The “Territory of the Ruling Elites” Rajasthan, is known for its numerous magnificent forts and palaces. Sajjangarh Palace, however, is a truly amazing structure & an example for the same. It was built by the 72nd ruler of the Mewar dynasty, “Maharana Sajjan Singh” at a height of 3100 feet. Sajjangarh is how it came to be known.
Source : japjitravel
Although Udaipur is known as the “City of Lakes” it also has a large number of magnificent castles. And Sajjangarh comes at the first place.
However, you may also know it by the name Monsoon Palace. Nevertheless, very few people are aware of the origins of this title. Let us tell you about the entire instance which led this to happen.
History Behind the Name
A visionary leader, Maharana Sajjan Singh is credited as being the “Builder” of the palace. He carried out numerous developmental projects, such as expanding the infrastructure for roads, water supply, and other civil work. He also instituted civil administration and courts. His reign (1874–1884) lasted just 10 years.
Maharana Sajjan Singh Ji Source: wordpress
But his largest undertaking was the construction of the Sajjan Garh Palace, or the Monsoon Palace. It was planned to serve as the western backdrop to the city of Udaipur.
Initially a nine-storey complex was envisioned by Maharana Sajjan Singh Ji. It was planned to serve as an “astronomical center” and to track monsoon clouds. Moreover to accommodate as a family resort too.
But before he could complete the fort, fate made him meet the untimely death.
Hence Maharana Fateh Singh Ji, successor of the clan, took the pain on his shoulders for the completion of the complex. Nonetheless he succeeded in making the project possible.
Maharana Fateh Singh Ji Source: wikiwand
Moreover Fateh Singh Ji occupied the building for watching monsoon clouds and hence the name – “Monsoon Palace”. The royal family also used it as a hunting lodge.
Source: clevelandart
Some Interesting facts
Monsoon palace is best visited during the monsoon season to see the clouds, endless hills of greenery, and a few light showers. As it is situated at the top to give a wider view & heavenly feeling of being surrounded by clouds.
You can see a beautiful sunset as well, but you must be at the palace when it happens.
You get the view of three beautiful lakes at once, Fateh Sagar, Pichola, and Swaroop Sagar which is breathtaking.
The palace has featured the filming of several Bollywood and Hollywood productions, including Octopussy, Cheetah Girl, Dhamaal and Hum Hai Raahi Pyar Ke. The palace appears as the home of the main antagonist, an exiled Afghan prince by the name of Kamal Khan, in the James Bond film Octopussy (Louise Jourdan).
View From Monsoon Place Source: udaipurbeats
The most loved Monsoon Season is about to end and it would be the best opportunity to visit the palace. Don’t wait, make a plan and step out before it’s too late!
It is widely believed that violent deaths leave everlasting imprints on the places they occurred. Violence is a crime that never leaves its spectators in peace, imagine what it does upon whom it was inflicted. Places that have the most scenic beauty in the day, manage to look scariest at night. Or maybe it’s how people perceive beauty. It’s really the difference in judgment that makes someone haunted or just a soul desperate for help. Judge for yourselves as you read about the “haunted” places in Udaipur.
Udaipur is at peak of the list that holds the names of the world’s most beautiful cities. It’s not just beautiful, it’s ridden with rumors about horrors of the dark. When the black ink splashes across the sky and the moon has circled to its throne, the night lets out a fierce breath, as a representation of what frightens mere mortals.
Sajjangarh Fort (The monsoon palace)
Forts have a way of becoming absorptive as they live for centuries. They start to drink all that happens inside their walls, as is called its history. The underground level of the fort is said to be one of the haunted places of Udaipur. Now, it’s kept locked after complaints arising from an unknown presence that people felt while exploring the stories of this palace. How ironic, as this palace was constructed for the sole purpose of rejoicing in nature.
Chittorgarh Fort
This particular fort has screams of women flowing through its walls. The heat still arises from that depression in the floor where 700 women jumped in the protection of their honor. Folks believe that Devi Padmini still roams within these halls. It truly has the most terrifying story of women fighting for their honor. Be careful as you go in, you might get the realization of the force of nature.
Gulab Bagh
The thing that is in abundance here is breathable air. You might need it more, as you walk in these gardens at night thinking about its history of painful exorcisms. It’s said that some of the worshipping places nearby Gulab Bagh performed exorcisms on possessed people. As the entity is forced out of a human, it looked for another living flesh to take over. Wander here at night, if the mind has been too quiet a while.
Chandani Village
23 km away from Udaipur, Chandani Village echoes with the pains of a woman who roams around crying when the earth has circled away from the warmth of the sun. The villagers have often warned people to stay away as this woman is too difficult to understand. This village has a river flowing through it and the scenery is exceedingly magical. Visit, if you miss the beauty of the wilderness.
