Udaipur lies at an altitude of 577m in southern Mewar, a hilly forested region in complete contrast to the harsh desert of Marwar in the northwest of Rajasthan. Its position in southeastern Rajasthan brings it the advantage of rainfall from both branches of the monsoon winds coming from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal that cause 90 percent of precipitation in the region.

The actual city is only 37 sq km in area but the region of Udaipur opens out from the hills of the Aravallis in the south and west to the alluvial plain watered by many intermittent streams that rise in the surrounding ranges. Udaipur is a road and rail junction, basically an agricultural market town with a sprinkling of industries from marble and stone quarries to handicrafts to chemicals.

Udaipur can be divided into old and new cities. The old city lies on the banks of Lake Pichhola, surrounded by fortified walls like any medieval fortress town with five great gates: Hathi Pol, Suraj Pol, Chand Pol, Kishan Pol and Delhi Gate. The gates, no longer used to control ingress/egress, are now popular landmarks. The city’s landscape is characterised by its many lakes and palaces including the soaring City Palace by the lake, the largest of all palace complexes in Rajasthan. To its north is the Fateh Sagar Lake overlooked by a number of hills and parks.