Best Lakes of Udaipur: The City of Lakes

Udaipur, the famously romantic City of Lakes, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in all of India and its beauty is, above all else, the beauty of its shimmering lakes, each one ringed by grand palaces, green hills, old temples and stone ghats, their reflections dancing on the water. It is a city made for lingering and for sunsets. This complete guide from Delhi Agra Tour Packages rounds up the very best lakes of Udaipur, from the grand and famous Lake Pichola at its heart to the quieter, lesser-known lakes beyond the city, with what makes each one special and how best to enjoy them, ideal as part of a wider Rajasthan trip within our tour packages.

I was born in Delhi and in more than 11 years planning trips across Rajasthan for Experience My India I have taken many travellers to the lakes of Udaipur. Here is the clear, practical guide.

The best lakes of Udaipur at a glance

Why Udaipur is the City of Lakes

Udaipur earns its famous nickname, the City of Lakes, from the series of beautiful lakes in and around the city, many of them connected to one another. These are not natural lakes but man-made ones, created over the centuries by the Maharanas of Mewar by building dams across the valleys, both to store precious water in this dry region and to add to the beauty of their capital.

The result is a wonderful city built around water, where grand marble palaces, temples, gardens and old stone ghats rise straight from the lakeshores and dreamlike island palaces seem to float serenely on the surface. The lakes are fed each year by the monsoon rains and by the streams running off the surrounding Aravalli hills and are naturally at their fullest, greenest and most beautiful in the months after a good monsoon. Together, this chain of shimmering lakes gives Udaipur its uniquely romantic, tranquil and reflective beauty, quite unlike anywhere else in Rajasthan or indeed in the whole of India, which is why so many visitors fall in love with the city.

Lake Pichola

Lake Pichola is the great, grand heart of Udaipur, the most famous and most beautiful of all its lakes and the one most visitors come to see. Around and upon its waters rise many of the city's most magnificent sights.

On its eastern shore stands the vast and magnificent City Palace, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, rising straight and sheer from the water, while on two islands out in the lake float two of the most famous and romantic palaces in all of India: the Jag Mandir, a beautiful seventeenth-century island palace, garden and pavilion and the Jag Niwas, the shimmering white marble Lake Palace, now a world-famous luxury hotel that seems quite literally to float upon the surface of the water. Around the lake, too, are the old ghats, temples and tall havelis of the city. A boat ride on Lake Pichola, especially towards sunset, when the palaces, the ghats and the surrounding hills all glow a soft gold and the light dances and shimmers on the rippling water, is quite simply the single most magical and memorable experience in all of Udaipur and absolutely not to be missed on any visit.

Fateh Sagar Lake

Just to the north of Lake Pichola and connected to it, lies the lovely Fateh Sagar Lake, the second of Udaipur's great lakes. Ringed by hills on three sides, with a pleasant lakeside drive along its eastern shore, Fateh Sagar is a favourite spot for both locals and visitors to stroll, relax and enjoy the views.

In the middle of the lake lies a pretty island garden, Nehru Park, reached by a short boat ride, a pleasant and leafy place for a family outing. Boating on Fateh Sagar is popular throughout the day and the lake, with its open water, its surrounding hills and its gardens, has a notably more open, breezy, fresh and relaxed feel than the grand, palace-ringed Pichola, making a lovely and welcome contrast. The lakeside drive and promenade along its edge are especially popular in the cool of the evening, when locals come out to stroll and enjoy the breeze off the water.

Badi Lake

A little way outside the city, about 12 km from the centre, lies the peaceful and scenic Badi Lake, also known as Jiyan Sagar. Set among the hills, away from the busier city lakes, Badi is loved for its tranquillity, its clear water and its beautiful setting, with elegant marble chhatris or pavilions, at its edge.

It is a wonderful spot to escape the city crowds for a while, to sit quietly on the steps by the still water with the hills rising all around and above all to watch the sunset over the lake, which is quite magnificent and far more peaceful than the busier city viewpoints. For those seeking a calmer, more natural and more contemplative lake experience, just a little away from the bustle of the city, Badi Lake is a real and often overlooked gem, well worth the short drive out.

Doodh Talai Lake

Doodh Talai is a small, pretty lake set just beside Lake Pichola, at the foot of the hills on the southern edge of the old city. Though small, it is much loved for what surrounds it.

Around Doodh Talai are several lovely landscaped gardens, including a musical fountain and the pleasant Manikya Lal Verma garden and from the rocky hilltop just above, reached by a short and scenic ropeway ride, there are quite simply some of the very best panoramic views to be had anywhere over Lake Pichola, the great City Palace, the island palaces and the whole of Udaipur spread out below, especially beautiful as the sun goes down. It is a deservedly popular spot in the evening, for the sweeping views, the gardens and the colourful musical fountain shows after dark.

