| Udaipur - "City of Lakes" |
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Udaipur, also known as "City of Lakes & Palaces", "Kashmir of Rajasthan", or "Venice of the East" is the most beautiful city in Southern Rajasthan. Surrounded by the Aravalli Hills Range, the city is associated with magnificent natural environs & royal architectural splendor. The city was strategically inhabited by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1568 as the capital of 'Kingdom of Mewar' in the lush, calm & serene valley of Aravallis.
Udaipur is known for its Rajput valour around the world. The historic battle of Haldighati between Maharana Pratap & Akbar is an unparalleled example of the Rajput valour & strategic war planning. The city is famous for its royal architectural splendor of palaces & temples. The architectural beauty of its palaces of Jag Mandir (famous for celebrity weddings), Jag Niwas (famous five star hotel of Taj group popularly known as Lake Palace as it is situated in the midst of Lake Pichola), City Palace (residence of Maharana of Udaipur spread across 4 acres of land), Shikarbadi Palace (a 5 star hotel), Devigarh Fort, Sajjangarh Fort (also known as monsoon palace situated on the top of Aravalli hill) is unparalleled.
The temples of Ranakpur & Rishabdeo (Jain temples), Eklingji (Shiv temple & worship place of Maharanas of Udaipur), Jagdish Mandir (Vishnu temple), Delwara & Nagda Jain temples are the architectural splendors in & around the city. The city is also marked with exotic natural beauty as it is situated in the lush & serene valley of Aravallis with number of lakes & gardens spread all around the city. The famous lakes of Jaisamand (Second largest man-made lake in Asia), Fatehsagar, Swaroop Sagar, Pichola Lake, Udai Sagar, Badi Lake, Nandeshwar Lake, etc. alongwith numerous gardens like Gulab Bagh (Garden of Roses), Dudh Talai (Pond of Milk), Nehru garden (situated in the midst of lake Fateh Sagar) Rajiv Gandhi Garden, Sanjay Gandhi Garden, Manikya Lal Verma Garden, Aravalli Vatika & many others to add to the natural beauty of Udaipur making it a favorite destination for tourists.
The economy of Udaipur is traditionally based on tourism, handicrafts & artefacts, and mining. The wooden & stone handicraft items along with the miniature paintings, etc. are unique example of the artistic abilities of people of Udaipur. The city is also known for its high quality & world's best green marble & other rich mineral deposits. Udaipur has also recently gained its importance on the world tourism map as a favorite destination for celebrity weddings in all royal splendors & as a venue for national & international conferences.
The city is also developing as an educational hub with large number of private universities, engineering, medical, management & nursing institutes along with coaching institutes for other professional courses coming up in & around the city. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-U) has also been established.
The city is situated at an elevation of 598 metres from mean sea level. The city is directly linked to the major cities of the country like New Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Mumbai, etc through roads, railways & air routes. It is situated at a distance of about 450 kms from Jaipur & 250 kms from Ahmedabad on National Highway 8 between the two cities. It also has the distinction of being the only city in the country to have both the East-West & North-South Corridor of the Golden Quadrilateral Highway Project passing through it.
The weather condition of the city is pleasant all the year round. |
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