India Day Six: Udaipur. A Magical Sunrise Hike, And A Day Exploring A Historic Palace And Beautiful Gardens.

I was up early again on Wednesday morning.  I was staying at the splendid Trident Hotel in Udaipur, India. I was traveling with a tour group, just I seldom do anymore, and had some free time in the morning.   Even though I wasn’t sleeping well, a side affect, I believe, from malarial medication I was taking I was still up since  I wanted to get some birding in the beautiful gardens of the hotel. After a cup of coffee I left my room before sunrise and walked on the tree lined road to Lake Pichhola.  I listened to the songs of many birds singing in the trees. However  it was too dark to take photos.  I  walked back  to the boat dock on the lake.

I  found a lot of empty glasses , beer bottles, cloths and other thrash scattered on the grounds. I’m sure it was from the lavish wedding ceremonies held at the hotel the night before.

I watched a beautiful sunrise over the Royal Lake ,

and palaces.  Traditional music played in the distance.

It was an awe inspiring experience as I imagined members of the royal family awakening here in the morning 500 years ago , or their subjects watching these scene where I stood on this beautiful morning.Did  they  feel the same  awe I did seeing  sun rise I wondered.

I wasn’t the only one enjoying the beauty of the sun rise.  I watched it with this pleasant young lady who wasn’t sleeping in after the wedding parties.

I explored the  lush gardens as the sun rose ,

and begin to see dozens of birds, some I had seen before like the African green bee eaters,

and Indian pea cocks,

and pea hens strutting through the gardens.

I also saw a few new species including this beautiful white throated  kingfisher,

a few black drongos,

a noisy flock of noisy large gray babblers,

a laughing dove,

and an Asian koel.

I also saw a flock of  red wanted bulbuls,

feeding on some sandalwood berries. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the birds I saw my morning hike in the Trident Hotel Gardens.  India Day Six: Udaipur. Trident Hotel morning  birds October 15 2025.

I explored the gardens for about an hour,

before I walked back to the hotel, and had another great breakfast at the buffet , trying everything Indian on the menu. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from my morning hike in the Trident Hotel Gardens.  India Day Six: Udaipur. Trident Hotel morning October 15 2025.

Around 10 a.m we left the hotel and again drove through the busy streets of Udaipur.

I loved seeing the traffic, and

vendors along the way.

We arrived at  the City Palace, the spectacular  and elaborate palace on the eastern shore of Lake Pichhola. It built over a period nearly 400 years,.

Our guide Aparna again provided us with history on Its construction which began in 1553, started by MaharanaUdai Singh I. We followed the crowd up the hill above the river,

talking in the scenery below.

We walked through the massive gates,

and past one of the many elephants statues, and paintings we would see on our tour.

We were shown the area were elephant competitions took place, and  still take place to this day.

It was an amazing tour, too much to try and describe here on my blog, I will just point out the high lights  but please check out the photos. We entered the Palace and were told about the many rulers in the royal family over the years.

Portraits, and

paintings of the Majahanas s were everywhere,

many depicting scenes from the history of the Royal family and historical battle Aparna gave us interesting insights on many of the leaders.

We walked to the top floor of the Palace where we saw the trees growing from below. Aparna explained that this was a dirt hill and that this parton th part was a was incorporated into the Palace complex. 

She provided us with a lot  of information about life at the Palace over the centuries as we  were exploring the rooms and courtyards.

From the top floor we had spectacular views of the lake , and the city of Udaipur below.

We made our way down the Palace steel steep, continuing to learn about the history of the Palace.

We were shown the intricate art work and carvings of the Palace

We learned more Palace intrigue and stories of many of the rulers,  including  this disabled ruler,

and the accommodations made for him a including a handicapped toilet.

We were shown maps, silverware , carriages,horses

 and musical instruments used by  the Royal family .

It was  mid afternoon  we finished our tour,and left the Palace. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from my visit to the famous City Palace .  India Day Six: Udaipur.  City Palace  October 15 2025.

We walked to our bus and drove to the Aroma restaurant where we had another delicious Indian buffet.

While waiting for the bus I photographed some butterflies visiting the flowers around the restaurant.

It was now late afternoon and our  day wasn’t done, we visited the beautiful Maidens Gardens.

Again Aparna told us about the history of the Gardens.  It was built from 1710 to 1734 by Maharana Sangram Singh for the royal ladies.  The Maharana built it for his wife and the 48 maidens he presented her at their marriage. It was to allow the women to relax and enjoy the beauty of the water and gardens. It  is famous for it;s marble elephants.

An elderly retired gardener  gave us a tour of the plant and trees in the gardens

After visiting the gardens we drove through the streets of Udaipur  back to the hotel,

taking in the  sights along the way. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from my travel through Udaipur and visit to the Gardens.   India Day Six: Udaipur. Travel and gardens of Maidens  October 15 2025.

We  had another great dinner at this  beautiful hotel and I sampled all kinds of delicious and spicy Indian food.  I loved the local food. It was another great day seeing the sights of this beautiful country and learning about it’s history, culture, nature and food.  We had another early start so I edited some photos and  retired early again. However, once again sleep eluded me, but I often say I can sleep when I’m dead. I was up early looking forward to exploring another historic  Indian city.

When one travels around the world, one notices to what an extraordinary degree human nature is the same, whether in India or America, in Europe or Australia.  Jiddu Krishnamurti