Why Udaipur must be seen from the water
Our grandmother used to say you could judge the mood of the city by the height of the lake. In a good year, after a generous monsoon, families walk down to the ghats just to look, and a boat on full water is the happiest way to share that mood.
A lake older than the city: tradition dates the first dam to 1362, and Udai Singh II enlarged the lake after founding Udaipur on its shore. Our Lake Pichola guide tells the full story.
- Lake first dammed
- By tradition in 1362
- City founded
- 1559, by Maharana Udai Singh II
- Size
- About four kilometres long, three across
- Islands
- Jag Niwas, Jag Mandir, Mohan Mandir, Arsi Vilas
- The palace facade: the City Palace runs along the eastern ridge, and only from the water can you see its whole length of balconies, domes and towers at once.
- Two island palaces: the Lake Palace and Jag Mandir look like boats moored in the lake, and a boat is the only way to reach Jag Mandir.
- Air and quiet: on the water the city's noise falls away. You hear oars, birds and, at dusk, the temple bells.
- The light: at sunset the white palace turns cream, then gold, then rose, reflected in water that is often perfectly still.
Public, private or royal: choosing your boat
The public boats
Where: public boats run from the jetties at the City Palace and from a few ghats.
- What to expect: pleasant, inexpensive and often full, with a fixed route and a fixed stop at Jag Mandir.
- Good for: a quick look on a budget. Not for a quiet sunset or a proposal.
A private boat, our usual choice
Just you: a boat for your party alone, with a boatman who knows the lake and its stories.
- Your timing: we set the departure so that you are mid-lake at sunset, which public schedules rarely allow.
- Your route: linger at the ghats, stop longer at Jag Mandir, or ask for the engine off for ten minutes of silence.
- Extras: chilled drinks, a picnic of snacks, a musician on board or flowers for a celebration, arranged in advance.
Hotel boats and the Gangaur
Hotel launches: several lake hotels run their own boats for guests, and the Taj Lake Palace is reached only by its own boats.
- The Gangaur: the Taj Lake Palace offers private cruises and dinners for small groups on the Gangaur, a ceremonial barge once used by the Maharanas for processions on the lake.
- Booking: these are run by the hotels themselves, with their own rules and timings, which we confirm for you.
A rowing boat at dawn
- The quiet option: for photographers and early risers, we ask for a boat with oars or a very quiet engine in the first hour of the morning.
- Why: the water is often glassy, mist sometimes lies on the lake in winter and the birds are busy.
The route, landmark by landmark
Setting off below the City Palace
The jetty: Bansi Ghat, below the City Palace, is the jetty for the palace boats.
- Look up: the palace walls rise straight from the water, with the arches of Amar Vilas, its highest garden, near the top.
- Look back: Shiv Niwas Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace, the palace's hotel wings, look down on the lake from the southern end.
Past the Lake Palace
Jag Niwas: built between 1743 and 1746 as a summer palace for Maharana Jagat Singh II, it covers almost all of its island.
- A hotel since the 1960s: Maharana Bhagwat Singh turned it into a hotel, and the Taj group took over its management in 1971.
- No landing: only hotel guests may land (outside diners only when accepted), so you pass close by.
Landing at Jag Mandir
The island of refuge: begun by Maharana Karan Singh around 1620 and completed by Jagat Singh I. In 1623 the rebel prince Khurram, later Shah Jahan, is said to have stayed here.
- The elephants: eight stone elephants guard the landing stage, and children always want a photograph with them.
- A drink on the terrace: most boats stop for about half an hour. We time yours to leave as the sun nears the hills.
Mid-lake at sunset
The moment: the boatman cuts the engine in open water as the sun drops behind the western hills.
- The view: the City Palace turns gold in front of you, the Lake Palace glows to one side and the Monsoon Palace stands on its hilltop to the west.
- Listen: on a still evening, temple bells from the ghats carry across the water.
Home along the ghats
The western shore: Hanuman Ghat and Ambrai Ghat face the palace, and at dusk the photographers gather there as its lights come on.
- Gangaur Ghat: its triple-arched gateway stands beside Bagore ki Haveli, and Mohan Mandir, the small festival pavilion, sits in the water nearby.
- Arsi Vilas: a tiny wooded island near the City Palace where cormorants and egrets roost in winter.
The right hour and the right season
Winter, October to March: the classic season, with clear skies, calm water and comfortable evenings. Bring a shawl. It is colder on the water than you expect.
