Hathi Pol and Bada Bazaar

Hathi Pol and Bada Bazaar are not tourist attractions in the usual sense. They are the old city's main shopping streets, a tangle of narrow alleyways running through the heart of Udaipur just minutes from City Palace and Jagdish Temple. If you want to buy something genuinely Rajasthani, not from a hotel gift shop, this is where you go. And even if shopping is not your thing, walking through these lanes is its own kind of experience. Artists sit at studio doorways working on Pichwai paintings. Stacks of hand stitched leather journals lean against shop fronts. The smell of spices drifts from one lane, fresh leather from the next, sandalwood incense from the one after that.

Hathi Pol means "Elephant Gate." The name comes from the gate through which royal elephants used to enter the city. The street that runs from this gate into the old city is lined with shops on both sides, and it connects into Bada Bazaar, which is the larger market area spreading through the surrounding lanes. In practice, most visitors do not distinguish between the two. You walk in from one end and come out the other, and the shopping stretches the entire way.

One thing worth knowing upfront: while the Hathi Pol stretch with its souvenir and handicraft shops operates most days, many shops in the deeper Bada Bazaar lanes close on Sundays or keep limited hours. If Sunday is your only option, stick to the Hathi Pol side near Jagdish Temple. For the full range, come on a weekday.

What people actually buy here

Pichwai and Phad paintings. These are the serious buy. Traditional cloth paintings done by local artists, with religious themes (Pichwai) or narrative scroll paintings (Phad). Prices range from a few hundred rupees for small tourist pieces to tens of thousands for genuine handmade work. Ask the shopkeeper about the artist, the materials, and the time it took. If they cannot answer those questions, the piece is probably mass produced. The better shops will take you to a back room or upstairs studio where artists are actively working. That is a good sign.

Miniature paintings. Rajasthani miniatures on paper, silk, or old paper. Some are genuine handwork, others are printed reproductions. Hold the painting up to light to check. A printed one will have uniform dots under magnification. A hand painted one will not. Prices for real hand painted miniatures start from roughly 500 rupees for small pieces and go up significantly for detailed work.

Silver jewellery. Udaipur has a strong silver jewellery tradition. Tribal and Rajasthani designs, bangles, earrings, necklaces, and nose rings. Several shops along the Hathi Pol stretch specialise in silver. Prices depend on weight and design. At established jewellery stores, prices are generally fixed. At smaller stalls, some room for negotiation exists, but genuine silver has a fair floor price based on weight.

Bandhani and leheriya fabrics. Tie dye fabrics in the Rajasthani styles. Sarees, dupattas, and dress material. The real ones are hand tied and hand dyed, with slightly uneven edges where the dye resists. Machine printed versions are cheaper but also obvious if you know what to look for.

Mojaris and juttis. Traditional leather footwear, usually embroidered or decorated. The Mochiwada section of the bazaar specialises in these. Prices start from a couple of hundred rupees and go up based on the work. Try them on, they stretch with wear.

Other things worth looking at. Brass and marble items, lac bangles, wooden puppets (kathputli), spices, and leather journals and bags. The souvenir shops closer to City Palace are more touristy and more expensive. The deeper you go into the bazaar, the more local the prices get.

A note on bargaining

Bargaining is common at small local stalls and souvenir shops, and you should expect the first quoted price to include room for negotiation. Be polite, be friendly, and be willing to walk away if the price does not feel right. The shops that pressure you aggressively are the ones to avoid. The ones that let you walk and call you back are generally doing fair business.

That said, not everything here is open to negotiation. State emporiums like Rajasthali and established art galleries typically charge fixed prices. These are also the safest places to buy if you are not confident about spotting genuine versus reproduced artwork. For genuine handwork at small artist studios, the price will have a floor justified by the craft and the hours that went into it. Respect that. The goal is to pay a fair price, not to win a contest.

Getting here and getting around

The market lanes are narrow. Four wheelers and taxis cannot get through them comfortably, and even autos struggle in some of the tighter sections. The best approach is to take an auto rickshaw to a nearby drop off point, like Delhi Gate or the Ashoka Cinema area, and walk in from there. If you are already at City Palace or Jagdish Temple, you are a two minute walk away. Carry cash. Many smaller shops and stalls do not accept cards, though some of the larger ones do.

Morning visits (before noon) are less crowded, cooler, and easier to navigate. Late afternoon is livelier but also the most packed. Carry water in summer.

Hathi Pol souvenir shops are open most days. Many Bada Bazaar shops close or keep reduced hours on Sundays. Timings and stock vary by individual store.