It's all Dior's fault. Maria-Grazia Chiuri and photographer Viviane Sassen showed fantastic shots of unusually quiet India in the pre-fall 2023 advertising campaign. The endless sky, the serene surface of the lake, girls in the gazebo or near the white marble statues of elephants... There is so much peace and harmony in these images that the conspiracy theorist involuntarily awakens in you. Well, no, you can’t film it like that! LVMH has the means to build a secret laboratory, place a highly dedicated yogi there, cover it with sensors and send impulses from the meditating brain to an AI image generator... After this attack of Pelevinism passes, one question remains: where was this filmed and how to get there right now? Lake of Hope, name it! Name: Udaipur, White City, Indian Venice. Having worked hard for a year, it is not the Maldivian beach or to the Emirates you would like to visit, but to peace and quiet, a lake and elephants that stand in line and don’t trumpet, because they are marble.

January and February are the best months to visit this part of India. The thermometer reaches 28–32 degrees, and at night 18–20, the days are clear. The Indian e-Visa for five years can be obtained online in five days, printed and presented at Mumbai or New Delhi airport.

Udaipur is the ideal “India-lite” for the first acquaintance and growing into the environment. How do most people who have not been to India imagine the country? Rolls-Royce and tuk-tuks stood up together, letting the sacred cow pass. Clouds of pink-saffron dust during the Holi festival. Chaos and cacophony against the backdrop of ancient temples with the sculptural Kama Sutra. Cremation of the dead on the banks of the sacred river. There are no funeral pyres burning in Udaipur, this is not Varanasi - there are five lakes in which you can see fish in clear water. The cleanliness and atmosphere on the streets is approximately at the level of Naples or the Balkans. The historical buildings are faced with white marble - there are quarries in the Aravali mountain range. Local green marble is famous throughout the world.

Legend has it that Maharana Udai Singh II once went hunting and met a hermit sadhu on the shores of Lake Pikola. The ascetic advised to build a palace on this site. The Maharana erected a small temple of Dhuni Mata to mark the point which is now the oldest part of the Udaipur City Palace. In 1565, Udai Singh ordered the construction of a dam to supply water to his capital. The land was taken 13 km east of the city. The Uday Sagar Lake was formed from the pit. Nowadays it is not built up and is much quieter than Picola, where tourist boats constantly scurry about.

The palace complex of Udaipur, the largest in Rajasthan, consists of eleven parts, built over four hundred years. The majestic cream-colored stone building on the shores of Lake Pikola seems like a dream come true. A museum is opened within its walls, but the Maharan family still lives here. Compared to their pedigree of 76 generations of noble blood, even the European descendants of the Crusaders look rustic. The current head of the house is Arvind Singh Mewar, an imposing gray-bearded old man who posed for Mario Testino's gallery of photographic portraits of the Indian aristocracy in full dress with a gilded saber.

Inspecting the museum willy-nilly will take several hours. In addition to the exhibits (thrones and other furniture, household utensils, fans, weapons, palanquins), the building itself is also interesting with a labyrinth of rooms, graceful arcades, shady courtyards and magnificent mosaics from tikri mirrors.

There are several attractions nearby: the temple of god Vishnu Jagdish and the Garden of the Maids of Honor (Sakhelion ki Bari) with a fountain.

One of the traditional entertainments in Udaipur is to take a boat ride on the lake in the evening at sunset. You can find boatmen right next to the walls of the City Palace.

Don't forget to visit the museum, which houses a collection of antique and classic Maharanas cars, located in the old Mewar Government Garage. Luxurious vintage models such as the 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II are on display here.

You'll want to look at the city from above to understand what the shoreline of the lakes looks like and what is hidden behind the high walls of the palaces. Several viewing platforms can be recommended to the guests.

The easiest way is to take the cable car to the Karni Mata Temple on Machhala Hill. We warn you in advance: rats are revered there, and they bred there in large numbers. But from there you can clearly see Lake Pikola.

