A palace for watching the rain
Most palaces in Rajasthan were built to impress, to defend or to rule. This one was built for something gentler: to see the weather coming.
The monsoon decides everything: the lakes of Udaipur fill only if the rains are good, and farmers in the hills plant only when the first storms arrive.
A poet's weather: the region's poetry is full of clouds, peacocks and longing, so a palace for watching the rain is not so strange.
The commission: in 1884 Maharana Sajjan Singh chose the highest hill west of the city, an Aravalli peak called Bansdara, and named the palace Sajjangarh after himself.
At a glance
- Built
- Begun in 1884, finished in a simpler form
- Built by
- Sajjan Singh, completed by Fateh Singh
- Open
- Usually closes around dusk
- Allow
- About 1.5 hours, plus half an hour each way
- Best time
- An hour before sunset; the monsoon
- Photography
- Welcome
- Getting there
- A short drive west, via the sanctuary gate
- Ambitious plans: several storeys high, a summer retreat for the court and, it is said, something of an observatory for following the monsoon clouds.
- Looking to Chittor: tradition says he chose the hill because it faced east towards Chittor, the capital his family had lost three centuries earlier.
- Never finished by him: Sajjan Singh died at the end of 1884, still in his twenties, and Maharana Fateh Singh completed the palace.
- Its use: a monsoon retreat and a hunting lodge, for the forested hill was a royal hunting preserve.
- The water problem: it depended on rainwater in an underground cistern, and on a dry hilltop that was never quite enough.
- Its later life: it fell out of regular use, passed to the state government and the forest department, and opened to visitors.
The young Maharana and his successor
Sajjan Singh ruled for only ten years, but Udaipur is full of his ideas. To understand the Monsoon Palace, it helps to know the man.
A teenage king: Sajjan Singh came to the throne in 1874, adopted into the main line from a related branch of the family.
The Bagore link: his natural father, Maharaj Shakti Singh of Bagore, extended the haveli on Gangaur Ghat that bears the Bagore name. See our guide to Bagore ki Haveli.
Facts to know
- Sajjan Singh
- Ruled 1874 to 1884
- His father
- Maharaj Shakti Singh of Bagore
- Fateh Singh
- Ruled 1884 to 1930
- Fateh Singh built
- Fateh Sagar dam, Durbar Hall
- Curious and modern-minded: he ordered the English crystal furniture now in the City Palace, supported scholarship and poetry, and improved the city.
- His successor: Maharana Fateh Singh ruled for more than forty years and left his name all over Udaipur.
- Fateh Singh's works: he rebuilt the dam of the lake now called Fateh Sagar, raised the Durbar Hall in the City Palace and finished Sajjangarh.
- Two men, one palace: the dream of one and the completion of the other. From its terraces, Pichola and Fateh Sagar lie below you.
- Under British paramountcy: a Maharana could build palaces and gardens, but much real power lay elsewhere.
- Beauty and science: some historians see in the glass, crystal, observatories and pleasure palaces of this period a court turning its energy away from war. Our page on the Rajput dynasties puts Mewar in that wider story.
The road through the forest
The drive up is part of the visit. Within minutes of the city's edge, you are climbing through scrub forest, with langurs on the walls and the lakes dropping away below.
A protected hill: the palace stands at the heart of a small sanctuary of dry Aravalli forest, enclosed by a long wall.
The road: winds up from the sanctuary gate in a series of bends.
Facts to know
- Sanctuary
- Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary, set up in 1987
- Forest
- Dry Aravalli scrub, walled
- Wildlife
- Langurs, peacocks, nilgai, sambar
- Vehicle access
- Controlled at the gate; we confirm on the day
- Two seasons of forest: brown and open in the cooler months, deep green in the monsoon, with water running across the road and clouds drifting through the trees.
- Watch for: langur monkeys on the walls, peacocks crossing the road and, in quieter stretches, nilgai and sambar deer.
