Udaipur for Couples: A Romantic One-Day Plan, Sunrise to Night

Udaipur for couples sounds like a cliche until you are actually sitting on a ghat at sunset, watching a white palace float on Lake Pichola while the old city lights come on one by one. Back in the 1800s the British officer and historian James Tod called Udaipur “the most romantic spot on the continent of India”, and honestly, not much has changed, because the lakes, the palaces and the rooftop dinners are still the whole point of coming here.

Even if you only have one full day, you can see the best of the City of Lakes without rushing like a tourist bus. So here is my full day plan for two, from sunrise to late night: where to start the morning, which palaces are worth the time, where to take the boat, the best sunset points, a folk dance show, and where to sit at night with the City Palace glowing across the water.

Photo: UnpetitproleX, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original composition; resized for web.

One day in Udaipur for couples: the plan at a glance

Udaipur was founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II as the new capital of Mewar, and almost everything you want to see sits around its lakes, so you mostly move between ghats, palaces and rooftops. Here is the flow:

• Sunrise: Gangaur Ghat and the Daiji footbridge
• Morning: Jagdish Temple and the old city lanes
• Late morning: City Palace
• Lunch: a rooftop lakeview restaurant in the old city
• Afternoon: Saheliyon-ki-Bari and Fateh Sagar Lake
• Golden hour: boat ride on Lake Pichola
• Sunset: Ambrai Ghat, Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace or the Karni Mata ropeway
• Evening: Dharohar folk dance at Bagore Ki Haveli
• Night: Ambrai Ghat and a rooftop dinner

What to do in Udaipur as a couple, from sunrise to night

1. Sunrise at Gangaur Ghat and the Daiji footbridge

Start early, because the ghats of Lake Pichola are at their calmest in the morning, with still water and hardly any boats out. Gangaur Ghat is the main ghat near Jagdish Chowk, right next to Bagore Ki Haveli. From here walk across the Daiji footbridge (locals call it Daiji ki Puliya) to the Hanuman Ghat and Ambrai Ghat side and stop in the middle for the view back. It is a simple walk, but it is one of the most peaceful moments you will get in Udaipur, before the scooters and tour groups wake up.

To find Gangaur Ghat on the map, click here.

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original composition; resized for web.

2. Jagdish Temple and the old city lanes

From Gangaur Ghat it is a short walk uphill to Jagdish Temple, the largest temple in Udaipur. It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh I and has been in worship since 1651. You climb 32 marble steps past a brass Garuda, the mount of Vishnu, and the whole three-storey structure is covered in hand-carved stone, with a spire close to 79 feet high. The idol of Jagannath inside is carved from a single black stone.

The lanes around the temple are full of handicraft shops, paintings and silver jewellery, so grab a street-side breakfast and walk them slowly, hand in hand, before they get busy. For the temple location, click here.

Photo: Jmadhu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original composition; resized for web.

3. City Palace: the big royal morning

The City Palace is the big one. Construction started in the 1550s under Maharana Udai Singh II and carried on for nearly 400 years, with each Maharana adding his own wing, which is why it looks like a whole town of palaces stacked on a hill above Lake Pichola. You enter through the Badi Pol and the triple-arched Tripolia gate, then wander through courtyards, mirror-work rooms and galleries of miniature paintings.

Slow down at Amar Vilas, the highest point of the palace, a raised garden with fountains and arches, and at Badi Mahal, which sits on a natural rock about 27 metres high, so its ground floor feels like the fourth floor. The terraces give you some of the best views of the Lake Palace below. Keep 2 to 3 hours here and finish before the afternoon heat. For the location, click here.

Photo: Meenal2107, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Original composition; resized for web.

4. Saheliyon-ki-Bari: the Garden of the Maidens

After a long lunch (more on food below), head north to Saheliyon-ki-Bari, the Courtyard or Garden of the Maidens. It was built between 1710 and 1734 by Maharana Sangram Singh II for the royal ladies, and the legend says the queen came with 48 maids when she married, so the king made this garden for them to relax away from court politics. You will find fountains, kiosks, a lotus pool and marble elephants, and it is a sweet, green stop in the hottest part of the day. To find it, click here.

Photo: Mustang Joe, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Original composition; resized for web.