Source: bcmtouring
Bedla Mata Temple
According to the locals and local tales, it’s a belief that when you enter the miraculous cave where the Goddess is said to draw away evil spirits, you will be asked not to look back. If you do, all the spirits left there might cling to you. Follow the rules if you must. The temptation will prove to be unwise. Visit if you are not too tempted.
Source: worldorg
Natni ka Chabutra
There was a woman who was challenged by Maharana Jawan Singh. She was told that if she walked on the rope tied from one end of the lake to another, the King would grant her half of his kingdom. She was gifted at walking on ropes. As she was about to be victorious, the King ordered to cut the rope from his end. She fell and succumbed to death in the lake, but not before placing a curse on the royalty. It’s often said that, when a human dies with revenge in their heart, they never leave. It’s believed that the rope-walking woman still lingers in the lake that drowned her.
NH 79 Ajmer
The legend is, this highway from Udaipur has witnessed such cruelty, that it’s made home to a spirit of a woman crying for help while carrying her dead child. According to the lore, the woman was running from the villagers who had decided to throw her child into the bounds of marriage. She was against it and ran towards the open road. Both she and her child died after meeting with an accident that night.
Source: shutterstock
A few roads that locals believe are haunted – Rani Road and the road adjacent to the Badi Lake – are both said to be lodgings to strange presences. From midnight until the arrival of dawn, vehicles stop mysteriously for a minute or two before starting up again.
Lakes are indeed deeper than they look. Udaipur is rich in its history and even richer in its hauntings. The pretty town that believes that its ghosts are wailing. Do visit Udaipur if you haven’t yet.
City Palace was built by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559. It is situated at the eastern bank of Lake Pichhola and has many other palaces built within the City Palace. It is a must visiting place whosoever wishes to travel Udaipur and has a keen interest in the history of Rajasthan.
Impressive Gateways or Poles pave access to the City Palace complex. The different poles of the City Palace include Bara Pole, Tripolia Pole, Toran Pole etc.
The other complexes which are made within the premise of the City Palace are Amar Vilas, Badi Mahal, Chinni Chitrashala, Choti Chitrashali, Dilkhusha Mahal, Darbar Hall, Fateh Prakash, Jagdish Mandir, Krishna Vilas, Laxmi Vilas Chowk, Manak Mahal, Mor Chowk, Rang Bhawan, Sheesh Mahal etc.
The famous Jagdish Temple is only 150 meters away from the Palace. From the Palace, you can have a beautiful view of Lake Palace and Jag Mandir, which are both located in the midst of Pichhola Lake. The City Palace’s major part has been converted into a museum, displaying a diverse range of preserved monuments and armour. The museum exhibits a wide collection of weapons, gears, clothes, furniture etc.
Fateh Prakash Palace
Source: Wexas Travel
This palace was constructed during the time of Maharana Fateh Singh, who ruled from 1885 to 1935. The purpose of the venue was to serve the esteemed guests during the royal functions. Fateh Prakash Palace has also been converted into a luxury hotel which is now run & managed by the HRH group.
In 1909 the Viceroy of India, Lord Minto, laid down the Darbar Hall’s foundation stone. Henceforth the name was originally called Minto Hall to respect the honour to the Viceroy. The interiors are decorated with royal artefacts, miniature painting, armour etc. which would take you to the legendary historical time of the Mewar dynasty.
The Darbar Hall, Crystal Gallery, Suites and Rooms are decorated with original paintings, furniture of the historical era and would take you on the journey of the authentic heritage of that time. The scenic beauty of Lake Pichhola through the decorative valued windows would soak you in real ecstasy. The Palace offers 21 Decorative Rooms and 45 Decorative Premier Suits. It is equipped with period furniture, portraits and original miniature paintings, private sitting areas and facilities like air-conditioning, international direct dial telephone, satellite TV and a mini-bar.
Taj Lake Palace
Source: Exquisite Travel Collection
Lake Palace, the name is enough to draw a picture of Udaipur and Pichhola Lake. It is another epithet of the Udaipur after the City Palace. To most of us, if asked anything about Lake Palace, the first answer comes out – it is a luxury hotel. Obviously, it is a luxury hotel, but earlier than a luxury hotel, it was a place to relax for the kings and had many different interiors.
Lake Palace was formerly known as Jag Niwas. Lake Palace is built on a natural island of around 4 acres, which was earlier called Jag Niwas Island and surrounded by Lake Pichhola. It was built in the year 1743 to 1746 by the Maharana Jagat Singh II of Udaipur. The Palace was built as a palace to spend summers. It was named after its founder Maharana Jagat Singh and hence was called Jag Niwas.
