Wondering What to Buy in Udaipur? 7 Things We Recommend You Buy in the City of Lakes and the Happening Places to Buy Them From (2019)!

A place known for its historical forts and palaces, scenic locations and gardens, traditional fairs and markets, colourful festivals, Udaipur is a mesmerising land for every tourist. Popularly known as the City of Lakes, Udaipur is an eternally enchanting tourist destination, set amist the Aravalli range of Rajasthan, India.

The city was found in 1558 by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia clan of Rajput who made it as the capital city, shifting from Chittorgarh. The royal city of Udaipur had been the capital of Mewar rulers for centuries. In 1818, it became a British princely state, and stayed so, till India gained independence in 1947.

Geographically, Udaipur is located in southern Rajasthan near to the Gujarat border. The city is surrounded by the Aravali Range which seperates it from Thar desert. It has seven lakes surrounding the city. Sabarmati, Som, Ahar, Mahi, Banas flows in and around the city. In Udaipur, generally, languages like Hindi, Rajasthani, including Mewari are spoken.

The best season to visit the city is the winter season. The temperature remains comfortable for touring around the forts and the palaces. The best months to visit are September to March.

Udaipur is easily accessible from all the major cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur. It lies in the south-west of Jaipur at a distance of 405 km and at 663 km from Delhi, 620 km from Gwalior, 637 km from Agra and 797 km from Mumbai.

It is well-connected to most of the urban regions of North India via roads, railways and air. The nearest airport in Udaipur - Maharana Pratap Airport is situated 20 kilometres away from the city and is well-connected by air to all major cities in India. A vast network of rail and bus transport also connects it to major cities across India.

The attractive and dazzling fairs, festivals and markets are a must visit in the city. Here's a list of interesting things to do in Udaipur curated just for you!

1. Visit the Gangaur and Mewar festivals: Famous for its colourful and vibrant festivals, Udaipur hosts many festivals throughout the year. Gangaur is one of the oldest and important festivals of Rajasthan, celebrated for 18 days. Goddess Parvati is worshipped in March every year, marking the beginning of summers. Mewar Festival which also coincides with Gangaur festival hosts folk dances performances and many other cultural events.

2. Shop in and admire the Shilpgram Mahotsava: During the months of December, Shilpgram Mahotsava is organised every year in the village Shilpgram, 3 km from Udaipur city. It is famous for its craftwork - handmade embroidery, handicrafts, hand-woven clothes and mirror work, attracting tourists across the country. A highly recommended place if you wish to feed your creative mind.

3. Check out the Vintage & Classic Car Collection Museum: Most of the old cars and those that appeared in classic movies and television shows are preserved and maintained in the museum.

4. Eat at Chunda Palace - Royal Cuisine Restaurant: Want to be treated royally? There are several royal restaurants in Udaipur and this place is one of the most exquisite ones. Rasleela Restaurant and Lal Bagh are the other famous ones.

Markets in Udaipur are a great attraction for tourists. Every item sold in Udaipur gives a rich perspective into the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. If you are planning to travel to Udaipur and wish to go on a shopping spree, we have a list of things to buy in Udaipur and where to buy them all from.

Carved wooden toys, hand-made paper, greetings cards, wall-hangings and beautiful cloth lanterns are the most essential and attractive handcrafted items available in Rajasthan. Udaipur is a dream place for most of the shoppers having a great interest in handcrafted items.The puppets in Rajasthan are one of the popular sources of entertainment. If you wish to buy the traditional kathputli/puppets in Udaipur, Chetak Circle is famous for a variety of dancing puppets. The puppets can be given as gifts to your loved ones.

Bapu Bazar in Udaipur is known for authentic handicraft and Rajasthani souvenirs. Authentic souvenirs and wooden exquisite handicrafts are highly recommended which are found in Hathipol also. Shilpagram has all the rural items like pottery, handmade paintings, handicraft and artwork.

Rajasthali, a government emporium, also offers a wide range of handicraft items made up of brass, terracotta, precious and semi-precious stones, mirrors, marbles, and many other artistic things. The handcrafted items can be really fabulous souvenirs that you can gift your near and dear ones on special occasions and especially if you travelling from across the world or to different parts of the country.

Famous style of paintings - murals and miniature paintings found in Udaipur, are truly marvellous. Located adjacent to city palace, Hathipol is an important and popular market in Udaipur that sells large variety of handicraft and folk art of Rajasthan. It is famous for The Rajasthani miniature paintings - Pichwai and Phad paintings. Shilpagram and Jagdish Chowk Street are also major tourist attractions place for handmade paintings and artwork.

Rajasthan’s heritage jewellery has rich styles of tradition and glamour. Kundan, Polki, Thewa, Meenakari, tribal jewellery, Rani Haar and chokers are some of the most popular traditional jewellery of Rajasthan. Known for tribal jewellery, Rajasthani tribal women wear weighty and spectacular ornaments decorated with different coins, shells and beads. The jewellery can astonish anyone with appealing hand-picked stones and flawless finish.

The alley starting from Ghanta Ghar at Sindhi Bazaar to Jagdish Temple in Udaipur has huge variety of jewellery ranging from imitation jewellery, silver jewellery and tribal jewellery of black metal. Also to shop special, cool and attractive jewellery in Udaipur, Bada Bazar is an ideal place, especially for buying gold and silver items. A bargain of the price is a must here. Palace Road, Moti Chohatta and Nada Kahada are also hubs of many jewellery shops. The best time to buy jewellery is in the morning from 11:00 am onwards. In the evening, the many shops close by 7:00 pm.