5. Fateh Sagar Lake: an afternoon by the second lake

Saheliyon-ki-Bari sits close to Fateh Sagar Lake, the second big lake of Udaipur. It was first built by Maharana Jai Singh in 1678, washed away in a flood, and rebuilt by Maharana Fateh Singh in 1889, which is how it got its name. Surrounded by the Aravalli hills on three sides, it gets Udaipur the nickname “the second Kashmir”. Walk along the embankment, known as the Pal or the Drive, and take a boat to Nehru Park, the largest of its three islands. This side of Udaipur feels more local and less touristy. For the location, click here.

Photo: Mustang Joe, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Original composition; resized for web.

6. Golden-hour boat ride on Lake Pichola

Come back to Lake Pichola in the late afternoon, when the light turns soft and golden. The lake was created in 1362 and later enlarged by Maharana Udai Singh II, and boats leave from the jetties near the City Palace. Check boat timings and tickets at the counter and try to get one of the last rides before sunset.

The boat passes the two island palaces that made Udaipur famous. The Lake Palace, built in white marble around 1743 to 1746 by Maharana Jagat Singh II as a summer palace, is now the Taj Lake Palace hotel, and you will recognise it from the James Bond film Octopussy (1983). Jag Mandir, on the southern island, was completed by Maharana Jagat Singh I, and in 1623 it sheltered the Mughal prince Khurram, who later became Shah Jahan, the man who built the Taj Mahal. Look out for the eight stone elephants at the Jag Mandir jetty, four on each side of the steps.

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original composition; resized for web.

7. Sunset: pick your spot

Udaipur has three classic sunset spots, and which one you pick depends on what you want to do after.

• Ambrai Ghat: watch the City Palace walls turn gold across the lake, then the lights come on. This is my pick for this plan, because the folk dance show is just across the Daiji footbridge. For the location, click here.
• Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace: a white marble palace begun in 1884 by Maharana Sajjan Singh on Bansdara peak, about 5 km west of the city, to watch the monsoon clouds. The view over the lakes is huge, but it is open only until sunset and you need a taxi or auto up through the wildlife sanctuary, so the dance show after gets tight. For the location, click here.
• Karni Mata ropeway: a short cable car from Deendayal Upadhyay Park at Doodh Talai up Machla Magra hill, with Lake Pichola, the City Palace and Jag Mandir in one frame. For the location, click here.

Photo: UnpetitproleX, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original composition; resized for web.

8. Dharohar folk dance at Bagore Ki Haveli

Bagore Ki Haveli is an 18th-century mansion on Gangaur Ghat, built by Amar Chand Badwa, a Prime Minister of Mewar. It has 138 rooms with mirror work and old frescoes and is a museum by day, but in the evening the reason to come is Dharohar, the folk dance show run by the West Zone Cultural Centre in the courtyard. It usually starts around 7 pm and runs for about an hour, tickets are sold at the gate, and seats are first come first served, so reach early.

You get Chari dance with lit brass pots on the dancers’ heads, Terah Taali with 13 small cymbals tied to the body, Ghoomar, a puppet show, and a finale where one dancer balances a tall stack of pots on her head. Loud, colourful and full of energy, it is Rajasthani culture packed into one hour. To find it, click here.

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original composition; resized for web.

9. Ambrai Ghat at night and a lakeview dinner

After the show, walk back across the Daiji footbridge to Ambrai Ghat. At night the whole City Palace is lit up in gold and its reflection stretches across the water, and this is the Udaipur view you will remember. Sit on the ghat for a while, then go up to one of the rooftop restaurants on this side of the lake for a candle-lit dinner with the palace in front of you. This is the best hour of the whole day, so do not rush it.

Photo: Arnav khorana, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Original composition; resized for web.

Food options in Udaipur for couples

The old city around Lal Ghat, Gangaur Ghat and Jagdish Chowk is packed with rooftop cafes and lakeview restaurants, and the Hanuman Ghat and Ambrai side has more of them facing the City Palace. For breakfast, look for street-side kachori and poha stalls. For lunch, a Rajasthani thali with dal baati churma and gatte ki sabzi is a must, and if you eat non-veg, try laal maas, the spicy Rajasthani mutton curry. For a splurge dinner, the heritage palace hotels around the lake have fine-dining restaurants, so book ahead, especially on weekends.

