The Lake Palace, situated in the middle of Pichola Lake on the island named Jag Niwas, is one of the most beautiful places of Udaipur. Not only does the heavenly lake palace have a backdrop of the Aravalli Hills, it is made entirely of white marble, giving it an allure like no other. The Lake Palace has it all, be it extensive gardens, terraces, marvellous architecture or beautiful fountains.
The palace was built between 1743 and 1746 under the direction of the Maharana Jagat Singh II, the 62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar of Udaipur, Rajasthan as a royal summer palace and was initially called Jan Niwas after its founder. The palace is built on a natural foundation of 4 acres rock on the Jag Niwas Island. When the water level is high, it hides all traces of the island and the palace appears to be almost floating in the water.
After serving as a summer resort to by the descendants of Jagat Singh for many generations, it was converted in a luxury hotel in the 1960s. In 1971, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces took over management of the hotel and expanded it with another 75 rooms. Today, the opulent interiors and the Royal Butler service give guests a glimpse into a bygone era, while the shuttling by boat to and from shore is an altogether wonderfully wistful experience. Its 83 rooms and suites are fitted with beautifully carved wooden furniture, colourful murals and rich silk upholstery underneath the jharokhas.
Lake Palace, Udaipur is a masterpiece of brilliant architecture that showcases striking white marble building with notable courtyards, terraces, gardens and fountains. The conversion from palace to hotel was originally commissioned by Bhagwat Singh and was designed under the direction of an American artist, Didi contractor.
Now transformed into a luxury hotel, the palace has various rooms that are notified as Ajjan Niwas, Phool Mahal, Dhola Mahal, Khush Mahal and Bada Mahal. All the rooms are exquisitely designed with crystal artworks and stained glass works. There are also wonderful paintings which date back to the ancient era.
It was built by the Raja of Udaipur, Maharana Jagat Singh II in the year 1746, which, during later times, was used as a summer palace of many other members of the royal family.
The exquisite floating palace, which has now been transformed into a five-star hotel, provides just as much of a royal treatment as the Maharanas of Udaipur received back in the day.
There are a number of rooms inside the palace, including those of Phool Mahal, Bada Mahal, Ajjan Niwasand, Khush Mahal and Dhola Mahal, which consist of gorgeous paintings, crystal and tarnished glass work, and green and pink lotus leaves of inland stones.
The Jaisamand Lake is famous for being the second largest man-made freshwater lake in Asia.
Created by Maharana Jagat Singh II in 1754 AD, the lake palace was later converted into luxury hotel in 1960 AD.
The Lake Palace is located at 26kms from the Udaipur airport, and 3kms from the railway station. Guests take a boat-ride provided by the Hotel Staff to reach the Lake Palace from the banks of Lake Pichola.