Spring festivals: at Gangaur and the Mewar Festival, in March or April, the lake fills with decorated boats and music. Busy, joyful and unforgettable. Our Gangaur page explains it.
- Sunset boat
- Set off about an hour before sunset
- Dawn boat
- Set off at first light, back for breakfast
- Avoid
- The middle of the afternoon
- Highest water
- After a good monsoon, September onwards
- Diwali, October or November: lamps line the ghats and hotel terraces and every one is reflected in the water. Book early.
- Summer, April to June: go only at dawn or in the last hour of light. The middle of the day is too hot on open water.
- Monsoon, July to September: the hills turn green and the lake rises. Boats may pause in heavy rain, but the evenings between showers are magical.
- Dry years: after a weak monsoon the lake shrinks and some routes are shortened. We check how full it is before you plan.
The stories the boatmen tell
The Banjara's dam: tradition says the first dam was built by a Banjara, one of the travelling grain traders, so that his bullock caravans could ford the stream. The lake took its name from the village of Picholi.
The prince in hiding: in 1623 the rebel prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan, took shelter in Udaipur and is said to have stayed at Jag Mandir, in an island palace his host had begun only a few years before.
- The tightrope walker: the platform called Natni ka Chabutra recalls a legend of a woman promised a reward if she could cross the lake on a rope, who fell when the rope was cut.
- Bond on the lake: in the early 1980s the James Bond film Octopussy was shot in Udaipur, and the boatmen will point out the Lake Palace and every other location.
- The dry years: in a run of drought years around the turn of this century, the lake fell so low that people walked across mud around the Lake Palace. Every boatman remembers it.
Dinners, proposals and celebrations on the lake
Dinner at Jag Mandir: once the day visitors have gone, we can arrange dinner on the island, arriving by boat at sunset.
Dinner at the Lake Palace: non-residents may dine with a reservation, crossing in the hotel's own boat. We book well ahead.
- On the Gangaur: the Taj Lake Palace's royal barge takes small private parties for cruises and dinners with music.
- A proposal: we time a private boat so that the question comes just as the sun goes down behind the hills. Our journal on proposal ideas in Udaipur has more.
- Anniversaries and birthdays: flowers, a cake and a musician on board, arranged quietly in advance.
- Back on land: for a meal facing the water, see our rooftop dining and private palace dinner pages.
Birds, boatmen and the life of the lake
Winter birds: cormorants dry their wings on the island stones, egrets and pond herons stand in the shallows, and coots and ducks gather in the quieter bays.
Kingfishers: pied and white-throated kingfishers hunt from the railings of the bridges and the edges of the ghats.
- The southern end: beyond Jag Mandir the lake is quieter and wilder, with hills coming down to the water. Ask for a slow morning boat there with binoculars.
- The boatmen: many come from families who have worked the lake for generations, and they know which hotel was in which film and where the water stood in the great drought.
- The ghats: from the water you see the city's daily life, women washing at dawn and families on the steps at dusk. Keep your camera lowered near bathers.
- A drinking-water lake: Pichola supplies the city, so never throw anything into it, and refuse plastic on board.
Other boats worth taking in Udaipur and beyond
Fateh Sagar, Udaipur
- The family lake: north of Pichola, Fateh Sagar is where Udaipur's families come in the evening to walk the embankment and eat roasted corn.
- By boat: boats cross to Nehru Garden, an island garden in the lake, and the hills around are green after the rains.
Gadisar, Jaisalmer
- At sunrise: a rowing boat on Gadisar Lake, the old water tank of Jaisalmer, past the chhatris and temples on the water as the fort turns gold.
- Why: it is the most unexpected boat ride in Rajasthan, a sheet of water at the edge of the Thar.
Nakki Lake, Mount Abu
- Hill-station boating: Nakki Lake in Mount Abu is ringed by hills and odd-shaped rocks, and boats are a favourite of Indian holidaymakers.
- Go early: in the morning it is quiet and cool. In the evening it is cheerful and crowded.
The Chambal and the Ganga
- The Chambal: river safaris on the Chambal show gharials, crocodiles and river birds. In Kota the river runs below the palace.
- Varanasi: a dawn boat on the Ganga past the ghats of Varanasi is one of the great experiences of India, and a fine end to a Rajasthan journey.
No boats at Pushkar
- A sacred lake: Pushkar Lake is holy, and boating is not part of life there. Walk the ghats at dawn instead, barefoot and quietly.
