Jakub Hałun, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Attraction · Udaipur
Jag Mandir
An island palace on Pichola that sheltered a rebellious Mughal prince — and is said to have given Shah Jahan ideas he used later at Agra.
BuiltSeventeenth century
WhereOn an island in Lake Pichola
AccessBy boat only
Time neededAn hour, with the crossing
About
The island that took the prince in
In 1623 Prince Khurram, in revolt against his father and not yet the emperor Shah Jahan, was given refuge here by the Mewar court. The story that the island's marble and inlay influenced what he later built at Agra is repeated everywhere and cannot be proved — but he certainly stayed.
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What to See
On the island
Small enough to walk round in twenty minutes, and the pleasure is as much the arrival as the building.
The stone elephants
- A row of carved elephants along the water-level terrace facing the city — the first thing you see from the boat and the image the island is known by.
Gul Mahal
- The domed pavilion at the centre, faced in stone and inlaid, and the part where the prince is said to have been lodged. It is the oldest structure on the island.
The garden courtyard
- A formal court of paving, planting and lily pools behind the pavilion, enclosed and quiet. The island is a working venue now, so this is often set for something.
The view back
- From the island the City Palace runs along the shore as one continuous elevation. It is the best angle on it there is, and you cannot get it from land.
Getting There
Getting there
Boat, and only boat.
The jetty
- Boats leave from the jetty inside the City Palace grounds. The crossing takes a few minutes and the ticket is arranged on the day rather than in advance.
The sunset boat
- The standard Pichola sunset cruise passes the island and stops at it, which is how most itineraries include it — the cruise and the island are usually one outing.
Timing
- Boats run through the afternoon and the last ones are the busiest. Going earlier gets you the island far quieter and the light on the City Palace almost as good.
Best Time
When to go
Water level and light, in that order.
Season
- October to March. After a poor monsoon Pichola can drop far enough that boat operations are reduced, which is worth checking locally in a dry year.
Hour
- Late afternoon for the light on the City Palace from the water; an hour earlier for an island with almost nobody on it.
How long
- An hour including the crossing. The island itself needs about twenty minutes.
Visitor Intelligence
Worth knowing
A short outing with a couple of things to get right.
It is a venue
- Parts of the island are used for functions and can be closed off without notice. That is normal rather than a fault, and it is why the accessible area varies.
Do not confuse it with the Lake Palace
- The Taj Lake Palace is the other, whiter island and is a hotel closed to non-guests. Jag Mandir is the one you can land on.
The boat is the point
- Half the value is the crossing and the view back at the city from the water. Sitting on the lake side of the boat is worth a moment's positioning.
Life jackets
- Provided, and worth actually wearing — the lake gets choppy in the wind that comes up in the late afternoon.
Nearby
Nearby
On and around the lake.
Good to Know
Frequently asked
No, and the confusion is constant. There are two islands in Pichola. The Taj Lake Palace is the white one that fills its island entirely and is a hotel closed to anyone not staying there. Jag Mandir is the other, older one with the row of stone elephants along its terrace, and it is open to visitors by boat.
By boat from the jetty inside the City Palace grounds, a crossing of a few minutes. Tickets are arranged on the day. Most itineraries fold it into the Pichola sunset cruise, which passes the other island and stops here, so the boat and the visit are usually a single outing.
It is said so, and it cannot be proved. What is documented is that Prince Khurram — later Shah Jahan — sheltered here in 1623 during his revolt against his father, and that the island's marble work and inlaid stone were in front of him while he did. Whether that shaped what he built at Agra fifteen years later is a story rather than a record, and it is worth telling as one.
About an hour including the boat each way; the island itself takes twenty minutes to walk round. Parts of it are sometimes closed for private functions, so the area open to you varies — that is normal and not worth arriving anxious about.
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