Why Udaipur

UDAIPUR: The city of lakes and the Venice of east -- Udaipur -- brought home laurels when it was declared as the world's best city in a poll by Travel and Leisure magazine. With this achievement, the Lake City has become the first south Asian hot spot to get the prestigious title.

Think Rajasthan and immediately pops into your head a picture of undulating waves of sand shimmering golden in the sun and a row of women all but hidden in their bright twirling lehengas and odhanis, walking away with pots of water on their head as thick silver anklets catch the sun on a hot windy afternoon. But, you couldn't be more wrong with Udaipur. Touted to be India’s most romantic city, it sits hidden among lush green hills endlessly stretching away in every direction.

Yes, we do know, Udaipur is the City of Lakes and the Venice of the East, but in Rajasthan, the colourful desert that is India’s calling card in the international travel circuit, you don’t really expect to land right in the lap of the Aravallis. Surrounded by thickly wooded hills, silent and stoic in a green so dark, this city is starkly different from the other popular tourist destinations in the state. The cool breeze blowing off the numerous lakes in and around a city - a total of seven lakes no less - is sure to take you by a pleasant surprise.