What most visitors miss from the boat
The water gates: look for the arched gates and stairs at the foot of the City Palace, where royal boats once came and went.
The temple spire: above the rooftops of the old city, the spire of the Jagdish Temple rises behind Gangaur Ghat.
- The ropeway: high on Machhla Magra hill to the east, the cable cars climb to the small Karni Mata temple.
- The Monsoon Palace: Sajjangarh glows on its hilltop to the west as the sun goes down. Our Monsoon Palace guide explains it.
- The first lights: stay on the water ten minutes after sunset to see the lights of the City Palace come on, one window at a time.
- The reflections: on a still evening the whole palace is mirrored in the lake. Photograph the reflection, not just the building.
Where to stay for the lake
Taj Lake Palace: the palace on its own island, reached only by the hotel's boats. For romance and the silence of sleeping in the middle of the lake.
The Oberoi Udaivilas: domes and courtyards on the western shore, looking back at the City Palace, with many rooms opening onto the water.
- The Leela Palace: a grand palace-style hotel on the shore near Udaivilas, with long terraces facing the old city.
- Shiv Niwas Palace: a wing of the City Palace itself, close to the palace jetty.
- On Udai Sagar: Raffles Udaipur stands on its own island in a different lake east of the city, with its own boats.
- Compare them all: our guide to luxury hotels in Udaipur explains which rooms face the water.
Who will love it
Couples: the sunset boat is the heart of our Rajasthan honeymoons and our Udaipur romance journey.
Families: children love the boats, the birds and the stone elephants at Jag Mandir. Life jackets are provided, and we ask children to wear them.
- Photographers: take the dawn boat for mist and still water, and the sunset boat for the palace in gold. A wide lens catches the whole facade.
- Grandparents: a gentle hour seated on the water is often their favourite part of Udaipur. We choose a jetty with easier steps.
- Less suited: anyone who feels unwell on water, though the lake is almost always calm.
Before you step aboard
Limited mobility: tell us in advance, and we will choose a jetty with easier steps and a boat with a wide, stable deck.
Sun and cold: sun is strong on the water even in winter, and evenings are chilly. Bring both a hat and a shawl.
- Boarding
- Stone steps and small jetties, slippery when wet
- Safety
- Life jackets on board, worn by children
- Rules
- Set by operators, confirmed a day ahead
- Drones
- Strict rules, check before bringing one
- Swimming: we advise against it. The lake is a drinking-water source and a place of daily prayer.
- Tipping: tipping the boatman is kind. Our money and tipping guide explains what is usual.
- Weather and water: boats can pause in high wind, heavy rain or low water. We keep a second evening free if the boat matters to you.
A day built around the boat
Dawn: walk the ghats from Gangaur Ghat to Hanuman Ghat as the women wash and the bells ring. Chai on a rooftop above the water.
Morning: the City Palace at opening, climbing straight to Amar Vilas for the lake laid out like a map below you.
- Afternoon: lunch and a long rest. Udaipur sleeps after lunch, and so should you.
- Late afternoon: the private boat, with Jag Mandir and sunset mid-lake.
- Evening: the folk show at Bagore ki Haveli, then dinner facing the lit palace. Our Udaipur itinerary has more days like this.
How we arrange your boat
We book the boat: a private boat for your party alone, booked ahead in the busy months, with a boatman we know.
We set the time: we check the sunset hour for your date and set the departure so that you are mid-lake at the right moment.
- Booked by
- Your Udaipur planner, a day or more ahead
- Includes
- Private boat, boatman, life jackets, Jag Mandir stop
- Extras
- Drinks, snacks, flowers, a musician
- Combine with
- The City Palace, ghats walk, Bagore ki Haveli
- We check the lake: after a weak monsoon we confirm the water level and the route the day before.
- We meet you at the jetty: your guide or driver walks you to the boat and is waiting when you come back.
- We plan around it: if the boat matters to you, we keep a second evening free in case of wind or rain.
What we ask of our guests on the lake
Nothing in the water: no rubbish, no flowers, no coins. Pichola is drinking water for the city.
Respect the ghats: bathing ghats are private spaces at dawn. Watch from a distance, and keep your camera down.
- Keep it quiet: if you bring music, keep it soft, especially near the ghats and temples.
- Shoes off on shore: remove your shoes at the shrines on the ghats and step around offerings left on the steps.
- Mind your seat: stay seated while the boat is moving, and move about only when the boatman says it is safe.
- Learn a word: a khamma ghani to the boatman, with joined palms, usually earns a story.