In 1971 the Taj group took over Lake Palace’s management, and the new name came out to be the Taj Lake Palace. Taj added another 75 rooms to it. Jamshyd D.F. Lam became the first General Manager of the Taj Lake Palace. Later in 2000, another restoration of the hotel was undertaken. Now Taj Lake Palace is certainly a luxury hotel surrounded by Lake Pichhola. The Lake Palace offers Luxury Rooms, Palace Rooms, Royal Suites, Grand Royal Suites and Grand Presidential Suites with all facilities like Spa, Bar, Fine Dinning etc.
Monsoon Palace aka Sajjangarh Fort
Source: Udaipur Tourism
An actual jewel in our city, Sajjangarh Fort has been one of the most favourite tourist’s spots, especially in the rainy season when the fort is enveloped by clouds and the mountains are lush green. The Monsoon Palace, formerly known as the Sajjangarh Palace, is a hilltop residence with a scenic view of palaces, lakes, and the surrounding countryside. This palace was designed to keep an eye on the monsoon clouds, as the name implies. The palace, which is located in the Aravalli Hills, glows a golden orange colour in the evening and is a great place to see the sunset. Don’t forget to visit this enchanting palace when in Udaipur!
Jag Mandir Island Palace
Source: TripAdvisor
This palace, also known as the ‘Lake Garden Palace,’ is undeniably one of Pichola Lake’s most beautiful views. Built on an island, this palace served as a summer retreat and a pleasure palace for holding parties for royal families. Within the palace, the Gul Mahal, Garden Courtyard, Bara Patharon ka Mahal, Zenana Mahal, and Kunwar Pada ka Mahal are must-see attractions. Don’t forget to dine at the Darikhana Restaurant for an exclusive dining experience!
Bagore ki Haveli (Gangaur Ghat)
Source: Udaipur Tourism
Head to Bagore ki Haveli to experience the true Rajasthani Folk art and reminisce the beauty and splendour and rich heritage of the city of lakes. In just one hour, you will enjoy a blissful cultural evening of musical dance performances, magic shows, and puppet dances influenced by Rajasthani tradition, all without burning a hole in your pocket! Festivals, weddings, childbirth, and the change of seasons are all included in the show. It’s the ideal location for learning about the Rajput royal lifestyle.
Kumbhalgarh Fort
Source: Bookety
Kumbhalgarh is 82 kilometres away from Udaipur and lies in Rajsamand District, and it is the birthplace of Maharana Pratap, the great warrior of the Mewar. It was built in the 15th century by Maharana Kumbha. In the late 19th century, the fort was opened for tourists. It is the important fort of Mewar after Chittorgarh.
The fort is accessed through seven different gateways named Aret Pole, Hanuman Pole, Ram Pole, Vijay Pole, Nimboo Pole and Bhairon Pole. All gates lead to the palace complex, and some are built with additional structures at a later stage.
The different palaces built in the fort consist of Kumbha Mahal and Badal Mahal. Various religious temples include Hindu and Jain temples of different periods ranging from the 13th century to later. Various temples built and covered in the fort area consist of Ganesh Temple, Vedi Temple, Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, Parshvanath Temple, Bawan Devi Temple, and Golerao Group Temples, Mamadeo Temple, Pitalia Dev Temple, Kumbha Palace.
Kumbhalgarh fort also has several memorials like Badva Bund, Lagan Baori, Gardens, Stores, Pleasure Pavilions, and a Dam.
Chittorgarh Fort
Source: Udaipur Trip
Chittorgarh is situated in the southern part of Rajasthan and is 120 kilometres away from Udaipur. It is midway between Delhi and Mumbai on National Highway No 8. At Chittorgarh National Highways 76 and 79 intersect.
Chittorgarh Fort is the largest fort in India. Earlier it was the capital of Mewar. The fort is spread in an area of 690 acres and situated at the height of 590 feet over a hill that lies on the bank of Berach River.
The Mewar Emperors lost the fort thrice to the Mughals in the battles fought in different periods. In 1303 Allauddin Khilji defeated Rana Ratan Singh. Bahadur Shah defeated Bikramjeet Singh in 1535, and Mughal Emperor Akbar defeated Maharana Udai Singh II in 1567, who left and founded Udaipur as his next capital of Mewar. Approximately 13,000 Rajput Ladies committed Jauhar after the successive defeats of Mewar Emperors.
A zigzag hill road of more than 1 kilometres in length from the new town of Chittor leads to the west end main gate of the fort, known as Ram Pol. Within the fort, a circular road provides access to all other gates and monuments. The fort has seven gates or Poles, and they are Padan Pole, Bhairon Pole, Hanuman Pole, Ganesh Pole, Jodla Pole, Laxman Pole and the main gate is known as the Ram Pole. A road within the fort provides access to the numerous monuments, ruined structures, and temples. Once, the fort had 84 water bodies and only 22 are left as of now. It was in the form of ponds, wells, and step wells. These water bodies were filled during the rainfall. The various other historical monuments of interest at the fort include Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh.