Things to note in Udaipur

1. The old city lanes are narrow, steep and full of scooters, so walk or take an auto rather than driving your own car in. Wear proper walking shoes, not new sandals.
2. Cover shoulders and knees at Jagdish Temple and remove your footwear before going up.
3. Sajjangarh is inside a wildlife sanctuary and is open only until sunset, so plan your ride back down.
4. Do not swim in the lakes. They supply drinking water to the city and the ghat steps get slippery.
5. Carry mosquito repellent for the ghats and rooftops in the evening.
6. Weekends, Diwali, Christmas and New Year are very crowded, and prices for stays go up, so book early.

How to reach Udaipur

By Air

Udaipur has its own airport, Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok, about 22 km east of the city, with direct flights from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and other big cities. Book your cab into the old city in advance.

By Train

Udaipur City railway station is about 2.5 km from the city centre and has direct trains from Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru and other cities. From the station, the old city lake area is a short auto ride.

By Road

Udaipur sits on the Golden Quadrilateral highway network, roughly midway between Delhi and Mumbai. It is about 250 km from Ahmedabad and about 400 km from Jaipur, so it makes a nice road trip for couples from Gujarat. To start your navigation, click here.

Best time to visit Udaipur

The best time to visit Udaipur is from mid-September to March. Right after the monsoon the lakes are full and the Aravalli hills are green, and from November to February the days are bright and pleasant while mornings and nights are cold, so carry a light jacket for the sunrise walk and the rooftop dinner. April to June is very hot, with temperatures that can cross 40 degrees, so if you go in summer, keep the sightseeing to mornings and evenings.

Places to stay in Udaipur for couples

For a one-day plan like this, stay in the old city around Lal Ghat and Gangaur Ghat, or on the Hanuman Ghat and Ambrai side, so the sunrise walk, the dance show and the night view are all on foot. The Fateh Sagar side is quieter and a bit more local. If you want to splurge, the famous names are the Taj Lake Palace on its island in Lake Pichola, The Oberoi Udaivilas, built on old royal hunting grounds, and Shiv Niwas Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace inside the City Palace complex.

I have been to Udaipur too, on a fun weekend where a big group of us booked a palace stay for a party. Here is a quick glimpse of our room:

FAQ

1. Is Udaipur good for couples?

Yes. With its lakes, island palaces, ghats and rooftop restaurants, Udaipur is a classic choice for honeymoons and anniversaries.

2. Is one day enough for Udaipur?

Yes, one full day covers the highlights if you follow a plan like this one. With 2 or 3 days you can add Sajjangarh, the museums and lazy mornings.

3. Which is the best sunset point in Udaipur?

Ambrai Ghat is the classic, with the City Palace glowing across Lake Pichola. Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace gives the widest view over the lakes, and the Karni Mata ropeway gives the lake, City Palace and Jag Mandir in one frame.

4. Can we swim in Lake Pichola?

No. The lakes supply drinking water to the city and the ghat steps are slippery. Enjoy the lake from a boat instead.

5. Is Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace open at night?

No. It is open only until sunset, but the palace is lit up in the evening, so you can see it glowing on the hill from the city.

Final Thoughts

Udaipur is not a city you tick off, it is a city you slow down in. Watch the lake wake up, take the boat at golden hour and end the night at Ambrai Ghat with the palace lights on the water, and you will understand why James Tod fell for it. Which one would you pick for your sunset, Ambrai Ghat, Sajjangarh or the ropeway? Tell me in the comments. Udaipur is also on my list of best places for solo travel in India. For another heritage walk, read my White Town Pondicherry guide, and if you are dreaming bigger for your honeymoon, see my top places to visit in Amalfi Coast and Sardinia and things to do in Positano.

Want an Udaipur trip planned around your own dates, with the right stays, sunsets and experiences for the two of you? I can make you a custom couple’s plan. CLICK HERE to fill the trip form.

I plan the route. I don’t book the ferry, the stay, or the tickets. A custom plan is Rs. 200 per travel day. Fill the trip form, pay online, and I’ll send you the plan.

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