A longer route is to head to the snow-white Monsoon Palace, built in 1884 by Maharana Sajjan Singh as a hunting lodge and observatory on top of Bansdara hill. The marble building will appeal to all decadents and romantics at heart with its shabbyness and picturesque desolation. From here you can clearly see the pear-shaped outlines of Fateh Sagar Lake, old Udaipur and its surroundings. At the foot of the hill is a small nature reserve called Saijan Garh.

Hotels in Udaipur are historical and cultural monuments in themselves. Many are worth visiting on foot or by boat, even if you're staying elsewhere.

Taj Lake Palace

The same white palace built in 1740 on Lake Pikola is the calling card of the city. At least in the past, the senior staff came from the families of former servants of the maharana. Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Vivien Leigh stayed at this hotel. In 1983, the film Octopussy with Roger Moore as James Bond was filmed here. All rooms combine modern equipment with luxurious old-fashioned decor. It is worth taking a suite with a balcony to fully enjoy the views.

Jagmandir Island Palace

The shots with marble elephants mentioned above  were filmed here for Dior. In the 17th century, Jag Mandir was built as the palace of Maharana Karan Singh. Today it is part of the HRH group of companies (not His Royal Highness, as you might think, but Historic Resort Hotels) of his direct descendant Arvind Singh Mewar. The main structure, known as the Gul Mahal, is a stunning example of Mughal and Rajput era architecture. The white marble, domed roof and intricately carved walls give it an ethereal appearance, especially when illuminated by the soft light of the setting sun. The Jag Mandir houses another architectural masterpiece of Udaipur - the small palace pavilion Bara Mahal with twelve carved pillars corresponding to the signs of the zodiac. HRH owns several other five-star hotels in different parts of the city.

The Oberoi Udaivilas

A luxury hotel with a park on the left bank of Lake Pikola with a postcard view of both the Aravali Mountains and the City Palace. Book dinner in a tent by the lake or in a marble gazebo - the sparkling city lights and boats on the black water are truly mesmerizing. The Kohinoor Suite is perhaps the most luxurious in the city. In fact, it is a mansion with an area of ​​246 square meters with a private pool. The hotel offers guided boat tours of the lakes. The hotel itself has three restaurants and two heated outdoor pools, as well as a tranquil spa with a superb selection of signature local rituals, massages, therapies and specialty baths.

Raffles Udaipur

The youngest of the five-star hotels in the city. The Accor Group opened it in 2021 on a private lake located on the northwestern shore of Uday Sagar Lake. Navigation is prohibited here, but an exception is made for the silent hotel electric boat. It serves as the main means of communication with the shore. The majestic building can roughly be described as a Palladian palace with an Indian twist. It is surrounded by a huge park with terraces, fountains and hedges trimmed in the shape of intertwined threads of matting. Guests can enjoy tennis courts, mini golf, croquet, archery and, of course, a large swimming pool. Those who want to truly relax should definitely visit the spa center. The restaurant serves modern versions of traditional Mewar dishes. Some of them are reminiscent of the famous Maharaja's dinner in Indiana Jones, such as goat brain, lamb shanks and chilli, but there are also carrots and dried mango.

Chunda Shikar Oudi

The former hunting grounds of the jarirdars of Batera (as the Indian landowning nobility was called since the time of the Great Mughals) became a paradise for birds and animals. They say there are wild boars and leopards roaming the area. The old two-storey building with two bedrooms has been restored and now serves as a guest villa with spacious terraces, an outdoor Jacuzzi, winter fireplace and small private pool. On the other side of the artificial lake (you can fish on it!) a new hotel building has been built. Each of the eight rooms has a private terrace and spacious bathrooms.

Mementos By ITC Hotels Ekaaya

There are 117 stylish villas scattered along the slopes of the Aravali, surrounded by forest. For those seeking complete solitude, we recommend first booking hotel rooms in Udaipur for a couple of days for sightseeing, and then going here for a week – to breathe the air, listen to the birds, admire the starry sky and contemplate the panorama of mountain peaks from the warm infinity pool.