Taj Lake Palace

Udaipur

Udaipur, the white city, in faraway Rajasthan, looks down majestically on the calm waters of Lake Pichola. Surrounded by wooded hills, the whitewashed houses stretch over the landscape, adding light to the scenery, thus living up to its description as “the city where the sun was born”. Also the birthplace of the Sisodia dynasty, the city, founded in the 16^th century by the sovereign Udai Singh II, possesses a rich architectural heritage dating back to the time when the maharajah of Udaipur, a descendant of the sun, would walk around the lake surrounding the summer palace, which in 1963 was transformed into a luxury hotel. On the banks of Lake Pichola, a marble and granite building rises up majestically. Built during the reign of Pratap Singh, the City Palace is truly a palace, bearing witness to the art de vivre and the refinement of these Indian sovereigns.

A princely lakeside art de vivre

In the north of India, the state of Rajasthan has conserved the imprint of the era when maharajahs and British emissaries tasted the joys of a life placed under the sign of the kama, literally, the search for pleasure. Havelis, or private mansions, pleasure pavilions, sumptuous gardens and palaces are present throughout the region bearing witness to the idleness, the exuberance and the decadence of the rich and powerful. Taj Lake Palace is a jewel of Rajpoute architecture on Lake Pichola. This sumptuous white marble building faces the princely city of Udaipur, the former summer residence of the Rajpoute lords. Built in 1746 under the reign of the maharajah Jagat Singh, the palace became a luxury hotel the day after independence was declared and has not lost any of its superb qualities. Owned by the Taj Hotel group, this palace hotel plunges visitors into the opulent and extravagant universe of the royal court and its occupants. Silks, precious woodwork, tapestries, mirrors and wall frescoes demonstrate the triumphant era of these maharajahs, who in the words of Rudyard Kipling, “were created by Providence to supply the world with picturesque decors, stories of tigers and grandiose spectacles”, all of which does not seem that distant. Sumptuous and peaceful, the Taj Lake Palace is the ideal refuge for tasting the pleasures of a princely life.

The Taj Lake Palace was used as the setting for the James Bond film, “Octopussy” in 1983. The success of the film contributed greatly to the reputation of the palace.