sajjangarh

by docdivatraveller - December 11, 2015

So it was our first excursion of Udaipur. The Sajjangarh fort or the Monsoon palace is situated outside the city, so you need moolah to reach there. I don't know about my partner but I thought that the autorickshaw/cab drive was all that would cost us. But lo! I was wrong. A pricey auto ride ( as per Indian standards) led us to the entry of Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary from where we had to pay for another ride! The auto ride was about a 20 minute one for which he charged Rs 300!! Then a government cab was supposed to take us to the palace through the wildlife sanctuary. That ride cost us around 250 for both of us! I don't want to sound stingy but I simply did not see that coming. Anyways after half an hour of twists and turns, we reached the hilltop palace.

The route through the mountains...

Sajjangarh Fort is situated atop the Aravalli hills from where you can get a spectacular view of the entire city of Udaipur. the lake Pichola on one side, Fateh sagar lake on another and rest of the area is surrounde by the Aravalli hills. The sunset looks mesmerising from there. But since we were short on time, we went there in the morning. A beautiful place remains beautiful irrespective of whether is dawn or dusk.

A bird's eye view of the city

The ride uphill was itself the most adventurous part of the excursion. Motion sick people beware! This may not be your cup of tea. It was built in the late 19th century by Maharana Sajjan Singh and hence its name. It was basically built to watch the monsoon clouds so it was name Monsoon Place.

This place is on the international tourist scene for another reasons. The Famous James Bond movie Octopussy was shot here. Surprisingly, a substantial amount of the film had been shot in Udaipur. That explains the obsession of the Udaipur people with this film. Every restaurant, cafe and hotel in this city show this film everyday at 7 at seven in the evening. Even i saw the movie carefully before arriving in Udaipur so as to be able to appreciate its beauty!

The main building was tall and majestic with typical Rajputani arrchitecture. We climbed to the top, glanced down through various windows and absorbed the beauty of the surrounding countryside. The views from above were a feast to the eyes. We spent about a couple of hours there and then it was again a rickety ride downhill. Somehow the crazy twisty rides pleased me more than the fort itself!