- Leopards: live in these hills, though you are very unlikely to see one.
- The access rules: arrangements for private cars and shuttle vehicles have changed over the years, so we check them and brief your driver.
- The biological park: near the gate, animals are kept in large enclosures. We do not include it as a matter of course, and our page on ethical animal encounters explains why.
Local tip
Ask your driver to stop at a bend where the trees open out. You will see Fateh Sagar and its islands to the north-east, and in the monsoon the clouds can sometimes be below you.
The palace, terrace by terrace
Sajjangarh is not a museum full of treasures. It is a palace to walk round slowly, from one terrace to the next, following the light.
The forecourt and the first view
Arrival: the road ends below the walls, and a short climb brings you to the forecourt.
- The facade: pale against the sky, with turrets, arched windows and small domed pavilions.
- Already wide: the first view east over the city, with the late sun lighting the palace from behind you.
The central court and the staircase
The layout: rooms arranged around a central court, with a grand staircase to the upper floors.
- Inside: mostly empty rooms, some closed, but carved pillars, arches and plastered walls remain.
- A small display: in some rooms, telling the story of the palace and the sanctuary.
- Keep climbing: the upper terraces are where everyone ends up.
The eastern terraces, for the city
Pichola below: the City Palace a long cream line on its far shore, the Lake Palace a white dot in the water.
- Fateh Sagar: spreads out to the north with its islands.
- The whole idea of Udaipur: a ring of lakes in a bowl of hills, with the old city in the middle.
The western terraces, for the sunset
No city at all: only ridge after ridge of the Aravallis, each a paler blue than the last.
- Monsoon theatre: you may see rain on one hill while the sun shines on another.
- The reason it exists: this is what the palace was built for, and still the finest moment of a visit.
The cistern and the water problem
Ask to see it: where rainwater was collected for the palace.
- Why it failed: the underground cistern could not supply the household through the dry months, so the palace was never truly lived in.
- The whole story: in Rajasthan, where every palace and fort depends on water, this small detail says it all.
The palace by night
- Lit in gold: after dark the palace glows above the city.
- From below: watch it from a rooftop by Pichola or the Fateh Sagar embankment, floating above the dark hills like a lantern.
How the palace was built
Sajjangarh looks simple from a distance. Up close, it is a late flowering of Rajput palace building, made for views and breezes rather than for war.
Materials: largely white marble and stone, with walls finished in lime plaster, standing on pillars carved with leaves and flowers.
Rajput grammar: a strong base, a central court and upper storeys opening into balconies, turrets and chhatris.
Jharokhas: projecting stone balconies from which the court could look out without being seen.
- Few defences: unlike the City Palace, because by the 1880s no one expected an army to come up this hill.
- The setting is everything: placed to catch the wind and view in every direction, its terraces and open arcades work like the deck of a ship.
- Cooler up here: in the hot months the hilltop breeze is noticeably cooler than the city.
- Built for storms: in the monsoon you could watch them build over the western hills and move towards the lakes.
- Interiors: much decoration has gone, and some parts have been plainly restored.
- Come for the outline: the building against the sky, its terraces and its view. See the City Palace for interiors. Our guide to reading Rajasthani architecture explains the elements.
Sunset, and the season of clouds
Everyone in Udaipur will tell you to come at sunset. They are right, but the details matter: when to arrive, where to stand and which month to choose.
About an hour before sunset: walk the eastern terraces while the city is in warm light, then move west as the sun drops.
Stay for the colour: then drive down through the forest in the dusk.
Season by season
- Jul to Sep
- The season it was built for
- Oct and Nov
- Our favourite: green hills, full lakes
- Dec to Feb
- Cool, crisp light; bring a shawl
- Apr to Jun
- Hot and hazy, cooler on the hill
- Weekdays are calmer: on winter weekends and holidays the terraces are busy with local families and couples.
