A summer palace on the water
Jag Mandir was begun by one Maharana, finished by his son and named for the second. It was meant for pleasure, for cool evenings and for music over the water.
Peace at last: after generations of war, Maharana Amar Singh I made terms with the Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1615, and the court at Udaipur turned from fighting to building.
The beginning: his son, Maharana Karan Singh, began a palace on an island at the southern end of Lake Pichola around 1620.
At a glance
- Built
- Begun around 1620, finished by 1652
- Built by
- Karan Singh, completed by Jagat Singh I
- Open
- Hours vary with season and private events
- Allow
- About an hour, longer for a meal
- Best time
- The last hour of light, October to March
- Photography
- Welcome in the garden and on terraces
- Getting there
- By boat only, from jetties near the City Palace
- A summer retreat: far enough from the city to feel apart, close enough to reach by boat in the late afternoon when the heat broke.
- The name: Karan Singh's son, Maharana Jagat Singh I, who ruled from 1628 to 1652, completed and enlarged it and called it Jag Mandir, or Jagat Mandir, the temple or palace of Jagat.
- A great builder: Jagat Singh also raised the Jagdish Temple beside the City Palace, and the island and the temple share a mix of Rajput confidence and Mughal ideas.
- The court's pleasure garden: for two centuries the Maharanas and their families came here for parties, music, moonlit evenings and festivals on the lake.
- See the painting first: a Mewar painting in the City Palace shows the island crowded with courtiers. Our guides show guests that picture, so they can later stand on the same terrace and look back.
The prince who came in from the cold
The most famous guest Jag Mandir ever had was the man who had once brought Mewar to its knees. That is the twist in the story our guides love to tell.
Mewaris tell that Karan Singh and Khurram exchanged turbans as a sign of brotherhood, which in Rajput custom is a bond as close as blood. The prince who had defeated Mewar became, for a while, its guest.
The enemy: in 1614 the young Mughal prince Khurram, son of Jahangir, led the campaign that finally forced Mewar to make peace.
Facts to know
- 1614
- Khurram leads the campaign against Mewar
- 1615
- Treaty ends nearly a century of war
- 1623
- Khurram takes refuge in Udaipur
- 1628
- He becomes the emperor Shah Jahan
- The treaty's terms: the Maharana himself would not attend the Mughal court. Crown prince Karan Singh went to Jahangir in his place.
- Two young men: so Karan Singh of Mewar and Khurram of the Mughals knew each other well.
- The wheel turns: in the early 1620s Khurram rebelled against his father, and the rebellion went badly.
- Shelter: in 1623 he took refuge in Udaipur, and Karan Singh, by then Maharana, gave it.
- Where he stayed: tradition says Khurram and his household lived in the domed Gul Mahal on Jag Mandir.
- The Taj Mahal link: Udaipur loves to say the domes and inlaid stone of Jag Mandir shaped his great tomb in Agra. It is a lovely idea that cannot be proved, so we tell it as a story.
- Decide for yourself: see both buildings. Our guide to the Taj Mahal has the Agra side, and our journal on Mughal and Rajput history explains how the two worlds met.
A second refuge, in 1857
Jag Mandir sheltered fugitives more than once. The second time, they came from the other side of the world.
The uprising: in 1857, during the great revolt against the East India Company, soldiers rose at the cantonment of Neemuch, east of Chittorgarh.
Who fled: European families, most of them women and children.
- Who sheltered them: Maharana Swaroop Singh, who ruled Mewar from 1842 to 1861.
- Why the island: it is recorded that he lodged them on Jag Mandir, where the water made it easy to protect.
- A pattern: the island that sheltered a Mughal prince also sheltered British families. Both times the Maharana chose hospitality over advantage.
- Owed refuge: in Rajasthan, a guest who asks for refuge is owed it.
- Padharo mhare des: welcome to my land, a phrase you hear everywhere. Our page on its meaning explains why it runs so deep.
Walking the island, from the landing stage to the far terrace
Jag Mandir is small enough to walk in half an hour, and rich enough to fill a whole afternoon. This is the route we take.
The landing stage and the stone elephants
Arrival: boats come in at a colonnade of white cusped arches on the north side.
- Eight elephants: four on each side of the steps, trunks raised as if greeting the boats, facing back towards the Lake Palace and the city.
- Repaired over time: their trunks have been damaged and replaced, but they remain the island's signature and everyone stops for a photograph.
Gul Mahal, the domed palace
The oldest building: a small, tall sandstone palace crowned with a dome.
- The crescent: its finial carries one, unusual on a Rajput palace and often linked to Khurram's stay.
- Inside: circular domed chambers rise one above another, reached through a columned hall, with marble once inlaid with coloured stones.
- Above the main face: two marble chhatris.
The garden court
The heart of the island: a walled garden with black and white stone paving, marble-railed walkways and fountains.
- Planting: frangipani, jasmine, bougainvillea and palms. In the late afternoon it smells of flowers and wet stone.
- Where parties were held: and still the island's quietest place to sit.
