Udaipur is a great place to escape from the daily routine life. It is a city with large lakes, grand palaces and beautiful gardens. Away from this city, there are also many places which can be travel in one day from Udaipur and they have a great legacy of cultural, spiritual and traditional history. This post is about five such places near Udaipur, which are also worth visiting for a day, whenever you will be in Udaipur.
1. Chittorgarh Fort:
Distance from Udaipur: 125 kms, Excellent Highway
Public Transport: Government as well as Private buses are available frequently. Train services are also available.
Time required to visit entire fort: At least 4 to 5 hours
Rajputana is the most impressive aspect of the Indian history and Chittorgarh is a symbol of prestige, honour and elegance of Rajputana. I am sure that whenever a child starts reading history books in Indian schools or even think something about history, his first introduction begins with the heroism of Maharana Pratap, sacrifice of Panna Dhai, Love of Meera Bai,Bravery of Gora-Badal and Jauhar (Sacrifice in the Fire) of Queen Padmini. He/she must feel pride on these stories and interestingly, all these stories were born in the fort of Chittorgarh. This was the place where Meera Bai jovially took the sip from a cup of poison in the love of Lord Krishna, Panna Dhai sacrificed her son on the altar of her duty, Queen Padmini and many other ladies happily jumped in the Jauhar fire to protect their honour. Which one could be the more glorious chapter than this in the Indian History? If you wish to see and feel these stories, then you must visit Chittorgarh fort once in a lifetime.
2. Eklingji Temple:
Distance from Udaipur: 24 kms, Excellent highway
Public Transport: Government as well as Private buses are available. Train services are unavailable.Temple is at the main road only.
Time required to visit entire temple: 30 minutes are enough
Rajputana Stories are not only about heroism and bravery. They also had a great faith in their family God or Goddess. Lord Shiva is the family god of Mewar Dynasty in the form of Eklingji. The kings of Mewar dynasty only ruled as a representative of Eklingji. This temple is 1300 years old and made of marbles. The Temple is very grand and magnificent in conception and perfect in execution. Hindu pilgrims come here from far places throughout the year to worship the Lord Eklingji. The descendant of Mewar Dynasty still come here on every Monday to offer their prayers to Lord Eklingji and to seek his blessings.
3. Haldighati:
Distance from Udaipur: 50 kms (approx. 25 kms further from Eklingji), Good-conditioned paved road
Public Transport: Government as well as Private buses are available frequently upto Eklingji. Very less public transport are there between Eklingji and Haldighati. You have to arrange own transport like auto rickshaw (charges between 300-400 INR). Train services are unavailable.
Time required to visit entire area: 15 minutes Haldighati Pass, 15 minutes Chetak Memorial, 45 minutes Badshahi Bagh and surrounding cultivated fields of Roses and perfumes shops, 30 minutes Museum
Battle of Haldighati is an important battle of Indian History, that wrote a new chapter in the history of Rajputana. Maharana Pratap never accepted subordination of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and fought bravely with Mughal army in the Battlefield of Haldighati. However, Mughal army outnumbered Rajput Army and seeing that the battle was lost, Pratap’s generals prevailed upon him to flee the field so as to be able to fight in the future. In the same battle of Haldighati, Mana Jhaala, a general of Maharana Pratap, wrote a new tale of loyalty. He donned Pratap’s armor and took his place in the battlefield to confuse the Mughal army and facilitated Pratap’s escape.In the process, he fought bravely and died in the battlefield. This battlefield also witnessed the indomitable valor of Chetak, loyal horse of Maharana Pratap. Despite the injuries, he took out Pratap safely from the battlefield and died thereafter. The memorial of Chetak is there in Haldighati and it is a true tribute to the heroism of that horse.There is also a museum at Haldighati, which has a great collection of the stories related to the battle of Haldighati in the form of sculptures as well as portraits. In addition to this, Haldighati area is also famous for the cultivation of Chaitri Roses ( a type of rose). These roses are used in the production of Rose water, Rose syrup and perfumes and these products are famous worldwide today.
4. Kumbhalgarh Fort:
Distance from Udaipur: 110 kms (50-60 kms further from Haldighati), Good-conditioned paved road
Public Transport: Public transport are very less. Train services are unavailable.
Time required to visit entire fort: At least 3 hours for the temples and Badal’s Palace, provided that you will not stay for the evening light show.
