UDAIPUR
10km from the city center on a steep hill road - hire a shared taxi/auto (₹300-500 round trip with 30 min wait) rather than a scooter unless you're comfortable with the switchback climb; go 1 hour before sunset for the best light without the interior being fully in shadow.
Commissioned in 1884 by Maharana Sajjan Singh, the 72nd ruler of Mewar, who intended a nine-story astronomical complex on Bansdara peak to track monsoon clouds approaching Udaipur. He died within the same year, having completed only part of the structure, and his successor Maharana Fateh Singh finished it in a scaled-down form as a hunting lodge and retreat. Perched at roughly 944 metres elevation overlooking Fateh Sagar Lake, it later gained international recognition as a filming location for the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy.
