Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Gujarat.
Mewar was founded in 530 by Bappa Rawal, an ancestor of the Sisodia dynasty. For centuries, the region was ruled by Rajputs.
The princely state of Udaipur emerged as an administrative unit during the period of British East India Company governance in India and remained until the end of the British Raj era.
The Mewar region lies between the Aravali Range to the northwest, Ajmer to the north, Gujarat and the Vagad region of Rajasthan to the south, the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state to the southeast and the Hadoti region of Rajasthan to the east.
The word “Mewar” is vernacular form of “Medapata”, the ancient name of the region. The earliest epigraph that mentions the word “Medapata” is a 996–997 CE (1053 VS) inscription discovered at Hathundi (Bijapur). The word “pata” or “pataka” refers to an administrative unit.
The Udaipur State, also historically known as Kingdom of Mewar, was an independent state in northwestern India prior to the formation of the Indian Republic. Before Udaipur became the capital in the Mewar history, Chittor which is now referred as ‘Chittorgarh’ was the capital of Mewar.
Maharana Pratap Singh I is the most celebrated Maharanas of Mewar. Mewar is famous for the following:
Chittorgarh Fort: The initial Mewar Capital Chittor was accessed from Chittorgarh Fort by the Maharanas. The Chittorgarh fort is said to still sing the tales of the queens who performed Jauhar on various war occasions.
City Palace (Udaipur): The administration of Mewar was taken care of by the Maharanas from City Palace Udaipur, as Udaipur became the capital of Mewar later.
Kumbhalgarh: The wall of Kumbhhalgarh is much famous as it is the second longest wall of the world after the Great Wall of China.
Haldi Ghati: The Bloody Battle of Haldighati can be sensed by the artforms showcased in the Haldighati Museum and the color of the sand.
Sajjangarh: This Monsoon Palace was built specially to adore the monsoon clouds over Mewar closely and acquire an aerial look of the capital.
Jagmandir Island Palace: Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) took refuge in Jagmandir Island Palace, and there are various architectural designs that may reflect the Mughal and Mewar compilation.
Taj Lake Palace: It was built for the royal families to relax as a pleasure palace amidst the Pichola Lake.
Ranakpur Temple: It is considered to be one of the most important Jain Temples as on the spree of destroying Hindu and Jain temples by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb; this Temple was left untouched because of it hiding in the geographically difficult terrain location.
By Air: Udaipur can be easily reached from all major cities in the region. It has the Maharana Pratap international Airport or Udaipur Airport or Dabok Airport which is just 22km east of the city.
By Train: Udaipur Railway Station is located on the Udaipur Road, just 3km from the city centre and around 20km from the airport. There are regular trains that connect Udaipur with all major cities including Delhi, Chittorgarh, Mumbai, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and more.
By Road: Udaipur is well connected by road to all the major cities of Rajasthan and its neighbouring states. This mode of transport is easy, economical and sometimes much faster than the train.