Bara Patharon ka Mahal, the palace of twelve stones
- On the eastern side: a pavilion named for the twelve great marble slabs used to build it. Our guides ask guests to count them.
- Cool and plain: simpler than the City Palace, it shows how the island was meant to feel: open, light and full of breeze.
Kunwar Pada ka Mahal and the zenana
Western end: the Kunwar Pada ka Mahal, the palace of the crown prince.
- To the south: the zenana, the royal women's quarters, extending from the Gul Mahal.
- Check on the day: much of the island is closed or used for private events, so ask your guide which rooms are open.
The Darikhana and the southern terrace
The Darikhana: an open-sided marble terrace on the north side, now a restaurant.
- Walk south too: the view runs away from the city towards the wooded hills.
- Late afternoon: you may see nothing but water, hills and a few cormorants.
Rajput and Mughal on a single island
Jag Mandir was built in the decades when Mewar and the Mughals stopped fighting and started borrowing from each other. You can see the conversation in the stone.
Rajput structure: thick walls on a raised plinth, projecting balconies, chhatris on the rooftops and octagonal corner towers topped with cupolas.
Made to be seen from the water: like the City Palace, plain low down and lighter and more decorative higher up.
Facts to know
- Materials
- Yellow sandstone and white marble
- Rajput
- Plinth, balconies, chhatris, corner towers
- Mughal
- Garden court, cusped arches, dome, inlay
- Layout
- Separate pavilions around a garden
- Colour at sunset: the sandstone glows almost orange in the last light while the marble stays cool and pale.
- Mughal ideas: the garden court follows the Mughal love of an ordered garden as a vision of paradise.
- Court fashions: cusped arches, the dome of the Gul Mahal and coloured stone inlay were all fashionable at the Mughal court in the early seventeenth century.
- Made their own: Mewar's builders took what they liked, so the island feels neither wholly Rajput nor wholly Mughal.
- Compare the Lake Palace: built more than a century later, it is a single great building filling its island. Jag Mandir is more varied and intimate.
- A lesson in taste: seeing both in one boat ride shows how Udaipur's style changed. Our guide to reading Rajasthani architecture explains the vocabulary.
Jag Mandir and the Lake Palace, the two islands compared
Pichola has two island palaces, and guests often confuse them. They were built a century apart, for different Maharanas, and they are used very differently today.
Different builders: Jag Mandir was begun by Karan Singh and finished by Jagat Singh I. The Lake Palace was a summer palace for Maharana Jagat Singh II, more than a century later.
Different shapes: Jag Mandir is a cluster of separate pavilions around a garden court. The Lake Palace covers almost its whole island, so from the shore it seems to float.
The two islands
- Jag Mandir
- Begun around 1620, southern end of the lake
- Lake Palace
- Built 1743-46 as Jag Niwas
- Jag Mandir today
- Gardens, a terrace restaurant, events
- Lake Palace today
- A hotel since the 1960s
- Layout
- Pavilions round a garden; one great building
- Different uses: public boats usually stop at Jag Mandir, and its Darikhana terrace is a restaurant. The Lake Palace is a hotel, reached only by its own boats.
- Which is older: Jag Mandir, by more than a century, and it carries the stories of Khurram in 1623 and the refugees of 1857.
- Seeing both: one private boat ride passes the Lake Palace and lands at Jag Mandir, so you can compare them in an hour.
- Read more: our Taj Lake Palace guide covers staying on the other island.
The best hour, and the best season
Jag Mandir by day is a pleasant stop. Jag Mandir in the last hour of light, or after dark with lamps on the water, is something else.
The hour before sunset: we plan Jag Mandir as part of a private boat ride, reaching the island as the light softens.
On the island: walk the garden and terraces, then have a drink on the terrace while the sandstone turns gold.
Season by season
- Oct to Mar
- Cool evenings, lake usually full
- Dec and Jan
- A shawl after sunset
- Apr to Jun
- Hot, but pleasant evenings
- Jul to Sep
- Our secret season
- The ride back: drift towards the city as the sun drops behind the hills and the City Palace lights come on.
- Early morning: a boat can stop here before the day's visitors arrive, if you want the island almost to yourself.
- The hot months: the lake breeze helps on summer evenings.
- The monsoon: the hills around the southern end turn bright green, the clouds sit low and the lake fills.
- After a poor monsoon: the water can fall far enough to change the boat routes.
Local tip
Ask us how full the lake is before you plan. We check the water level as well as the weather.
Dinner on the island, and celebrations
Our favourite evening in Udaipur ends on Jag Mandir, at a table on the terrace, with the city lit up across the water.
The boat ride back across the dark lake, with the Lake Palace and the City Palace glowing on either side, is half the pleasure of dinner on the island.
After the day visitors leave: the island becomes one of the most romantic places in Rajasthan.
- Private dinners: we arrange private dinners in a palace setting on the terraces or in the garden, reached by boat at dusk, with lamps on the steps and musicians if you wish.
- Simple or grand: a Mewari thali under the stars or a full Rajput banquet.
- Weddings: families hold weddings and receptions here, and our team plans destination weddings and vow renewals on its terraces and garden court.
