What to see at Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur

Hello everyone, This is going to be my last post of 2019.

Day one of our recent trip to Jodhpur, and it was the day to get to know more about the Magnificent Umaid Bhawan Palace. It is famous for being the last royal palace designed before the Independence of India.  I have been seeing so many stories and posts on Instagram about this gorgeous Grand Palace of Jodhpur.

History of The Palace

The foundation for Umaid Bhawan Palace was laid in 1929 by Umaid Singh. It was finally completed in the year 1943. I have also heard that the palace was primarily built to employ thousands of people who were financially affected during the grand famine as crops had failed. For the sake of employment, the 37^th king of the Rathore dynasty, Umaid Singh proclaimed he was going to build a grand palace employing farmers who got an opportunity to earn a steady income when their fields were affected by drought.

The Umaid Bhawan Palace

The entire Palace consists of over 350 rooms designed with sprawling grounds and gardens of 26 acres all around. Built on a hillock this royal residence overlooks the blue town of Rajasthan.  The palace is now divided into 3 sections. 20 percent of the property is yet utilized for stay by the royal family and is the residence of Maharaja Gaj Singh II.  The middle section is open to the public and is converted into a Museum.

The Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel

The main wing houses the breathtakingly beautiful Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel, allowing guests to get a taste of the lives leads by royalty. You cannot enter the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace without a booking.  It covers 26 acres of lush grounds as well as 15 acres of well-kept lush gardens. The royal residence has 347 rooms, an exquisite throne chamber, an exclusive personal meeting hall, a room Hall to fulfill the public, a rounded banquet hall, personal dining halls, a ballroom, a library, an interior swimming pool and spa, a billiards room, four tennis courts, and 2 unique marble squash courts. Not to forget to mention the long corridors that connect the rooms around the Bhawan.  The gardens of the attractive property have peacocks freely roaming around. The view of Mehrangarh Fort from here is stunning.  

The Museum of Umaid Bhawan

The tourist can enter this section of the Palace after purchasing an entry ticket. You will find a mix of locals, foreigners, and tourists from all over India.
Entry fee
Rs 30 for Indians
Rs 100 for foreign tourists

Entry – 9 am to 5 pm
The gates shut at sharp 5 pm so make sure you reach much before that. The museums have arrows and signs so that you can take the entire tour without missing any section.

What to see at Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur

It houses artifacts, relics and other interesting articles used by royalty.  The museum is well kept and displays are well lit. If you do not wish to take a tour guide it’s perfectly all right, as each display has an English sign with self-explanatory descriptions. The ground level explains how the Palace was built and has a further record and data on the building of the palace.

The first floor has exhibits of glass, porcelain ware, weapons, an array of stuffed leopards, antiques, crockery to various trophies. Exhibits also comprise a huge banner presented by Queen Victoria and a collection of clocks. The stuffed leopards, old furniture, toys, jewelry, and toys are worth mentioning. The open courtyard is a perfect place to grab a few Instagram-friendly pictures. The Museum has a small gift shop, just in case you wish to take back a momento.

Nearby Car Museum

Some tourists miss going here. While heading back to the main entrance the car exhibit is towards the right side. Many of the vintage cars are beautiful, especially the Shiny Rolls Royce. These Cars a well-maintained even today. Everyone must visit this place to know something about Jodhpur Mararaja’s lifestyles.  My son-in-law had specially mentioned to me about this Vintage Car display. It was a real treat to view these beauties however as the cars are behind a glass partition, a good picture was difficult to click. But the view of the palace from here was a complete one.

If you love Indian History and the grandeur of royalty then there is no better place to explore than the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The sheer magnificence of this tourist attraction is diverse in the tradition and culture of Rajasthan. So definitely keep half a day exclusively to tour this enchanting place.

You can check out my review on – Zone by The Park our Hotel while in Jodhpur. God bless you all. Happy New Year to all my readers.