Kumbhalgarh..This name itself carries some weight. It is the second most important fort in the history of Rajputana, after Chittorgarh Fort. After the sacrifice of Panna Dhai at Chittor, Kunwar Udai Singh was brought here secretly, so that he could be safe here from Banwari. Maharna Pratap was also born in the same fort. The outer walls of this fort are 15 feet thick and spread over the perimeter of 36 kms. These walls are believed to be the second longest continuous walls, after the Great Wall of China. The location of this fort in the middle of hills and dense forests made it inaccessible from invaders.Situated at the height of 1100 meters, this fort’s defenders could easily tracked any enemy movement from miles away. Perhaps that’s why this fort could not be conquered ever. Only once in the history, the combined armies of Akbar, Maan Singh, Udai Singh of Marwar and Sultanate of Gujarat were able to breach the security of this fort for a short period, that too because of the shortage of water supply in the fort.
There are many Hindu and Jain temples inside the fort. A grand light show is held every day in the evening and it is an amazing experience to see this fort in those colorful artificial lights.
5. Ranakpur Jain Temple:
Distance from Udaipur: 45 kms further from Kumbhalgarh. Directly approx. 110 kms from Udaipur. Via Kumbhalgarh approx. 150 kms from Udaipur , Good-conditioned spiral paved road through the hilly terrains.
Public Transport: Public transport are very less. Train services are unavailable.
Time required to visit entire temple: At least 2 to 3 hours
Between the splendid palaces and formidable forts of Rajasthan, the Jain Temple at Ranakpur still attracts people’s attention with full splendor. Built in the 15th century, this temple is situated at a place that seems neither like a town nor like a village and surrounded by the Aravali Hills and dense forests. About 1000 carved pillars of this temple are beautiful pieces of craft skills on the white marble stones. Some even say that it is impossible to count all the pillars. Interestingly, no two pillars are having same carvings. Here, a union of sun rays with white marble stones happens in such a manner that at every hour for some period the color of these white stones looks like blue pale. Description of the beauty of Ranakpur’s Temple is beyond the words.This temple is a blissful combination of architecture, sculpture and crafts.
In these five great places, Chittorgarh Fort is situated on a different route and direction from Udaipur. Other four places are situated in the same direction from Udaipur in the range of 150 kms. Since, public transport are less frequent in this area, it is advisable to hire a cab from Udaipur to visit all these places on the same day. There are numerous travel agencies in Udaipur, those offer a single day bus or cab tour to Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur. and If you are riding a motorcycle, then nothing can be more exciting than visiting these places in Rajasthan.
would like to visit udaipur city,shreenathji temple,eklingiji,kumbhalgargh,ranak pur
staying at nathdwara is good or in udaipur to cover all these places
Nathdwara is also a good option to cover all these places.
Dear backpacker,
Is it possible to do Udaipur to Chittorgarh via Kumbalgarh. We have booked our hotel in chittorgarh.
Also advise which of the two is a better fort.
No, Not advisable in a single day. Both are in different directions. Both have some unique aspects, but if I have to choose only one, then it’s Chittosgarh. 🙂
Thanks…very informative and useful.
WE ARE REACHING TO UDAYPUR AT 4 PM FROM MUMBAI ON 24 FEB.17. WE ARE PLANNING OUR RETURN JOURNEY ON 26 FEB.17 AT 9.30 PM FROM UDAYPUR OR CHITTORGARH. WHICH PLACES CAN BE COVERED LIKE, KUMBHALGARH, NATHDWARA, SRINATH JI, CHITTORGARH? PLS. ADVISE.
For one or two days, it’s better to visit some attractions in Udaipur only.
I am planning to visit udaipur , i have 3 days , can you make me good planning to cover maximum places in udaipur and nearby places.
Hi, for 3 days, stick to Udaipur only. Please read this post to get a good idea:
https://www.solobackpacker.com/10-must-visit-places-in-udaipur/
Hello me and my husband want to visit Udaipur and from there want to go to Jodhpur via kumbhalgarh, Rankapur .Also want to visit Chittorgarh.Is it possible?
We’ll reach Udaipur on 19th february take rest that day. On 20th will visit Udaipur full day and 21st want to visit Chittorgarh and back Udaipur.22nd on the way to Jodhpur want to visit Kumbhalgarh and Rankapur.Can you pls tell me how much time it’ll take on 3rd day i.e 22nd feb?
Hi, it will take normally 2-3 hours to visit Kumbhalgarh and two hours at Ranakpur Temple. Rest is your journey time. The road between Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur is a hilly terrain. You can travel from Udaipur to Jodhpur covering both the places in a single day. Start early from Udaipur and expect to reach late night at Jodhpur.
What about Nathdwara, can it be combined with any of the others mentioned here?
Hi, You can easily combined Nathdwara also. 🙂
Hi,
We are planning a family vacation to Udaipur and your article is very informative.