- Smaller moments: a quiet proposal on the landing stage at sunset, or an anniversary dinner for two in a corner of the garden.
- Closures: the island is sometimes closed to visitors in the evening for private events, and some rooms are not always open by day. We check before every booking.
- Plan B: if a celebration is already booked for your night, we suggest dinner on a boat on the lake.
A Jag Mandir afternoon, hour by hour
This is the half day we plan for guests who want the island at its best. It begins after the heat and ends after dark.
Four o'clock, a slow start from the shore
- Leave early: from a jetty near the City Palace while the light is still bright.
- The ghats first: go along the old city, past Gangaur Ghat and the small temples on the water, before heading south.
Five o'clock, the island in gold
- Land at the elephants: walk through the garden court as the sandstone warms to gold.
- Look both ways: climb to the terraces for the City Palace and the Lake Palace, then walk south for the quiet view to the hills.
Sunset, on the terrace or on the water
- Stay: with a cold drink as the sun goes down behind the western hills.
- Or float: watch from the middle of the lake. On the water you see the island itself catch the last light, which people on its terrace never do.
After dark, dinner or the walk home
- Dinner: if you have booked, the island is now lit with lamps and the day visitors have gone.
- If not: return in the dusk, walk up to Bagore ki Haveli for the folk dance show and eat on a rooftop facing the lit palace.
Who will love Jag Mandir, and who may not
Jag Mandir is not the grandest palace in Udaipur. Its gifts are quieter, and they suit some travellers better than others.
Small, beautiful places: you will love it if you like a good story and prefer watching the light to ticking off rooms.
Couples: for obvious reasons.
Good for
- Couples
- Sunset and dinner
- Families
- Short boat ride, stone elephants
- History lovers
- After seeing the City Palace
- Not for
- Museum lovers wanting labels
- Families: the boat ride is short, the island safe to walk and children like the stone elephants.
- History lovers: especially after the City Palace and the story of Khurram, when the island becomes the setting for one of the strangest friendships in Indian history.
- Not a museum: there are few labels, some rooms are closed and the interiors are simpler than the City Palace's mirror rooms and peacock courts.
- Midday crowds: public boats arrive one after another in the middle of the day.
- The right hour: with a guide who can tell the story, it becomes one of the most memorable hours of a stay. Our Udaipur itinerary shows where it fits.
How to visit Jag Mandir
There is only one way to arrive at Jag Mandir, and that is part of its charm. These are the practical details.
By boat only: public boats leave from jetties near the City Palace and usually stop at the island.
Private boats: we book them so you can choose your time and stay as long as you like.
Allow: about an hour on the island for a relaxed walk and a drink, longer for a meal.
- Landing steps: can be steep and wet when the lake is high. Wear shoes with grip.
- Mobility: tell us in advance. Paths are mostly level, with a few steps between terraces.
- Shade: in the garden court.
- Photography: welcome in the garden and on the terraces. Ask before photographing staff or guests at private events.
- Timings: boat times and island hours change with the season and private bookings, so we confirm them a day ahead.
- What to wear: something warm for the evening breeze in winter, and sun protection in the middle of the day all year.
What most visitors miss
Most people step off the boat, photograph the elephants and step back on. Stay longer, and look for these.
The crescent on the dome
- Look up: the finial of the Gul Mahal carries a crescent rather than the usual Rajput finial.
- Ask why: your guide will tell the story of Khurram in a new light.
The view south, away from the city
- Turn around: everyone looks north to the City Palace. From the southern terrace the lake runs towards wooded hills with almost no buildings in sight.
- The old Pichola: this is how much of the lake looked when the island was new.
The island in the paintings
- Before you go: ask your guide in the City Palace to show you the wall paintings that include Jag Mandir.
- Twice as rich: seeing it as the court painters did transforms the visit.
The birds at the southern end
- Winter birds: cormorants, egrets and migrant ducks on the quieter water.
- Bring binoculars: on a morning boat.
What to pair with Jag Mandir, and where to stay
Jag Mandir is one stop on Pichola. The rest of the lake, and the best hotels in Udaipur, are all within sight of its terraces.
- For couples: Jag Mandir is the heart of our Udaipur romance journey.
- More sunsets: our journal on Udaipur sunset spots lists the other places on the lake where we watch the light go.
Lake Pichola, the whole lake
- A full tour: a boat that stops at Jag Mandir also shows you the ghats, the Lake Palace and the City Palace from the water.
- Best hours: our lake guide explains the islands and timings.
The City Palace, the morning before
- Look down: visit at opening time, then see Jag Mandir from the arches of Amar Vilas.
- Look back: that evening, see the palace from the island.
Taj Lake Palace, the neighbouring island
- Sleep on the lake: the Lake Palace is the only choice.
- The elephants: its boats pass Jag Mandir, and from some rooms you can see the stone elephants.
The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Leela Palace, on the western shore
Across the water: both stand on Pichola's shore not far from Jag Mandir.
- The Oberoi Udaivilas: for gardens and calm.
- The Leela Palace Udaipur: for grandeur.
- Compare: our guide to luxury hotels in Udaipur.
