12 Facts About Udaipur You Probably Don’t Know

Here you’ll learn about some amusing facts about Udaipur that will attract you to visit Udaipur.

Udaipur being a royal city with numerous historical places beholds several mind-bobbling facts that amuse tourists and make Udaipur a memorable city. There were quite incidents in past that occurred in Udaipur leaving a trail of monuments that are now explored and appreciated for their unique structures.

Some Facts About Udaipur

Discovery of Udaipur and the Sage

Everybody knows that Udaipur City was discovered by Maharana Udai Singh II in 15^th century, later in 16^th century it was selected as the capital of Mewar Kingdom.

Maharana Udai Singh II on his hunting expedition near Pichola Lake he encountered a Sage, who advised him to build the palace on the same spot and bestowed his blessings assuring that it will be a safe location.

Taj Mahal was inspired by Jag Mandir

Emperor Shah Jahn before his reign of the Mughal dynasty revolted against his own father Emperor Jahan Gir as he wished to gain the crown of the Mughal Kingdom, he then turned towards his friend Maharana Karan Singh for help. As Shah Jahn mother was a Rajput Lady, Maharana Karan Singh helped to keep him safe in the Jag Mandir Palace which was known as ‘Gul-Mahal’ at the time. Shah Jahn along with his wife and children were kept safe in Gul Mahal, it is said that Shah Jain got inspired by the structure of Gul Mahal and built Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The Jungle Book Mention

Bagheera the Black Panther, a character of the famous Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling belonged to a place called ‘Oodeypore’ that was taken from the name of our city ‘Udaipur’. If you pronounce both the words, the resultant will be quite similar.

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Best Solar Observatory of Asia

The Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO), is situated amidst the Fateh Sagar Lake is considered as the Best Solar Observatory of Asia as the air turbulence is low in the water as compared to the land along with the favorable sky conditions of Udaipur that makes it easier to study the movement of Sun.

Udaipur’s Water Incorporates in the Bay of Bengal & Arabian Sea

30kms to the southern-west direction of Udaipur from the main city center lays a village named Alsigarh, which is a shelter for a huge Bheel community. The rainwater poured in the western part of this location travels its way to the Arabian Sea and meets its water, and the rain received in the eastern part directs itself towards the Bay of Bengal.

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Queen Victoria’s Statue in Gulab Bagh

In February 1890, at the time of British rule in India a statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled in the Gulab Bagh where at present the Statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands amidst the lush garden; the statue of Queen Victoria is now show-cased in the Saraswati Bhawan Library. Also the Saraswati Bhawan Library in Gulab Bagh was initially called as ‘Victoria Museum’.

The Curse Tale

At the time of Maharana Jawan Singh’s reign (1828-38), the Maharana promised half kingdom to Natini the tight-ropewalker if she was able to cross the Pichola Lake walking on the rope. When the king saw that it was certain for her to cross the lake, he tricked her and cut-off the rope, she fell in the lake and died of drowning, the curse tale states that before she could take her last breath, she cursed the Mewar Kingdom resulting to, no direct descendants to the throne.

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Jaisamand is the Second-largest Artificial Lake in Asia

Jaisamand Lake is located at 48kms from Udaipur City; it was constructed by Maharana Jai Singh of the Mewar Dynasty. This artificial lake is the second largest man-made lake in Asia with length of 14km, surface area of 34 sq. m, 102 feet depth and 48 km shore length.

Kumbhalgarh is World’s Second Longest Wall

As we all know, World’s longest Wall of the World is ‘The Great Wall of China’. But do you know that the Kumbhalgarh Fort located at a distance of 82kms from Udaipur holds the Second Longest Wall of the World. The Wall of the Kumbhalgarh Fort is extended to 36km which was built to protect the fort from invaders. It is said that there have been several attacks on the fort but the fort remained undefiled.

Udaipur’s Tree House in Limca Book of Records

A tree house built on a 65-years old Mango tree, is owned by a businessman named K.P. Singh who craved to build a Tree House without doing any harm to the tree, he proposed this to several learned people but none agreed. Later, a small artisan from Surat fulfilled his wish by building the Epic tree House without cutting any branch of the Tree. This tree house was then featured in the Limca Book of World Records.

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Maharana Pratap was invited at Udai Sagar

Prior to the Haldighati Battle between Maharana Pratap and Mughal Emeperor Akbar, Maharana Pratap was invited by Kunwar Man Singh at the banks of the Udai Sagar Lake asking him to surrender to Emperor Akbar to conclude the battle. On this Maharana Pratap rejected to surrender in-front of a foreign king and declined the invitation proposal, he also insulted Kunwar Man Singh for supporting Emperor Akbar which later led to the renowned Haldi Ghati Battle.

The Mewar King to Custodian

Before independence of India, Udaipur was ruled by Maharanas of Mewar. Prior to independence all the kingdoms were dissolved and India was announced to be a democratic country. The descendants of the Maharana clan then pledged to serve as the Mewar Custodians instead of the rulers; the pledge was taken on in the Eklinji Temple on behalf of Lord Shiva. From then each Monday, the Mewar custodian visits the Eklinji Temple for the evening Aarti ritual to seek the blessings of the lord.

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