Rajasthani clothes are famous for their colours and vividness. Udaipur has variety of shops that sell the customary Rajasthani Bandhni print in forms of sarees, kurtis, lehengas, chunris or bags. Blouses or stoles embroidered with mirror-work, colourful turbans, bandhgala jackets and sherwanis are available across almost all cloth shops of Udaipur.

Places like Hathipol have different styles of fabric called Bandhej or Bandhani and Leheriya which use ‘tie and dye’ technique. The Rajasthani quilts or Jaipuri razai are also major attractions.The embroidered Mojadis and Bandhej sarees are also famous at Hathipol. Flooded with ethnic wear, Maldas Street serves as an ideal place for finding outfits at reasonable prices for festive occasions and weddings.

Batik and Bandhani print sarees and textiles can be found laden in Bada Bazaar as well as at Bapu Bazaar at bargained prices. Rajasthali is also a great place to buy Rajasthani textiles and sarees.

Rajasthani jootis or mojadis are some of the most elegant and embroidered shoes one must buy. Rich in colours, the jootis are usually embroidered with zari work, mirror, sequin and bead work. The outer material is usually made of silk or denim, and the inner material made of genuine leather. These become ideal gifts to give to your mother or female friends and would surely be loved by them.

Looking for colourful jootis to go along with your traditional look? Rajasthali, Hathi Pol, Manek Chowk and Bada Bazaar are the most amazing places to visit to buy your favourite pair of jootis.

The Rajasthani sweets are some of the most delicious sweets that one must surely try. Whether you are planning to gift someone sweets or just love the amazing taste of the Udaipur sweets, sweets are a must buy. Ghevar, Mawa Kachori, Churma Laddoo, Baadam ka halwa, Diljani, Moong Dal Churma, Sangam Barfi are some of the famous sweets which can be easily purchased from any sweet shop in Udaipur. However, the famous shops to buy these awesome sweets from include Jagdish Misthan Bhandar, Jayesh Misthan Bhandar, Shashtri Sweets, Lala Misthan Bhandar, Shiv Misthan Bhandar, etc. Jagdish Misthan Bhandar, famously known as JMB, located in Surajpole, is known for the best sweets in the heartmelting city of Udaipur.

We would recommend that besides the sweets, one can also try their hearts out to tasting the fried stuff like mirch vada, pyaaz kachori, daal kachori, fafda, imarti and malpua, etc.which are available in or around almost all sweet shops.

Stone carvings are pieces of rough natural stone that are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. They can be attractive and crafty gift articles for gifting your loved ones or keeping as a decorative piece at home. Rajasthan is known for beautiful forts, palaces and monuments with detailed carvings and sculptures. Udaipur is famous for its stone masonary sculpted by craftsmen. Statues of idols - Hindu and Buddhist, sculpted forts, antique statues, animal figures, human figures, frames, etc. are sold in markets of Bhuwana. Aakaar's Stone Carving And Handicrafts, Indicraft Studio (Stone Statue Manufacturer), Art Stone Gallery, Stone Ideas are some of the most enchanting shops, one should visit to buy their desired stone carvings.

The exclusive products sold include stone wall panel, stone veneer sheets,stone mosaic tiles, work-top, Indian natural stone likewise marble, granite, limestone, slate, quartzite, sandstone, designer wall murals, glass mosaic, wall coverings stone, garden stepping stones, etc. The textures, intricate patterns, customised designed decorative stone articles and handicrafts for interior and exterior spaces are available at Stone Ideas in Udaipur.

Udaipur is a dream destination place for many and is full of surprises. It is an ideal romantic place with lakes, palaces, forts, havelis, heritage hotels and picturesques view of the landscape.

Lake Pichola, a tranquil and large freshwater lake, is one of the neighbouring lakes of the 7 lakes in Udaipur. It reflects the beautiful mountains on its water. The lake's surroundings has been developed with palaces, marble temples and gardens. Taking a boat trip is a must activity to do if you wish to enjoy the wide and picturesque view of the famous Udaipur lake.

On the east bank of the Lake Pichola, the City Palace has its main entrance through the triple-arched gate - the Tripolia, built in 1725. It is Rajasthan’s largest palace, with a facade 244m long and 30.4m high. Spot the large tiger-catching cage and the smaller cage for leopards. The City Palace Museum is open for public which has rooms grandly decorated with mirrors, tiles and paintings, and a huge variety of extravagant artefacts.

Eklingji is a Hindu temple complex in Udaipur is believed to be the ruling deity of Mewar Princely State and the Maharana rules as his Dewan. This fourteenth century shrine has been rebuilt, renovated and expanded from time to time. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is a double-storied temple with magnificent architecture. The temple is the abode of four-faced idol of Eklingji (Lord Shiva) which is made out of black marble and is of the height of around 50 feet, garlanded by a silver snake. This temple is a must visit for those who wish to worship Lord Shiva and understand the historic and cultural importance of Udaipur.

Sajjan Garh, also known as the Monsoon Palace, is the late 19th century palace constructed by Maharana Sajjan Singh. It was originally planned to be an astronomical centre, but was canceled due to the death of Maharana Sajjan Singh. Overlooking the Fateh Sagar Lake, Sajjan Garh is set atop hill, giving a scenic beauty of the place. The rain harvesting technique employed in the former royal residence also grabs the attention. At the foot of the hill, the Sajjan Garh Wildlife Sanctuary is located, which surely ignites the adventurous soul within the tourists.