Jag Niwas island, Lake Pichola
Taj Lake Palace
A 1746 marble palace covering an entire island
Explore Hotel
A little local perspective
Worth knowing.
Worth going.
- Destination
- Udaipur, India
- The selection
- 9 hotels
- Your kind of trip
- special occasion · couples · heritage · photography
$$ to $$$$ — roughly $200-1,500 a night, peaking October to March
Lake Pichola was made in 1362, dammed to supply water to what became Udaipur. Two islands sit in it. On one, Jag Niwas, the Maharana Jagat Singh II built a summer palace in 1746 that covers the entire island so completely that the marble appears to float. It has been a hotel since 1963 and you reach it by boat.
That is the image of Udaipur and it is accurate. The city was built around the water, the City Palace runs along the eastern shore for about 250 metres, and the ghats step down into it.
The lake, and an honest caveat
Pichola is fed by monsoon rain and it is not deep. In years of poor rainfall the level drops substantially and in a few severe droughts parts of it have gone dry, which changes the experience completely — the island palaces sit on ground rather than water, and the boat crossings stop.
That has been rare in recent years and it is worth knowing about. Check recent conditions if the floating palace is the specific reason you are going.
Where the hotels are
On the water are the island palace and the two large modern palace hotels on the western shore, both with their own jetties and boat transfers.
In the City Palace complex on the eastern shore, two former royal wings operate as hotels inside the walls, which puts you inside the monument itself.
In the old city, the havelis along the ghats are converted merchant houses, small and close to the lanes.
Outside Udaipur, an eighteenth-century fort palace at Delwara and a resort in the Aravalli hills give you the countryside.
The nine below are grouped that way.
On the lake
Reached by boat, or with a jetty of their own.
Taj Lake Palace occupies the whole of Jag Niwas island, a 1746 marble summer palace with courtyards, a lily pond and a room count that fits inside the original walls. Guests arrive by the hotel's boat and there is no other way in. It is the most photographed hotel in India.
The Oberoi Udaivilas sits on the western shore on the site of a former royal hunting ground, with fifty acres of gardens, domed pavilions, a large pool and rooms with private pools facing the water. It is the finest hotel in Rajasthan and the boat crossing to the City Palace is part of the stay.
The Leela Palace Udaipur occupies a lakeside position with a rooftop restaurant, a pool over the water and views straight across at the City Palace and the island. It is the most comfortable modern hotel in the city.
Inside the City Palace
Within the palace walls on the eastern shore, still owned by the royal family.
Shiv Niwas Palace occupies a wing of the City Palace complex built in the early twentieth century, with a marble pool in a courtyard and rooms looking over the lake. It is the only way to sleep inside the monument.
Fateh Prakash Palace sits in the same complex in a building begun in 1758, with a Durbar Hall of considerable grandeur and rooms facing the water.
The old city and the ghats
Converted havelis in the lanes above the lake.
Jagat Niwas Palace Hotel occupies a seventeenth-century haveli on the eastern ghat with painted rooms, a rooftop restaurant over the water and the best value on the lake by a wide margin.
Outside the city
RAAS Devigarh occupies an eighteenth-century fort palace at Delwara, thirty minutes north, restored over fifteen years with a minimal white interior against the original stone. It is the most striking building any hotel in Rajasthan occupies.
Taj Aravali Resort & Spa sits in the Aravalli hills outside the city with a large pool, a spa and views over the ranges.
Trident Udaipur occupies a position on Fateh Sagar lake with a pool, comfortable rooms and reliable service at a lower rate.
What we have left off
The small guest houses along the ghats are excluded, and Udaipur has a great many of them with rooftop views that cost very little. They are guest houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Take the boat at sunset. The standard trip from the City Palace jetty crosses to Jag Mandir, the second island, and it is the best hour of the day.
Tour the City Palace itself, which is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan and holds a museum of mirrored rooms, glass mosaics and courtyards.
Walk the ghats early, when the washing and the bathing are happening and the light is on the water.
See the Jagdish temple, the Saheliyon-ki-Bari garden with its fountains, and the miniature painting workshops, which are a genuine Udaipur tradition rather than a tourist product.
Drive out to Kumbhalgarh, two hours north, which has the second-longest continuous wall in the world after China's.
Practical notes
Udaipur's airport is 25 minutes east with domestic connections. Jaipur is six hours by road, Jodhpur five.
October to March is the season, with cool nights in December and January. April to June exceeds 40 degrees. The monsoon from July to September fills the lakes, which is when they look their best.
Book lake-facing rooms specifically. Many rooms in every hotel here face the other way.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Udaipur Hotels
Prices shown are sample rates from upcoming dates — not quotes for specific dates. Open a hotel and choose your own dates and guests to see the exact price.
Questions people actually ask
Can the lake really run dry?
It has in severe drought years, and the level varies with the monsoon. It is uncommon but worth checking if the floating palace is the point.
Is the island palace worth it?
For the arrival by boat and the fact that the building covers the entire island, yes. The rooms are historic rather than large.
City Palace or the western shore?
Inside the palace complex for the monument, the western shore for space, gardens and pools with the palace in view.
How many nights?
Three. Two for the city and a third for Kumbhalgarh or Delwara.
