Cycling in Udaipur City: Fatehsagar Lake & Gangaur Festival

Performers at Gangaur festival

It is said that the best way to know a place is to cycle around. I did the same in Udaipur. There are stores from where cycles can be hired in Udaipur for a very low price, but if you need guided tours, going to The Art of Bicycles is recommended. This store is near the Gangaur Ghat and you can ask anyone around for directions. The Art of Bicycles has high-end bikes and uses Scott cycles. For a day-trip around the not-so-crowded areas of Udaipur, you will have to shell out Rs. 1950, which includes a personal guide. They do not rent out bikes but it happened in my case.

Cycling with friends
Cycling with friends

I got three Scott bikes rented for cheap but had to make few calls for that to the head office in Bangalore. A friend of mine, who conducts cycling tours in Jaipur, whom I first in Kankayakumari and again in Udaipur, assisted me in this.

Fatehsagar Lake Udaipur

I went to the Fatehsagar Lake, which is about 3 km from the Old City. It is a very beautiful place to go to in the evening where you can enjoy the cool breeze coming from the lake, which beats off the day’s heat. The Fatehsagar Lake has got a very calm and clean walkway where vehicles are not allowed and people come to relax and enjoy the delicious Rajasthani kulfi and chana jor garam.

Fatehsagar Lake Udaipur
Sunset in Fatehsagar Lake

It is a great place to hang out with family and friends, and is perhaps the only place in Udaipur where shops are open till 10:30 p.m. and people hang around. But better be careful to arrange conveyance for yourself or you might find yourself stranded. You can even do speed boating and boat skiing in the Fatehsagar Lake till evening before sunset.

Badi Lake
Badi Lake

I cycled to the Badi Lake in the morning, which is about 5 km from the Fatehsagar Lake. It is a very peaceful place and few people come to bath there. The Art of Bicycles does tours to this lake. I also climbed the hill top to the Karni Mata Temple using the stairs near the Dudh Talai instead of using the cable car. From the top, you get an amazing view of the Pichola Lake and the other parts of the city.

Jagdish Hare Temple Udaipur
Jagdish Hare Temple
Gangaur Festival
Idols at Gangaur festival

When I was there, the Gangaur festival was being celebrated from 2nd April to 4th April 2014. It is a Rajputana festival in which idols of a lady and a man are worshiped on the Gangaur Ghat by ladies and taken back to their home. These idols depict the Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvathi.

Gangaur festival
Performers at Gangaur festival

My trip to Udaipur was the most memorable one of this whole cycling journey so far as I got to meet my college friends and relax a bit as I was feeling too tired from the journey.