Udai Sagar Lake

To the east of the city lies Udai Sagar Lake, one of the oldest of all the lakes of Udaipur, built back in the sixteenth century by Maharana Udai Singh, the very founder of Udaipur himself, by damming the Berach river. Larger, wilder and much quieter than the city lakes and set a little way away from the main tourist circuit, Udai Sagar is a peaceful and historic lake, an important part of the great chain of lakes that made the city of Udaipur possible in this dry land and a fine reminder of the ambitious water-engineering of the Mewar rulers that created the City of Lakes we see today.

Swaroop Sagar and the connecting lakes

Udaipur's lakes are famously interconnected and Swaroop Sagar Lake is one of the links in the chain, connecting the great Lake Pichola with Fateh Sagar Lake. Along with the small Rangsagar Lake, these connecting waters are part of what makes Udaipur's lake system so special, allowing water to flow between the lakes and keeping them full. While they are much less visited in their own right than the famous Pichola or Fateh Sagar, these quiet connecting waters are nonetheless an essential and charming part of the watery beauty and clever design of the city.

Jaisamand Lake

Further afield, about 50 km from Udaipur, lies the vast Jaisamand Lake, also known as Dhebar Lake, one of the largest artificial lakes in Asia. Built in the seventeenth century, this enormous lake is dotted with islands and ringed by hills and forest, with marble pavilions and old summer palaces of the Mewar rulers on its banks.

Its great size and wild, natural, unspoilt setting make Jaisamand quite different in character from the intimate, palace-ringed city lakes, a wonderful and peaceful excursion for those travellers with a little more time to spare, offering gentle boating, abundant birdlife and a real sense of the grand scale and ambition of Mewar's old royal lake-building. There is even a small wildlife sanctuary in the hills around it. It makes a fine and refreshing day trip out from Udaipur, away from the crowds.

Boat rides and lakeside experiences

The lakes of Udaipur are not just to be looked at, but enjoyed:

• Boat rides: boat rides on Lake Pichola and Fateh Sagar are the classic, essential Udaipur experience and especially the magical sunset cruise on Pichola, which usually includes a stop to wander the Jag Mandir island palace and garden out on the water.

• Lakeside dining: many of Udaipur's beautiful hotels, old havelis and rooftop restaurants look directly out over the lakes and palaces, making lakeside or rooftop dining, especially as the sun sets over the water, a truly memorable and romantic treat.

• Ghats and strolls: the old ghats, gardens and lakeside walks, such as along Fateh Sagar or at Badi Lake, are lovely for a gentle stroll and for watching daily life by the water.

• Views from above: the hilltop viewpoints, such as above Doodh Talai and the Monsoon Palace on its hill, offer magnificent panoramas over the lakes and the city.

Together, these make the lakes the very soul of a visit to Udaipur.

Best time to visit the lakes of Udaipur

The best time to visit Udaipur and its lakes is the cool season, from October to March, when the weather is pleasant for boat rides, lakeside strolls and sightseeing. The lakes are also at their fullest and most beautiful after a good monsoon, so the period just after the rains, from around September onwards, can be especially lovely, with the lakes brimming and the hills green. The summer, from April to June, can be very hot, though the lakes still offer some relief. Our best time to visit North India guide covers the seasons more widely.

How to reach Udaipur and plan your trip

Udaipur is well connected by road, rail and air and makes a wonderful base for exploring the lakes and southern Rajasthan. It can be reached from Jaipur, as our Jaipur to Udaipur distance guide covers that journey and from the wider Golden Triangle, as our Golden Triangle with Udaipur guide shows how the City of Lakes extends the classic circuit.

From Udaipur, you can also easily visit the hill station of Mount Abu, as our Udaipur to Mount Abu distance guide explains and the great forts of the region, as our best forts in Rajasthan guide covers the nearby Kumbhalgarh and Chittorgarh.

Plan your trip with us

A trip to Udaipur, to enjoy its beautiful lakes and palaces, is easiest and most rewarding when the travel, the stays, the boat rides and the sightseeing are all arranged for you. That is what we do, a comfortable private car and an experienced driver, a knowledgeable guide, lakeside hotels and the magical sunset boat ride on Lake Pichola and the whole trip planned around you.

Tell us your dates and group size and we will price it honestly around your standard rather than a fixed figure. Message us on WhatsApp and Experience My India will build it for you. Many trips begin with the classic circuit on our Golden Triangle tours, extending to Udaipur and the lakes and we can build it all as a Golden Triangle tour with a Rajasthan extension.

Related guides

• New Delhi tour: the capital's imperial landmarks.

• Old Delhi tour: the Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk.

• Delhi day tour: the best of the capital in a day.

Experience My India has personally hosted 50,000+ travelers and the service he leads is rated 4.9 from 2,600+ reviews, operating since 2015. Delhi Agra Tour Packages is a unit of Experience My India.