But the palatial forts still stand firm echoing the history of Mewar Kingdom…
Perched on a high summit of Banasdara mountain of Aravalli hill range, just like a bejeweled tiara stands the glorious Sajjangarh fort. It is a white marble palace. The fort is situated 5km (2 miles) to the west of Udaipur city at an altitude of 944m (3100 ft) above sea level. The latitudinal and longitudinal of fort are 23.260 and 74.289 respectively. It was built in 1884, by seventy-second ruler of Mewar dynasty, Maharana Sajjan Singh. He was considered as a renowned ruler and a “Man of Vision” and was also honourerd with the title of “Grand Commander of the Star of India” in 1881.Having deep passion for astronomy, Maharan Sajjan Singh intended to construct a nine- storey astronomical centre that could facilitate the tracking of monsoon clouds and diagnose the weather conditions. Hence popularly known as monsoon palace. The other reason that added to building up of the fort was to serve a holiday home and hunting lodge to royal family and also to give Maharana a view of his ancestral home in Chittaurgarh.Due to untimely demise at the age of 26 , his dream remained unfulfilled with shelving of his plans by construction of partial three-storey building. But during his reign (1874-1884) Udaipur was recognized as the second Municipality in India after Bombay. The construction of Sajjangarh is considered as the most ambitious project which Maharana undertook during the span of his rule.
Looming at a great height, the fort offers an exhilarating bird eye view of Udaipur city overlooking the two lakes – The Pichola & Fatehsagar. Previously the palace was owned by the royal family of Mewar but now it is controlled by the Forest department of Rajasthan Government. The importance of the fort lies in it’s unique location to give it’s visitors an astounding and charismatic view of the city. The road leading to the fort is hilly, steep, twisting with several blind turns. The best time to visit the place is at the time of rainy season because the picturesque and the scenic view of the scenery around is seen like heaven with the palace seeming as cocooned within the clouds. Rather than monsoons, from way down the city , the White Palace renders a visual treat with a constraining attraction of pulling a visitor up to see the breathtaking spectacle of the setting sun with a colourful sky.
The palace consist of a grand central court with a staircase, rooms, a huge bronze statue of Maharana Pratap, Fountains, Domes jharokhas, Marble pillars with floral carvings reflecting the vibrant art and architecture of culture of Rajasthan and royal quarters which are subdivided into Mardana Mahal(quarter for men), Zanana Mahal (quarter for females), the Diwan-e-Aam(hall for public audience) and the Diwan-e-Khaas(hall for private audience). The walls of the fort are plastered by lime mortar. The tall turrets with guards regulating each tower can be viewed from a distance. At night the illuminated palace seems like a fairytale castle floating free in the sky. The ground floor of palace is a museum with a collection of pictures, paintings and maps of the entire palace and the design of the palace that Maharana Sajjan Singh intended to construct. There is also an ingenious rainwater collection system in which 195,500 litres of water can be stored and it seems to be an innovative way of collecting rain water where dry desert conditions exists. Some cannons too still remain there, since the time Udaipur was attacked by Schindias in 1764, when the hill was used as ordnance dump. A boat ride across the lake Pichola provides a mesmerizing view of the palace.
The palace is enveloped by Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary established in 1987 which covers an area of 5.17 sq km. It is regarded as a reserve for reptiles, wild boars, blue bulls, hyenas, panthers, sambhars, jackals, spotted deers, peacocks, wild rabbits and many migratory birds. The entire hillock has been well protected with concrete wall and fences to improve the flora and fauna of the sanctuary area. To the left of the fort lies Shikarbadi or the Khas-Odi and at the northwest lies an artificial lake known as “Badi Lake”or“Tiger Lake. The adventure freak people can also make their way to the fort by trekking from the lake. On the western side of the hill lies the “ Jhar Water Hole”, a small perennial source of water encircled by numerous Mahua trees adding tranquility to the place along with a small temple of lord Shiva.
The backside of the palace gives the spectacular view of valley covered with dense, thick forest and lush greenery all around it. The place is not commercialized so no shops, no vendors etc lending a peaceful, quite and calm atmosphere. At the palace, a restaurant is operated by The Lalit Groups providing lunch, breakfast, tea, coffee etc. The fort is regarded as best sightseeing point of Udaipur and remains a popular tourist destination with an entry fee of just INR 10 for Indian, INR 80 for foreigner and INR2 for students.
Despite of being a tourist point the fort is not serving as a well maintained heritage. The interiors are ruined and the walls too are covered in graffiti by the young lads proclaiming their fascinations of their girl or vice-versa. It’s a high time for the authorized people to wake up and take effective measures to improve the conditions of the Palace.
