A lake made twice
Fateh Sagar has been built, lost and built again. Its name belongs to the second builder, but its story begins two centuries earlier.
The first lake: in the late seventeenth century Maharana Jai Singh of Mewar dammed a valley north of the city.
Its purpose: like everything in the water system of Udaipur, it stored the monsoon rains for the dry months, for farming and for the growing town.
An earth dam: it held for two hundred years. Then, in the nineteenth century, floods broke it and the lake drained away.
At a glance
- Built
- Late 17th century, rebuilt in the late 1880s
- Built by
- Maharana Jai Singh, then Maharana Fateh Singh
- Open
- Free and open to all
- Allow
- An hour, two with a boat and Moti Magri
- Best time
- Dawn for calm, from about 5 pm for life
- Photography
- Dawn mist and evening crowds
- Getting there
- About 15 minutes' drive from Pichola
- The rebuilding: in the late 1880s Maharana Fateh Singh, who ruled from 1884 to 1930, raised a strong masonry dam on the eastern side of the valley and enlarged the lake well beyond its old shape.
- Its name: Fateh Sagar, the ocean of Fateh.
- Connaught Bandh: the dam was associated with the visit of Queen Victoria's son, the Duke of Connaught, and older people still use that name. Most of Udaipur calls it the Pal, the embankment, or the Drive.
- A chain of lakes: channels link Fateh Sagar to Pichola through Swaroop Sagar, so water passes from one lake to the next, north to south through the city.
- Remarkable engineering: all this in one of the driest states in India.
- From farms to taps: it began as an irrigation scheme for the farms below. Today it is one of the city's main sources of drinking water, which is why people take its level so personally.
Maharana Fateh Singh, the last great builder
Fateh Singh ruled Mewar for forty-six years, through the high noon of the British Raj. His name is on more of Udaipur than any ruler since the founder.
His accession: he came to the throne in 1884 after the early death of Maharana Sajjan Singh and, like his predecessor, was adopted into the main line from a related branch of the family.
A peaceful reign: long and, by the standards of Mewar's history, calm, and he spent much of it building.
In Udaipur: he finished the Monsoon Palace that Sajjan Singh had begun, and raised the Durbar Hall in the City Palace.
Facts to know
- Ruled
- 1884 to 1930
- Came after
- Maharana Sajjan Singh
- Durbar Hall
- Foundation stone laid in 1909
- Finished
- The Monsoon Palace
- Devotion
- Eklingji
- His wing: he gave his name to the palace wing of Fateh Prakash.
- At Chittorgarh: another Fateh Prakash palace, built in his time, now houses the fort's museum.
- A proud ruler: Mewar remembers him guarding the dignity of his house closely in dealings with the British, at a time when many princes sought their favour.
- Pride and piety: Udaipur families still tell stories of his pride, his piety and his long devotion to Eklingji.
- His simplest monument: the dam you can walk on, which turned a broken valley back into a lake the city still uses every day.
- Read more: our journal piece on the Mewar royal family traces the line from the founding of Udaipur to the end of the princely states.
Why this is the people's lake
Pichola belongs to hotels and palaces. Fateh Sagar belongs to everyone else, and you feel the difference the moment you arrive.
Our grandmother used to say that you have not seen Udaipur until you have sat on this wall with a cup of tea and watched the Monsoon Palace come on.
Pichola is enclosed: its shore is lined with old havelis, temples and hotels, and the water is seen mostly from terraces and boats.
Fateh Sagar is open: a long road runs along the eastern embankment, with a low stone wall that is the city's favourite bench.
- All around: on the other sides, roads curve round the shore between the water and the hills.
- Everyone comes: students meet here after college, families bring grandparents on summer evenings, and newly married couples are photographed with the hills behind them.
- Roasted corn: sellers roast bhutta, corn on the cob, over coals and rub it with lime, salt and chilli.
- Other stalls: tea, sweet milky coffee and simple snacks, with the smell of roasting corn drifting across the road at dusk.
- Eating safely: our guides know which carts are clean and busy, and we always check before buying. Our guide to the food of Udaipur has more.
