UDAIPUR
About 10km from the centre on a steep switchback hill road inside a wildlife sanctuary - go by car with driver rather than a scooter. Vehicle rules and charges at the sanctuary gate change, so confirm whether your taxi can continue to the palace or you must switch to an authorised local vehicle. Aim for late afternoon, arrive well in advance, and descend by closing.
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.