I wanted to know if we plan a day trip and start early, can we see Nathdwara, Eklingji, Haldighati, Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur, since all these places are in the same route and come back to Udaipur by the end of the day?
Yes, it’s possible. You can visit all the mentioned places in a single day. In fact, Many tourist agencies in Udaipur provide this one day tour package. 🙂
Thanks a lot for the info 🙂
Dear Mr.Backpacker,
Many thanks for this very informative write-up. Are there places in the city of Udaipur itself that one should visit. Thanks in advance. Ujjal Choudhury
Hello, Thanks for sharing this. Could you advice that which places can be visited within 3.5 days? Wheather 2nd or 3rd week of december is good time to visit?
Yes. It’s good time to visit Udaipur. Spend your days in Udaipur only. One the last day, you can join any one day tour package for Kumbhalgarh Fort and Ranakpur Temple. Many tour operators in Udaipur offer this package.
it is historical place and feeling history
Hi , mr Solo backpacker,
wanted your advice, how many days due to think is good to visit udaipur city and local sights- i have a 12 days available – i have done jaipur – which is would be more interesting jodhpur or mount abu??
Your input would be much appreciated
Best
L
Udaipur anyday. 12 days are sufficient time. You can plan to visit both Udaipur and Mount Abu.
Great site. How is the time around 25 September to visit.
Hi, It’s good time to enjoy Udaipur.
Hello..
Can We go there in Our Bus??
I mean can we Travel that places by our bus..at all places..short distance places..?
Bcz at some places tourists vehicles are not allowded..so???
Yes, You can hire your own bus to travel around.
very good details…is possible to visit Eklingji Temple, Haldighati, Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur and further drive to Mount Abu by own car in same day??
Not possible in my opinion. Better to plan your stay near Ranakpur for the night. You can cover all places in a single day, but by the time, you will reach Mount Abu, you will be completely exhausted.
awesome trip bhaijee
Thanks for all information regarding places to see around Udaipur and most importantly availability of public transport. Do you think it is better to visit Kumbhalgarh from Mount Abu? Which is a better and cheaper place to stay- Abu Road or Udaipur? Thank you.
Hi, w.r.t. the availability of transport options or tour packages, Udaipur is a better choice to visit Kumbhalgarh. Depending on the budget, Udaipur also offers more options for the hotels.
More power to you! Wishing you many more incredible travel adventures. Happy backpacking!
Thanks Anu. Happy Travels 🙂
Very elaboratively described. Planning to visit again in December, 2015. How will be the climate ?
Hi, you are going there at right time. Expect warm pleasant weather during day, and chilly weather in the night. Have a nice trip.
Hello!!! What is the good time to visit Udaipur? In June’15 would be good to visit?
Hi, I don’t think that its a good time to visit Udaipur. It will be extremely hot. You may not be able to enjoy the lakes also. If possible, plan for another time. If still want to go, then you must go. Its a beautiful city and in the off-season you may get the best prices for everything.
Very useful and nice information….Kudos to you for this beautiful guidance note!!!!
Thank you so much.
Hi! Thanks a lot for the valuable information! Will be visiting Udaipur in Jan 2015 during the month end. could you please give me more idea about how to visit Nathdwara temple?
Also, Can we visit the place where Mira Bhai worshipped Krishna in the Chittorgarh fort?
Hi, Nathdwara is about 50 kms from Udaipur. Regular public buses operate between Udaipur and Nathdwara, else you can hire a cab from Udaipur for one day trip. If you wish to stay there, plenty of hotels/guest houses available. Accommodation can be also booked online at the Official website of Nathdwara Temple, upto 12-days in advance. Inside the Chittorgarh Temple, Meera Bai Temple is situated in the premises of Kumbh-Shyam Temple. You can go there easily without any hassle.
Have a nice trip.
Beautiful Pictures. Planned to visit in on 18th Jan2015 and shall visit this places. Also mentioned entry timing, Fees and charges of Cabs. Thanks.
Thanks for visiting this page. Have a great journey. 🙂
I loved your pictures especially the great wall of India.Quite informative article(good bike).
Hi… I am planning a trip to Udaipur for 3 days in March. Was quite confused on places to visit in Udaipur, but this post of yours has certainly helped me plan an itenary. Lovely pictures 🙂
Wish you a great trip to Udaipur. It is an amazing place to spend few days. Try to cover the attractions located around the Lake Pichola. Happy Journey.
its a really awesome website ………
must recomended to all…………..
Thank You Very Much 🙂
Website is very comprehensive and informative.
Wonderful post with beautiful captures.
Very nice work and loved few pictures… will definitely try covering these places
Himanshu Nagpal | Being Traveler