Udaipur India – Top 10 Most Thrilling Activities

Udaipur is a splendid city and offers lots of opportunities of spending leisure. During your vacation you can visit numerous places and find a lot to do to spend the time actively and enjoyably. Here we will focus on the best activities in Udaipur and how to make the time spent in this amazing Venice of the East even more interesting.

1. Mansapura Karni Mata Ropeway

This ropeway was put into service in 2008 and it connects two spots between Deen Dayal Park and Machala Hill where the popular Karni Mata Temple is located. The ropeway is gondola type and it provides exclusive views and is well known among photography enthusiasts. From up there you can see Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake and also the City Palace complex, not to mention the charming sceneries with hilly ranges, especially at sunset time. The cable car length is rather short so the ride doesn't take much time. The cable car is open from 9 AM till 9 PM, the price for foreigners is 300 INR per person.

2. Shopping in Udaipur

India is a great place to do the shopping, either at the street markets or in big shopping centres, and Udaipur is no exception. There are popular bazaar areas where you can walk along and explore what is available. We definitely recommend seeing the Haathi Pol Bazaar or Bada Bazaar and discover the beauty of local crafts. And what items should you check out?
Udaipur is well known for its wonderful jewellery, colourful and ornamental, highly decorated and shiny. For those who love similar items and can match them with their outfits and lifestyle, there is a great choice. If you do not like a too opulent style, you can see silver items, also very famous and not expensive at all. Among them you can find things that are quite simple in style.
Lovers of the arts should visit art shops. There is an immense choice and you can certainly find the one for you. The most popular are religious and royal patterns.

3. Horse-riding

Horse riding in Udaipur is probably not the activity that comes to mind first but it may be very interesting for beginners and very satisfactory for experienced riders. There are a few options available among farms and they offer several diverse packages from short term to long term of more than a week. Shorter rides are good for beginners as they are done in a walking or trotting pace.
You can check the Princess Trails or Krishna Ranch and choose the most suitable form of riding.
You can expect the prices for a half day ride to be at about 2,000 INR per person and for a full day at about 3,000 INR. Such packages usually include lunch as well.

Riding packages for more days are mostly counted separately as the groups can choose included services. These packages are prepared in a form of a horse safari with the accommodation on the route, usually in tents, with all meals, tea, coffee and mineral water. For example, you can ride to Ranakpur or Kumablgarh from Udaipur.

4. Shilpgram, Crafts Village

Shilpgram in Udaipur is a so-called crafts village on the outskirts of the city. It is a complex providing the insight into rural arts and crafts in a form of a living museum, shopping opportunities and cultural dances. There is also an amphitheatre with the capacity of 8,000 people where there are events organised during the festivals. That is also the time when the visit can be the best as during the festivals, there are various special programs to get additional information. The food and music festival is held there in February. It is open every day from 11 AM to 7 PM and the entry fee for foreigners is 50 INR per person.

5. Wildlife Experience in Sajjangarh Biological Park

This is a wildlife sanctuary with the Monsoon Palace in its centre. There is a zoo where you can see some kinds of animals such as the tiger, sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, leopard, gharial etc.
The entry fee for foreigners is 300 INR with additional 80 INR for camera and 200 INR for video. It is open from 9 AM to 5 PM in winter season and from 9 AM to 5:30 PM in summer season, except Tuesdays when it remains closed for visitors.

6. Udaipur Helicopter Flight

This is a more adventurous and also a more expensive activity but it is something special. A helicopter flight is organised from the airport where you are taken from the hotel. It takes about half an hour and it really offers an amazing experience to see the city from a bird’s eye view. You can observe all the main attractions such as the City Palace, the lakes and lake palaces and see what a tourist can normally only dream of. The prices start at about 13,000 INR per person.

7. Cooking classes in Udaipur

The Indian cuisine catches the hearts of many tourists and they are always fond of getting to know the recipes and trying to cook some dishes on their own. Cooking classes offer the option to learn with the locals and prepare authentic meals. In Udaipur, there are various cooking classes, usually they take 3-4 hours and the prices start at about 1,500 INR per person. Teachers provide you with the recipe booklets so you can cook on your own later.

If you are interested, check Shashi Cooking Classes, Mamta Cooking Class or Sushma Cooking Class.

8. Sound and Light Show in the City Palace

In many Indian attractions there run sound and light shows performed in the evening. One of them can be visited in the City Palace complex. It is called The Mewar Sound and Light Show. It is performed in English from October to April from 7 PM to 8 PM and in Hindi from May to August at the same time during the whole week and it gives information about the history of Mewar. The English show costs 500 INR per adult and 200 per child if you sit in a higher level and 200 per adult and 100 per child for the ground level.

9. Art Classes

If you are into arts then you may find some interesting classes to join. You can learn how to paint classic Rajasthani style paintings. Most of the classes focus on miniature paintings. Check out KK Art School or Ashoka Arts, both near Gangaur Ghat. You can choose, how much time you wish to spend on learning, it can be half a day or more days, so arrange your schedule accordingly. An hour should cost about 200 INR.

10. Cycling in Udaipur

For those who are more active and wish to do exercise we recommend trying cycling tours. Choose the right time of the year, winter preferably, otherwise it would be quite tiring as the heat starts. There are single day tours, usually with lunch or you can choose several days tours. You can explore the Arravali Hills Range, rural areas or arrange the tour according to your needs. It usually includes accommodation and meals. Check our Roolin Pebbles at Ganesh Ghati or Arts of Bicycle Trips at Chand Pole.

A 3-hours tour will cost approximately 2,000 INR per person.

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In general Udaipur offers quite a lot of various activities. It gives the opportunity to explore the outskirts with their natural surroundings or spend some time discovering the magic of local arts.