उदयपुर

उदयपुर की प्रमुख तस्वीरे	उदयपुर का प्रशासकीय संघठन	उदयपुर का मानचित्र
उदयपुर के पर्यटन स्थल	उदयपुर की सांख्यिकीय रूपरेखा	उदयपुर के महत्वपूर्ण नम्बर

Udaipur

Udaipur  also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Corporation and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located 403 kilometres (250 mi) southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, 576 km (358 mi) southwest of Alwar, 248 km (154 mi) west of Kota, and 250 km (155 mi) northeast from Ahmedabad. Udaipur is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar in the former Rajputana Agency. The Guhils (Sisodia) clan ruled the Mewar and its capital was shifted from Chittorgarh to Udaipur after founding city of Udaipur by Maharana Uday Singh. The Mewar province became part of Rajasthan after India became independent
Apart from its history, culture, and scenic locations, it is also known for its Rajput-era palaces. The Lake Palace, for instance, covers an entire island in the Pichola Lake. Many of the palaces have been converted into luxury hotels. It is often called the "Venice of the East", and is also nicknamed the "Lake City". Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar in this city are considered some of the most beautiful lakes in the state.

Udaipur
Coordinates	24.58°N 73.68°E
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Udaipur
Population	598,178(2011)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
• Elevation	600 m (2,000 ft)
Codes • Pincode 313001-24 • Telephone 0294 • Vehicle RJ-27

History

Udaipur was founded in 1553 by Maharana Udai Singh II as the final capital of the erstwhile Mewar kingdom, located in the frtile circular valley-"Girwa" to the southwest of Nagda, on the Banas River, the first capital of the Mewar kingdom. This area already had a thriving trading town of "Ayad" which had served as capital of Mewad for over 200 years and 17 rulers of Mewad had ruled from Ayad town of Girwa Valley (~10-12th centuries), still earlier Rawals ruled from Nagda; so the “Girwa” (& adjoining) valley was already well-known to Chittaud rulers who moved to it whenever the vulnerable tableland (Mesa) Chittaudgadh was threatened with enemy attacks. Maharana Udai Singh II, in the wake of 16th century emergence of artillery warfare decided to move his capital to a more secure location, importance of which he had realized during his exile at Kumbhalgadh. Ayad was flood-prone, hence he chose the ridge east of Pichola Lake to start his new capital city, where he came upon a hermit while hunting in the foothills of the Aravalli Range. The hermit blessed the king and asked him to build a palace on the spot, assuring him it would be well protected. Udai Singh II consequently established a residence on the site. In November 1567, the Mughal emperor Akbar attacked & laid siege of the venerated fort of Chittor, which was reduced to one of the 84 forts of Mewad.

As the Mughal empire weakened, the Sisodia ranas, and later maharanas (also called the Guhilots or Suryavansh), who had always tried to oppose Mughal dominance, reasserted their independence and recaptured most of Mewar except for Chittor. Udaipur remained the capital of the state, which became a princely state of British India in 1818. Being a mountainous region and unsuitable for heavily armoured Mughal horses, Udaipur remained safe from Mughal influence in spite of much pressure. The rajvansh of Udaipur was one of the oldest dynasties of the world. Maharana Mahendra Singh Mewar(the Royal Family of Udaipur),is the current symbolic ruler of the city.

Geography and Climate

Udaipur is located at 24.525049°N 73.677116°E.[5] It has an average elevation of 598.00 m (1,962 ft). It is located in the southern region of Rajasthan and is close to Gujarat. It has five major lakes, which are under restoration with funds provided by the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) of the Government of India.Udaipur's autumn / winter climate is the most appealing time to pay her a visit. Tourists arrive in numbers, anytime between mid-September to late March or early April. Even in January, the coldest month, the days are bright, sunny and warm with maximum temperature around 28.3 °C (82.9 °F). Mornings, evenings and nights are cold with minimum temperature around 11.6 °C (52.9 °F) especially if there is a slight breeze in the air.

Transport

Udaipur is well connected to the major cities of India by land, rail and air.

Air

Dabok airport, also known as Maharana Pratap Airport, is situated in a satellite town about 20 kilometres from Udaipur. Daily Indian Airlines flights connect Udaipur with Jodhpur, Jaipur, Mumbai and Delhi. There are daily flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur on Jet Airways and Indian Airlines. The new airport has been constructed by the Airport Authority of India and will be upgraded to international airport status by 2011.

Rail

Udaipur City has direct trains on the broad gauge network to most of the major cities in Rajasthan and the rest of India such as Alwar, Jaipur, Kota, Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Indore, Ujjain, Mumbai, Surat, Baroda, and Gwalior and a metre gauge network to Ahmedabad. Famous luxurious trains, The Palace on Wheels, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, Maharaja Express and The Indian Maharaja make a scheduled stop in Udaipur. The popular trains connecting Udaipur with the Capital of India, Delhi are Mewar Express and Chetak Express.

Road

The city lies on the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway (NH) 8, midway between Delhi and Mumbai, located around 700 kilometres from either city. The East West Corridor which starts from Porbandar and ends at Silchar passes and is intersecting the Golden Quadrilateral and shares the common space from Udaipur to Chittor. The roads in this part of the country are paved and fit for private vehicles. One can either drive from Jaipur (around 6 hours via Chittorgarh), from Kota (3 hours – four-lane highway), from Ahmedabad (4.1/2 hours) or Surat (9 hours), or take a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) bus from Bikaner House, India Gate in Delhi,rajasthan roadways.

Local transport

Unmetered taxis, Private Taxi, Radio taxi, auto rickshaws, and regular city bus services are available for Udaipur City main roads to Dabok Airport, Badi Lake, and Bedala. City bus route number 1 runs from Badgaon to Titardi via Hiran Magri and route number 2 runs from Rampura to Dabok via DelhiGate .