Maharana Udai Singh II founded Udaipur in 1559 on the banks of Lake Pichola, after the fall of Chittorgarh made a new, safer capital necessary.
Over the next four centuries the Maharanas of Mewar built the City Palace, raised island palaces on the lake and ringed the city with gardens and temples. Their rule was in the name of Eklingji, the family deity, with the Maharana as his regent.
That history is still visible on every walk through the Old City: in the havelis, the ghats and the festivals that bring the city to the water's edge.
Photo: Shades of Udaipur
