Udaipur- city of lakes, same day sightseeing

Much of Udaipur, particularly the old part located on the shores of Lake Pichola, is where you'll find the city's most striking landmarks -- the towering City Palace and Lake Palace -- and it still feels remarkably like a 16th-century Rajput stronghold, with the benevolent Maharaja still treated like a reigning king by his devoted and loyal subjects. The City Palace towers over Lake Pichola. The balconies, cupolas, and towers of the palace give a wonderful view of the lake and the surrounding city. This complex actually consists of four major and several minor palaces that collectively form the magnificent City Palace. The main part of the palace is now preserved as a museum displaying artifacts.

Jagdish Temple, the largest in Udaipur, is its chief attraction. Despite some lovely exterior carvings (including hidden erotic pieces your guide will point out), the temple itself is rather ordinary (if you've seen a number of them elsewhere, that is), but its attraction lies in its massive popularity. The temple has seen a constant stream of people who come to worship Lord Jagannath, an aspect of Vishnu (the black stone image enshrined within), since it first opened its doors in 1652.

Bagore-ki-Haveli Museum , a restored royal haveli with plenty of idiosyncratic design detail that's now part of a museum and cultural center; it's best visited on evenings for the nightly music and dance performances.

Bharatiya Lok Kala Museum, Udaipur's unofficial "Puppet Museum" (Rajasthan being the birthplace of this favored Indian storytelling medium), where you can watch a good show, staged almost hourly throughout the day. The folk museum also contains models, instruments, and photographs documenting other local traditions and crafts.

This extremely faux rural arts-and-crafts "village" is located 3km (2 miles) out of town; follow the road that runs along the north of Fateh Sagar Lake. Created to "promote and preserve the traditional architecture, music, and crafts of the tribal village of western India," Shilpgram has a distinctly artificial feel but interesting cultural performances; you can also ride a camel and browse for tribal knickknacks that the "traditionally" attired craftspeople will be only too delighted to finally off-load. If you're in a particularly touristy mood, you can dress up in a traditional Rajasthani outfit and have your picture taken. Beware that it is very touristy and in season can become extremely crowded.

Created by Sangram Singh in the 18th century for the ladies of his household (some say to re-create the monsoon climate for his sickly daughter), this is billed as Udaipur's finest garden, but it suffers from neglect, with none of the fountains operating. Still, it's a peaceful place, and the array of established indigenous trees may interest keen botanists.