Since our destination for the day was just a couple of hours away, we decided to visit the City Palace at Udaipur, which we had missed out visiting the previous evening. After having breakfast, we got ready, tied our luggage to the roof carrier and completed the checkout formalities at Hotel Swaroop Vilas, Udaipur. That way, upon return from our City Palace visit, we would be able to depart without wasting time. Having experienced the narrow and congested city roads the previous day, we took an auto to the City Palace, starting from the hotel at 9 am. It was our aim to complete the City Palace visit in the next 2 hours.
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| Udaipur City Palace: Front view |
City Palace is a palace complex situated in Udaipur. The entire complex was built over nearly 400 years by several rulers of the Mewar dynasty. Construction
began in 1553, started by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia Rajput
family as he shifted his capital from the erstwhile Chittor to the new
found city of Udaipur. The palace is located on the east bank of Lake
Pichola and has several palaces built within its complex.
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| Udaipur City Palace: Tripolia Pol (Triple arched gate) |
The palaces within the complex are interlinked through a number of
chowks or quadrangles with zigzag corridors, planned in this fashion to
avoid surprise attacks by enemies. Erected in the complex, after
entering through the main Tripolia (triple) gate, are the Suraj Gokhda
(public address facade), the Mor-chowk (Peacock courtyard), the Dilkhush Mahal (heart’s delight), the Surya Chopar, the
Sheesh Mahal (Palace of glass and mirrors), the Moti Mahal (Palace of
Pearls), the Krishna Vilas (named after Lord Krishna), Shambu Niwas
(royal residence now), the Bhim Vilas, the Amar Vilas (with a raised
garden) that faces the Badi Mahal (the big palace), the Fateprakash
Palace and the Shiv Niwas Palace; the last two have been converted into heritage hotels. The entire complex is the property of the Mewar royal family with various trusts maintaining the structures.
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| Udaipur City Palace: View of the Tripolia gate and city from the palace, the Suraj Gokhda, Chetak horse, Amar Vilas |
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| Udaipur City Palace: The gang, Taj hotel on Lake Pichola, Mor Chowk, panoramic views of the city from the palace, Sheesh Mahal |
Ruhi was not so keen in observing the various structures within the complex, and I could relate to her boredom. Trisha on the other hand was keen to know the history and tried to follow our guide as much as she could. Mukul was busy taking pictures as he was our designated camera-man. I was seeking a break whenever possible. Anant, Gauri, Rama and Pallavi were following our guide and seemed pretty keen in the history as well as the various intricacies.
By 11 am, we wrapped up our visit, thanked our guide for his services and returned to our hotel. After freshening up, we bid goodbye to the city of lakes and were enroute our destination for the day, which was the hill station of Mount Abu. Our first stop at Rajasthan was the Marwad region golden city Jaisalmer with a desert landscape. We had then moved to the Mewad region capital city Udaipur, the lake city with an urban landscape, royal heritage with a palace theme. Finally, we were heading to the only hill station in Rajasthan, Mount Abu, away from the heat, with a green forest landscape.
I chose to drive and soon we were zipping through NH 27. In a little over half an hour, we had crossed the Gogunda toll plaza using the ETC / FASTag lane. The road was winding through the hills, at times passing through tunnels. I was able to maintain consistent good speed throughout, having to brake occasionally for someone crossing the road at intersections. Another hour saw us get past the Undvariya toll plaza, again in the exclusive ETC / FASTag lane. Shortly afterwards, we had to take an exit to get on to Abu Road.
The final part of the road was a winding road through the hills (called 'ghat' in Marathi), and we couldn't stop noticing the similarity between this 'ghat' and the Pasarni 'ghat' in Maharashtra, which leads to the hill station of Panchgani. I slowed down in the 'ghat' section so as to avoid anyone getting motion sickness. Monkeys are a common sight in most 'ghats', and we saw many of them here as well. By 1:45 pm we had reached our destination for the day - Hotel Gorbandh at Mount Abu. I parked the car, we untied the luggage, checked in and headed for lunch.
Mount Abu is referred to as 'an oasis in the desert' as its heights are home to rivers, lakes, waterfalls and evergreen forests. The first thing we felt at Mount Abu was a distinct change in the weather. Despite being peak afternoon, it was pretty cold. Ruhi had developed a sore throat and we had to order some hot water and honey for her. Because of the dry landscape and the sudden change in temperatures, Ruhi had developed a dry cough which would worsen over the next couple of days. Trisha had cough too but she was holding up much better. Thankfully the adults had no complaints.
We had just one day at Mount Abu and hence we decided to go visit a few places after lunch, starting at about 3:30 pm. Our first halt was at the famous Dilwara temples which were merely 4 kms from our hotel. These temples (there are 5 of them dedicated to the Jain Tirthankaras) were built between the 11th and 13th centuries AD and are world-famous for their stunning use of marble. The five legendary marble temples of Dilwara are a sacred pilgrimage place of the Jains. Since Ruhi was feeling unwell, she decided to take a nap in the car. I accompanied her while the rest of the gang spent a little over an hour visiting the temples.
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| Mount Abu: Dilwara temples |
By 5:30 pm, we were on our way to Guru Shikhar. It was a winding road leading to the top of the mountain. Being a popular tourist spot, a lot of vehicles were plying on the road, and we found ourselves stuck in a major traffic jam. Intervention by some Army folks helped in sorting out the situation. Guru Shikhar is the highest point of the Aravalli Range. It rises to an elevation of 1,722 metres (5,650 ft). It is 15 km from Mount Abu and a road from there leads almost to the top of the mountain. It is named Guru - Shikhar or 'the peak of the guru' after Dattatreya, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. A cave at the summit contains a temple dedicated to him, and another one nearby dedicated his mother, Anasuya, wife of sage Atri.
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| Mount Abu: Guru Shikhar: Views from the top, steps reaching to the temple atop the hill and views of the temple from the hill top |
Starting from the base, there are close to 300 steps that lead to the summit where the temple of Dattatreya is. By the time we reached the summit, it was close to sunset and the view was majestic. A panoramic view of the Aravalli range was on offer, with the sun setting on the horizon. Adjacent to the Guru Shikhar peak was the Mount Abu InfraRed Observatory, specifically designed for ground based infrared observation of celestial objects. After taking a few pictures, we visited the two temples.
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| Mount Abu: Guru Shikhar: The 3 families, Mount Abu Infrared Observatory, sunset view |
We then had tea and the kids wanted to have Maggi noodles. It was past 8 pm by the time we left, and we noticed that we were the only ones around. It was pitch dark, and negotiating our way through the winding ghat road downhill was somewhat tricky. Once again, to ensure that folks did not end up getting motion sickness, I drove very slow. We reached our hotel around 9 pm. Ruhi was not in a very good shape because of her cough, and she wanted to go to bed without having any food. I gave her company in our room and ordered food for both of us while the rest of the gang had dinner at the hotel restaurant. We had to wear layered clothing and had to cover ourselves from head to toe in order to keep warm. Anant, Mukul, Pallavi and I finished off whatever Kahlúa was left. It seemed like the perfect drink to have on a cold night at Mount Abu. With an intent of leaving very early the next day, we were in bed by around 11 pm. That marked the end of Day 7 of our trip, and our last night in Rajasthan.
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