Worth a trip in India: the lakes and palaces of Udaipur, Venice of the East
- Udaipur is a fairy-tale city full of gorgeous palaces, sprawling lakes and tiny alleyways that lead to mysterious temples and shops
- It also offers excellent Rajasthani food like laal maas, a rich, aromatic and heavily spiced mutton curry
The Indian city of Udaipur exudes the serene confidence of a woman who knows that no one can hold a candle to her beauty.
Other cities in the state of Rajasthan may be hip and cool (Dundlod), stage cultural events (Jodhpur) or be a social whirl (Jaipur). But Udaipur is known as the Venice of the East for a reason: its history and heritage, its forts, palaces and lakes, and a royal dynasty that is believed to be the oldest in the world – the House of Mewar that dates back to AD734.
This is not to say Udaipur hasn’t seen some bad days. About 10 years ago the city suffered consecutive droughts, which left the famous Lake Pichola dry. I once saw cows mournfully grazing on the parched stony lake, but recent monsoons mean that the lakes are now all full.
The lakes lend the small city an air of calm tranquillity rarely found in India. Udaipur also has a compact, intimate feel, enhanced by the ancient Aravalli Range of mountains that encircles the city.
Ambrai, the terraced restaurant at heritage hotel Amet Haveli, is the perfect place to relax as the vast Lake Pichola shimmers in front of you, and the occasional boat comes and goes. It offers excellent Rajasthani food, a very distinctive cuisine because this is a desert state where rain is scarce, resulting in a lack of fresh green vegetables. Cooks had to learn to specialise in foods such as lentils and beans.