- The view west: across the water to the forested hills, with the pale outline of the Monsoon Palace on the highest peak.
- Sunset and after: the palace catches the last light after the lake has gone dark, and after nightfall it is lit like a lamp on the hill.
The three islands
Fateh Sagar has three islands, and each has a very different life: a garden for families, a fountain and a laboratory that studies the sun.
Nehru Park, the island garden
The largest island: a public garden named after India's first prime minister, reached by boat from a jetty on the embankment.
- What's there: lawns, flower beds, paths and views back across the water to the city and the hills.
- A family classic: children love the boat ride as much as the garden.
- When: the late afternoon, when the light is soft and the island is cool.
The fountain island
- A small park: with a tall water-jet fountain.
- From a distance: you cannot always land, but the fountain is a cheerful sight from the embankment and passing boats, especially in evening light.
The Udaipur Solar Observatory
An unusual building: a solar observatory set up in the mid-1970s, now run by the Physical Research Laboratory of Ahmedabad.
- Why here: Udaipur has many clear, sunny days, and a large body of water steadies the air around the telescope, giving sharper images of the sun.
- Not a tourist sight: it is a working scientific institution, so admire it from the water.
- A fitting twist: the city of the sun-descended Maharanas now studies the sun itself.
Around the shore, place by place
The best way to see Fateh Sagar is to drive slowly round it, stopping wherever the view or the story asks you to.
The Pal, the eastern embankment
Fateh Singh's dam: the long masonry dam is now the lake's promenade.
- At dawn: runners and walkers have it to themselves, and in winter mist may lie on the water.
- At dusk: the whole city comes out.
- The classic picture: the view west to the hills and the Monsoon Palace.
Moti Magri and the Maharana Pratap memorial
The pearl hill: a memorial beside the lake honours Maharana Pratap, the son of Udai Singh II who fought the Mughals at Haldighati in 1576.
- The statue: a bronze of Pratap on his horse Chetak, set in gardens that climb the hill.
- The view: from the top, one of the best over the lake in the north of the city.
- Real feeling: Mewaris come here with deep emotion. Our journal on Maharana Pratap and Haldighati explains why.
Rani Road and the western shore
Between lake and hills: Rani Road runs along the water on the western side, quieter than the embankment, with long views back to the city.
- An evening drive: a local favourite.
- Shore temples: small temples line this side, including one to Shiva as Mahakaleshwar, busy with worshippers in the evening.
Saheliyon ki Bari, below the lake
- The garden: the eighteenth-century garden of the royal women, with fountains, a lotus pool and marble elephants.
- Our order: visit it at opening time, then walk up to the lake for breakfast by the water.
Shilpgram, to the west
A crafts village: run by the West Zone Cultural Centre beyond the lake, with traditional houses from across western India and craftspeople at work.
- In December: it hosts a large crafts fair.
- Buying well: our crafts experience explains how we meet artisans and buy directly from them.
Boats on Fateh Sagar
Boating on Fateh Sagar is a family pleasure rather than a romantic one. That is exactly why we enjoy it.
The rides: besides the island garden trip there are short rides around the lake.
Pedal boats: on a busy evening, families laugh at each other's steering. Noisy, cheerful, very local, and children usually love it.
Facts to know
- Jetty
- On the embankment
- Main trip
- Out to the island garden
- Safety
- Life jackets provided
- Best hours
- Early morning, late afternoon
- Routes and times
- Vary with season and lake level
- For romance: take a quiet sunset boat on Pichola instead. Our page on a boat on Lake Pichola explains how we arrange it.
- We confirm on the day: boat types, routes and timings change with the season and lake level.
- Children: we ask that they wear life jackets.
- Avoid midday: the water glares and there is little shade.
- Out in the middle: the noise fades, the hills close in on three sides and the Monsoon Palace stands directly above you.
- Late light: the hills turn gold, then blue, and the city behind you seems very far away.
Local tip
Going to the island garden? Ask for a later return, so you cross back as the light goes, with the embankment lamps coming on ahead.
A lake the city depends on
In Udaipur, the level of Fateh Sagar is front-page news. When it rises after the rains, people drive out at night just to see the water.
