The lakes of Udaipur are small but beautiful. Although, I have noticed, many of such lakes supply their basic purpose of being a Water Body and delivering to the needs of drinking water and irrigation, they have also become places to visit and to have recreation. I was staying at a Udaipur Palace Hotel which is next to Lake Pichola. The state of Rajasthan is primarily known for its wonderful forts and palaces, but it’s the lakes I came to see.
There are quite a few lakes that are pristine and beautiful, like Lake Pichola is perhaps one of the most important, in my view, and the most beautiful lake in Rajasthan. It’s approximately 2 and a quarter miles long and about 1 and a quarter miles wide. This lake is man-made, carved out in the earth’s surface during the 14th century and was completed in the 16th century by Maharana Udai Singh. Then there’s Gadsisar Lake, it’s located in the dry regions of Jaisalmer. It has it’s own importance. It was once the major source of water being supplied to the city of Jaisalmer and there are several temples and shrines built all along the shores and even a yellow sandstone gateway leads to the lake itself.
But the second most important lake for the city of Udaipur is Fateh Sagar Lake. It too is man-made during Maharana Jai Singhs rule in 1678. But, the lake was destroyed by flooding. Later, it was reconstructed by Maharana Fateh Singh. Lake Pichola is linked to it by a canal via Rang Sagar and Swaroop Sagar Lakes. Irrigation was the original purpose of these man-made lakes, but today they are needed for drinking water. Often, the lakes become dry and becomes a mismatch of inflow and outflow of water. But, from what I can tell, the city of Udaipur is working diligently to keep the lakes inflow, but they seem to be always behind due to the ever increasing population and new construction. I do hope they somehow manage it though, Udaipur is too precious.
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