipur. At sunset the surroundings darn a golden hue and it’s such a lovely sight to ride over the cool waters with soft breeze in your hair.
We took a rickshaw and went to Karni Mata Mandir. Here we took the tickets for the ropeway and used the ropeway to get to the top. We were lucky to be there for the evening aarti. The top offers spectacular views of the Lake Pichola and surroundings.
We then went back to Ambrai restaurant (which we had booked in advance) for dinner. Ambrai is one of the most popular restaurants in Udaipur as it boasts of stunning views of the City Palace and Taj Lake Palace. We found this place tad overrated. The views are definitely good, (although the same from Ambrai ghat), but the food was underwhelming and the service very slow.
Day 4: Haldi ghati, Maharana Pratap Museum and Kumbhalgarh.
We started early and first visited the Maharana Pratap museum and Haldi Ghati. The museum is informative for the kids about the history and the battle of Haldi Ghati.
Then after a quick lunch on the way we started for Kumbhalgarh fort. The drive is very scenic through a rustic countryside and the beautiful Aravalli ranges. Be prepared for a steep climb all along for the Kumbhalgarh fort. Do hire a guide for details of the fort and the history of it. The fort has this magnificent wall, the second largest in the world. You can visit the fort and also stroll along this huge wall. Kumbhalgarh is around 2.5 hours’ drive from Udaipur.
We had also planned to visit the Ranakpur Jain temples in the same trip after Kumbhalgarh, but we were exhausted after visiting the fort and decided to skip Ranakpur this time and headed back to hotel.
Day 5: Visit to Badi Lake, Bahubali hills, Fateh Sagar dam and Saheliyon ki bari.
We wished to visit the Bahubali hills for sunrise, but it was too difficult to get out the bed in the lovely cold weather, so we ended up starting post breakfast, around 9am. Its a short drive of around 30 mins from the city. We hired an auto rikshaw for the same. The badi lake is quite big and you can stroll or ride along it. The waters are crystal clear and its away from the noise and hustle bustle of the city.
The Bahubali hills are a popular wedding photography spot, so at times its very irritating when they occupy the best spots for hours and dont allow the public any chance to occupy then. It would be better to get there before they do! It’s a short trek of around 20 minutes to the top. The views are spectacularly rewarding.
At the onset of sunset, we took an auto rickshaw to visit Fateh Sagar Lake for boating and then visited Saheliyon ki Bari, which was a garden meant for the queen and her friends. The Fateh Sagar Lake was quite big and serene.
Day 6 : City vibes, Sajjangarh Palace (Monsoon Palace)
Today we took it easy. After a laid-back morning, I ventured out on the streets window shopping. We have been visiting quaint little cafes for lunch/dinner or just a coffee. Love the art decors on the shops and the lovely street arts along the way. I took a miniature painting art class with Madan sir, (his shop is close to Gangur Ghat).
Around 3pm we started for the Sajjangarh Biological Park. This is a zoo with various animals, so we thought it would be interesting. For some reason the buggies were not operational that day. We walked the huge park, but most of the animals were either asleep or hidden deep in the cage, so overall this was a little disappointing.
We then took the jeep ride to the top of the hill, to reach the monsoon palace for sunset. For driver we had Michael Schumacher, or someone trained under him. He zoomed across the curvy pin drives to the top, making us dizzy. 🙂 You take your taxi or private car to the top as well, but since we had taken a rickshaw we used the shared jeep drives. The tickets for the jeep drives can be booked along with the palace tickets.
The fort offers breathtaking views of the Udaipur city and the Pichola and Fatesagar lakes. At sunset this place is flocked with photography enthusiasts to catch the glimpses of the sunset.
After sunset we reached back to our hotel and then went for a stroll along the ghats to have the last meal of the trip. We checked out early next morning.
Fact file:
Travel:
There are cheap and direct flights from Mumbai\Delhi. We took Indigo direct flight.
Stay:
Bera: Castle Bera: https://www.instagram.com/castle_bera/
Udaipur: Jagat Niwas Palace hotel: https://www.jagatcollection.com/jagatniwas/
Make sure to book the stay well in advance here.
Transport:
We booked a taxi from the airport to Bera and then for longer travels. Otherwise there are autorickshaws easily available.
Tips:
- Always choose Bisleri\bottle water here. We heard a lot of cases of stomach bug during our stay.
- The city palace guides will drop you at the city palace shops for shopping, but these are pricier than other shops in the interiors.
- Do try the local kachoris and street foods, they are super yum!
- Haggle while shopping.
Leave a Reply