A reservoir first: its water comes almost entirely from the monsoon, carried down from the hills by streams and channels.
Poor years: the lake can fall far below its banks, and the city feels it at once, in its taps as well as on its promenade.
- Good years: when water pours over the spillway, families gather on the embankment, the papers print photographs and older residents compare it with the great monsoons of their youth.
- City pressures: like Pichola, the lake has struggled with sewage, silt from the hills, weeds and building on its catchment.
- Getting better: in recent decades citizens' groups and government programmes have worked to clean it, desilt it and keep sewage out, and the water is visibly better cared for.
- How you can help: throw nothing into the water, avoid plastic on boats and at stalls, and choose hotels that take water seriously.
- Our approach: see our page on sustainable travel in Rajasthan.
- Water in Rajasthan: the lakes of Udaipur are a good place to start, and the stepwells of the north are next. Our page on the stepwells of Rajasthan tells that story.
The best hour and the best season
Fateh Sagar has two good hours a day, and they could hardly be more different. One is for calm, the other is for crowds.
At dawn: the lake is still, the hills blue, and the embankment belongs to walkers, runners and a few men doing yoga on the wall.
Winter mist: sometimes hangs over the water, so the islands seem to float.
Season by season
- Aug to Nov
- Fullest lake, green hills
- Dec to Feb
- Clear days, cool mornings
- Apr to Jun
- Hot; water can fall low
- Busiest
- Weekend and holiday evenings
- For photographers: dawn is the hour to have the lake almost to yourself.
- A gentle morning: combine it with Saheliyon ki Bari at opening time, just below the lake.
- From about five: the embankment fills, the corn sellers light their coals and the sky turns orange behind the Monsoon Palace.
- Everyday life: busy, especially on weekends and holidays, but the best place in Udaipur to see the city's own evenings.
- On the way to sunset: we often stop for half an hour on the drive up to Sajjangarh, or on the way back after dark when the palace is lit.
- After a good monsoon: water pours over the spillway and people drive out just to watch. Our guide to the best time to visit Udaipur has the month-by-month detail.
Festivals by the lake
Several times a year, the embankment becomes the city's fairground. These are the days when we bring guests to Fateh Sagar on purpose.
Hariyali Amavasya, in the monsoon
When: the new moon of Shravan, in late July or August.
- Where: a city fair around Fateh Sagar and Saheliyon ki Bari, celebrating the green of the rains.
- What's there: stalls, swings, sweets and crowds of families in bright clothes.
- Women's day: by custom one day of the fair is set aside for women. Noisy, cheerful and entirely local.
Teej, at the height of the rains
- The festival: of the monsoon and of marriage.
- What you'll see: women in green leheriya, the wave-dyed cloth of Rajasthan, swings hanging from trees and a lakeside full of colour.
Diwali, in October or November
- Lights: lamps and fairy lights line the embankment and the hotels on the hills.
- Fireworks: burst over the water, and the lake doubles every light.
How to visit well
Fateh Sagar is free, open and easy. A few simple choices turn a quick stop into one of the best hours of your stay.
Timing: come at dawn for calm and photographs, or in the early evening for the life of the city.
Allow: an hour for a walk on the embankment, and an extra hour for a boat to the island garden and a visit to Moti Magri.
Before you go
- Allow
- One hour, two with boat and memorial
- Access
- Flat, paved embankment
- Avoid
- Midday glare
- Winter dawns
- Bring a shawl
- Mobility: the embankment is one of the easiest places in Udaipur for limited mobility. The memorial on Moti Magri involves a climb.
- Traffic: the lakeside road can be heavy in the evening. Hold children's hands and cross carefully.
- Street food: choose busy, clean stalls, ask for corn freshly roasted, and avoid raw salads and ice from street carts.
- Keep it clean: do not throw anything into the lake. It is a drinking-water source for the city.
- Winter mornings: the wind off the water is cold.
What most visitors miss
Most visitors stop at the embankment, take one photograph and leave. These are the things worth staying for.
The spillway after the rains
- A white sheet: after a good monsoon, water spills over the dam in a long white sheet.