- Early morning: to avoid crowds entirely, when the air is clearest and the forest full of birds.
- Monsoon evenings: hills green, clouds low over the ridges, and sometimes a storm crossing the valley towards you.
- Flexible plans: in the rains the road can be slippery and the view can vanish into cloud, so we go up on the clearest evening of your stay.
- Just after the rains: in October and November the air is washed clean.
- Read more: our best time to visit Udaipur guide, and our journal on the monsoon in Udaipur.
How to visit the Monsoon Palace
Sajjangarh is easy to visit, but a little planning makes a big difference. These are the practical details we arrange.
Travel time: a short drive west, but allow about half an hour each way with the sanctuary road and the stop at the gate.
Vehicle access: arrangements on the hill road change from time to time, so we confirm them on the day.
On the hill: allow about an hour and a half, timed to finish at sunset.
Before you go
- Drive
- About half an hour each way
- On the hill
- About an hour and a half
- Closes
- Usually around dusk
- Bring
- Water, grippy shoes, a winter shawl
- Shade
- Little on the terraces
- Closing: the palace usually closes around dusk, so don't plan to stay long after dark.
- Steps: the final approach and terraces have some steps and uneven surfaces. Tell us about mobility needs and we will plan the gentlest route.
- Shoes: with grip, especially in the monsoon, when the stone can be wet.
- Bring: a shawl in winter and water all year. There is little shade on the terraces in the afternoon.
- Lenses: a wide lens catches the view, and a longer one picks out the City Palace and Lake Palace far below.
- Langurs: keep your distance, do not feed them, and keep food out of sight.
A Sajjangarh evening, the way we plan it
This is the afternoon and evening we give guests on their day in the north and west of the city. It follows the light up the hill and back down to the water.
Late afternoon, tea by Fateh Sagar
- On the embankment: a cup of tea among Udaipur's families, with the palace pale on its hill across the water.
- Leave on time: set off so you reach the top about an hour before sunset, allowing half an hour for the drive and the gate.
The hour before sunset, the eastern terraces
- The city in warm light: Pichola, the City Palace and Fateh Sagar laid out below.
- Find the landmarks: the long cream line of the City Palace and the white dot of the Lake Palace.
Sunset, the western terraces
- Walk round: to the ridges of the Aravallis as the sun goes down behind them.
- Stay for the afterglow: the pink and violet sky, and the city lights coming on below.
After dark, back to the water
- The forest at dusk: drive down slowly, watching for peacocks and langurs.
- Dinner with a view: on a rooftop by Pichola or at a western shore hotel, where you can look up at the lit palace you have just left.
Sajjangarh and Udaipur's other sunset points
Udaipur has several great places to watch the sun go down. Each shows you something different, and on a longer stay we use more than one.
Sajjangarh for the big picture: the only place where you see Pichola, Fateh Sagar and the Aravallis together.
Pichola for the palace: a private boat in the last hour of light, mid-lake as the sun drops.
Where to watch the sunset
- Monsoon Palace
- The widest view, lakes and hills
- Pichola boat
- The City Palace turning amber
- Ambrai Ghat
- The whole palace facade at dusk
- Karni Mata ropeway
- The old city from above
- Fateh Sagar
- The palace lit on its hill
- Ambrai Ghat for the lights: on the western shore, facing the City Palace as its lights come on one by one.
- The ropeway for the old city: from Machhla Magra you look down over the ghats and the length of the lake.
- Fateh Sagar after sunset: watch the Monsoon Palace light up above the dark hills.
- On three nights: we suggest the boat on one evening, Sajjangarh on another and Ambrai Ghat on the last.
What most visitors miss
Most people rush to the eastern terrace, take a picture of the lakes and leave as soon as the sun sets. These are the things worth staying for.
The western ridges
- The view that explains it: away from the city, over the folds of the Aravallis.
- Often skipped: many visitors never walk round to see it.
