Udaipur

Udaipur, in southern Rajasthan, is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar. It was founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia Rajput clan, who shifted his capital from the exposed hill-fort of Chittorgarh to the safer, lake-filled Girwa Valley after repeated Mughal attacks.

Legend says a hermit meditating above Lake Pichola blessed Udai Singh and advised him to build a new city on its banks. The Maharana created Udaipur around this lake, later adding works like the City Palace and Udai Sagar dam, while older trade town Ayad nearby continued as a commercial centre.

Udaipur remained the capital of independent Mewar through centuries of conflict and diplomacy with the Mughals and Marathas, formally becoming a princely state under British India in 1818. After Independence, Mewar acceded to India and merged into the new state of Rajasthan.

Today Udaipur is celebrated as “City of Lakes” for Pichola, Fateh Sagar and others, and for its palaces, havelis and temples that preserve the royal heritage of Mewar.