- The city's moment: families crowd the embankment to watch what they have been waiting for.
The palace lights coming on
- Stay ten minutes: after sunset the Monsoon Palace lights up on its hill.
- Reflections: they stretch towards you across the lake.
The view from Moti Magri
- Keep climbing: most visitors photograph the statue of Maharana Pratap and leave.
- The reward: the view across the lake to the islands and the hills.
Birds in the quieter bays
- Winter birds: cormorants, egrets, herons and migrant ducks in the quieter corners, away from the boats.
- When: early morning is best.
A day in the north of the city
Fateh Sagar is the centre of a day we love to plan for second-time visitors, who have seen Pichola and want the greener, more everyday Udaipur.
Dawn, the embankment
- Sunrise walk: walk the Pal as the sun rises over the city behind you and lights the hills across the water.
- Tea: stop at a stall as the first walkers arrive.
Morning, the garden and the memorial
- Opening time: visit Saheliyon ki Bari.
- The climb: then walk up Moti Magri to the Maharana Pratap memorial for the view across the lake.
Midday, crafts and rest
- An hour of craft: at Shilpgram or a painter's studio.
- Rest: lunch at your hotel and a rest through the heat of the day.
Evening, the lake and the palace on the hill
- Back at five: roasted corn and the life of the lake on the embankment.
- Sunset: drive up to the Monsoon Palace. Our Udaipur itinerary shows how this fits into three days.
Fateh Sagar or Pichola, and how to see both
Guests often ask which lake to choose. Our answer is both, at different hours, because they show you two different cities.
Pichola for palaces: the shore is lined with havelis, temples and hotels, and the City Palace rises above it. Come for a private boat in the last hour of light.
Fateh Sagar for people: an open embankment, roasted corn, students and grandparents, and pedal boats out to the island garden.
The two lakes compared
- Fateh Sagar
- About 2.4 by 1.6 km, three islands
- Pichola
- Palaces, havelis and island hotels
- Fateh Sagar boats
- Cheerful family rides
- Pichola boats
- Quiet, private sunset trips
- Linked by
- Channels through Swaroop Sagar
- One water system: the two lakes are joined through Swaroop Sagar, so the rain that fills one in a good monsoon also reaches the other.
- Different views: from Pichola you look at the City Palace and the Lake Palace. From Fateh Sagar you look west to the forested hills and the Monsoon Palace on its peak.
- Easy to combine: the drive between them takes about fifteen minutes, so dawn on Fateh Sagar and sunset on Pichola fit into one day.
- Second visits: if you have already seen Pichola and want a greener, more everyday Udaipur, give Fateh Sagar a whole day.
Where to stay
Most of our guests stay on Pichola and drive up to Fateh Sagar in about fifteen minutes. A few prefer the hills above the northern lake.
The classic Udaipur: stay on or beside Pichola, an easy drive from Fateh Sagar at dawn or dusk.
Taj Lake Palace: floats on its island.
- On the western shore: The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Leela Palace Udaipur.
- Inside the City Palace: Shiv Niwas Palace.
- Above Fateh Sagar: a few hotels stand on the surrounding hills with views over the water, for travellers who prefer a quieter, greener part of the city.
- Heading north: towards Eklingji, Nathdwara or Kumbhalgarh, a night at RAAS Devigarh, an eighteenth-century hill palace at Delwara, follows naturally from a day in the north.
- Compare: our guide to luxury hotels in Udaipur covers every option, and our page on Pichola explains how the two lakes differ.
Who will love it
Fateh Sagar is not a monument. It is a place to watch a city enjoy itself, and some travellers love that more than any palace.
People-watchers: you will love it if you are curious about everyday life and like to walk.
Children: a welcome break from museums.
Good for
- The curious
- Everyday Udaipur life
- Families
- A break from museums
- Photographers
- Dawn mist, evening crowds
- Repeat visitors
- The city at home
- Photographers: the dawn mist and the evening crowds.
- Repeat visitors: often tell us this was where the city finally felt like home.
- For silence and romance: keep your evenings for Pichola and come here at dawn instead.
- More ideas: our things to do in Udaipur covers every kind of traveller.