The afterglow
- Ten or fifteen minutes later: the sky over the hills often turns pink and violet, and the city lights come on below.
- Empty terraces: most people have already left.
The forest in the morning
- Very few come early: the sanctuary is cool and quiet in the first hours.
- What you'll find: peacocks, langurs, birdsong and often the clearest view.
The palace from below
- Look back: from the embankment at Fateh Sagar or a terrace on Pichola, it hangs over the dark hills like a lamp.
- A changed skyline: you will never look at Udaipur's horizon the same way again.
What to pair with it, and where to stay
The Monsoon Palace sits on the western edge of the city. It pairs best with the gardens and lakes of the north, and with a night by the water.
For couples: sunset at Sajjangarh is a fixed point of our Udaipur romance journey.
- Other sunsets: our journal on Udaipur sunset spots compares it with the boat on Pichola and the ghats at dusk.
- In the rains: our Monsoon in Mewar journey is built around this season.
Fateh Sagar, before you go up
- Late afternoon: tea on the Fateh Sagar embankment, then drive up for sunset.
- From above: you will see the lake you have just walked beside.
Saheliyon ki Bari, in the morning
- Opening time: the garden of the royal women, below Fateh Sagar, is at its best.
- A perfect day: with the Monsoon Palace at sunset, it covers the north and west of the city.
Shilpgram, on the way
- Crafts village: run by the West Zone Cultural Centre, west of Fateh Sagar and not far from the road to the hill.
- In December: a large crafts fair.
The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Leela Palace
Western shore: both are closer to the Monsoon Palace than the old city, with terraces facing the lake.
- The lit hilltop: from parts of their grounds you can see Sajjangarh glowing at night.
- The Oberoi Udaivilas: for gardens and calm.
- The Leela Palace Udaipur: for grandeur.
The Taj Lake Palace and the City Palace hotels
- In the heart of the city: the Taj Lake Palace on its island and Shiv Niwas Palace inside the City Palace are both a short drive from the hill.
- Compare: our guide to luxury hotels in Udaipur.
Who will love it, and who may not
Sajjangarh divides our guests more than any other sight in Udaipur. Some call it the highlight of their stay. A few wonder why they came.
If views move you more than rooms: you will love it.
After the old city: the open sky and cool breeze are a relief after a day in the lanes.
Good for
- View lovers
- The widest view in the city
- Photographers
- Light and long lines of hills
- Couples
- Sunset and afterglow
- Families
- Forest drive, langurs and deer
- Not for
- Those wanting grand interiors
- Udaipur makes sense here: the one spot where you see the lakes, palaces, suburbs and protecting hills all at once.
- Possible disappointments: bare rooms, plain restoration in places and crowded terraces on winter weekends.
- Weather risks: hazy in the hottest months, and in the heart of the monsoon the view can vanish into cloud.
- Fitting it in: our Udaipur itinerary shows where it fits into three days, and the best sunsets in Rajasthan compares it with the desert and the forts.
Local tip
Come an hour before sunset on a clear evening, walk round to the western terraces and stay for the afterglow. Do that, and it is one of the great evenings in Rajasthan.
The palace in the movies
For a generation of travellers, Sajjangarh is not a monsoon palace at all. It is the lair of a Bond villain.
Our guides find it slightly funny that a palace built to watch the rain is now best known for gunfights and escapes. But the film showed the world Udaipur's lakes and hills when few foreigners came here, and many travellers first fell in love with the city in a cinema.
Octopussy, 1983: the palace appears as the home of the villain Kamal Khan, an exiled prince, and Roger Moore's Bond is held here.
- On screen: the film shows the palace looming above the hills.
- Shot elsewhere: some interiors were filmed elsewhere, and other scenes on Lake Pichola and in the City Palace.
- Still showing: Udaipur's restaurants and rooftop cafes have screened the film for visitors ever since.
- You'll know it: if you have seen the film, you will recognise the outline on the hill at once.
