Top of the World...

I have visited few cities in my life so far. None of those cities created any remarkable impression in my mind. But the city of Udaipur, which has sobriquets like ‘ city of Lakes’ , ‘Venice of the East’ and ‘ Kashmir of Rajasthan’, stole my heart on the very first day of my visit. Unlike many crowded cities in our country Udaipur stands out as a city with manageable traffic on the road and it gives a feeling that you have landed yourself in the middle of a hill station. The sight of Aravalli ranges deceives you with that notion too. Though Udaipur is not boastfully large it does hold most of the romance and flavor of Rajasthan. It hosts the largest palace complexes on the banks of Lake Pichola, one of the cities four lakes. This afternoon we had planned our trip to Lake Pichola and Doodh Talai , a hill with an attraction of cable car connecting Karni Mata Mandir atop another hill, that is Machhala Hills.

Doodh Talai hills has a garden and also houses a restaurant which serves the tourist while they wait for their turn to move onto the cable car. The distance traveled in the cable car is about 400 meters only. But the breathtaking view on either side will keep you spellbound. On your right side you can have the panoramic view of the Lake Pichola and on the right side one can see the valley between the ranges through which a structure like fortress runs through. The fortress wall reminds you of the Great Wall of China. As you set your foot on the Machhala hill the view engulfs you for a minute. You will decide to stay there for as long as you can. If you have passion for photography just consider yourself to be on the right place. The spectacular view of the city from the hill would give you a great joy. While the structure Jag Mandir and Taj Lake palace that rises from the Waters of Lake Pichhola would really amuse you as they are world famous luxury heritage hotels. And to top it all to view the scenic beauty of city palace which has the state’s largest palace complexes from top of the hill are royally pulsating. This place is also called the Sunset point. To watch the sun go down from behind the Aravalli ranges painting a crimson shade on the waters of the lake is indeed a gift that gets unwrapped everyday.

No matter how much we have advanced scientifically the nature has a way of telling us that nothing gives us joy and pleasure as much as it does. A sense of serenity and satisfaction overwhelms as you slowly start to walk down the hill.