Fun Things to Do in Udaipur with Friends: Offbeat Experiences & Adventures

If your Udaipur plan currently reads "City Palace, boat ride, sunset dinner," you're not wrong. You're just early. That's the trip for a couple on their first visit or a family ticking off the big three. A group of friends wants something with a bit more grit to it: a story to tell when you're back home, not just a photo that looks like everyone else's photo.

Udaipur has that story. You just have to drive a little further than the lake road to find it. Between a proper heritage jeep safari through the old city, the Aravalli backroads, and a handful of spots most tour buses skip entirely, there's a whole second version of this city built for a group that wants to move, not just stand and admire. It's the same idea GoWilly builds its Willys Jeep trails around, no fixed checklist, just hidden lakes, quiet valleys and long Aravalli sunsets shaped around whoever's in the jeep with you. This guide covers the hidden gems of Udaipur worth rounding up your friends for, what the Udaipur Heritage Jeep Safari actually looks like, and the things to do in Udaipur that work better with four or five people than with two.

Group trips have a rhythm that solo or couple trips don't. Someone wants adventure, someone wants good photos, someone just wants food and a view, and somebody always asks "can we do something we haven't already seen on Instagram." Offbeat spots solve for all of it at once, because they're less scripted. Nobody's rushing you through a ticket line, there's more room to actually talk, and honestly, the pictures turn out better when there isn't a crowd photobombing every frame.

There's a practical angle too. Udaipur's popular sights get busy from late morning through evening, especially in peak season. A group of five or six moves slower than a couple, between clicking photos, arguing about lunch, and someone always needing five more minutes. Offbeat locations give you that breathing room without the clock pressure of a packed itinerary.

These are the spots that don't usually make the front page of a Udaipur itinerary, but should. We're keeping the exact names out of this one on purpose, they're the kind of places that stay good precisely because they don't get typed into everyone's Google Maps. Your Trail Captain will point them out when you're actually in the jeep.

A Lake Most Visitors Never Find

A little over 10 kilometers from the city center sits a lake built centuries ago by one of Mewar's rulers, ringed by the Aravalli hills and almost always quiet compared to the two lakes every tourist photographs. A short climb on a nearby hillside gets you a wide view over the water and the countryside beyond it. Bring a speaker, a deck of cards, and show up an hour before sunset. There's rarely anyone else there to share the view with.

A Royal Resting Ground Hardly Anyone Visits

A few kilometers outside the city, in a village most itineraries skip entirely, sits a cluster of royal cenotaphs that mark the cremation ground of Mewar's rulers going back centuries. There's a small museum attached too. It's not a long stop, maybe 45 minutes, but you'll get better photos and a more genuine sense of history than you will fighting for space at the City Palace.

The Backroads Only Locals Actually Use

This is less a single destination and more a category. The hills around Udaipur are threaded with village roads, dam viewpoints, and ridgelines that never show up in a standard sightseeing package. Watching the light change over the Aravallis from an open jeep, with nobody else on the road, is a different experience than any indoor attraction can offer. This is genuinely the strongest argument for booking a private jeep safari through Udaipur and the Aravallis instead of a fixed city tour: a guide who actually knows which turn leads to the good viewpoint matters more here than almost anywhere else in the city.

Villages Where the Trip Slows Down

A short drive from Udaipur, a scatter of small villages gives you a look at rural Mewar life that the old city doesn't. Terraced fields, small temples, and locals who are used to a jeep passing through but not necessarily used to being asked questions about it. It's a good stop if your group actually wants to talk to people, not just photograph a monument.

A Sunset Point Reserved for Those Who Ask

Udaipur has more than one hilltop that catches a good sunset, and most of them aren't Sajjangarh. Local guides and jeep drivers tend to have a spot they favor, somewhere with an unobstructed view of the valley and none of the crowd that gathers at the Monsoon Palace by 6 pm. If you're traveling with GoWilly, ask your Trail Captain, they'll usually take you somewhere that isn't on the standard map.

If your group wants one experience that captures Udaipur properly, a heritage jeep safari beats a checklist of individual monuments. The Udaipur Heritage Jeep Safari runs as a private half-day, 5 to 6 hours, in a restored open-sided Willys with a Trail Captain who drives and narrates as you go.

The route starts at the City Palace complex, with its courtyards and balconies opening onto Lake Pichola, then moves to Saheliyon Ki Bari, the Garden of the Maidens, where the fountains still run on centuries-old engineering. From there the jeep heads into a scenic drive through the Aravalli Hills, the point where most guests admit the drive itself has become the actual highlight, before finishing at Sajjangarh (the Monsoon Palace) for a sunset view over the city and high tea at elevation.

It's built for groups of 2 to 10, runs best between October and March, and doesn't require any planning on your end beyond a pickup time and location. For a group of friends who want the greatest hits of Udaipur without standing in four separate ticket lines, this is the version that actually works.

Some experiences in Udaipur genuinely improve with more people. Splitting costs helps, but so does having someone to dare you into the front seat.

• Open-jeep off-roading in the Aravallis. A vintage Willys Jeep isn't a taxi, it's part of the experience. The Unexplored Aravali trail is built specifically around rougher terrain and hidden roads rather than a fixed sightseeing loop, which suits a group that wants a bit of adrenaline mixed into the scenery.
• Boating on Lake Pichola or Fateh Sagar. Standard, yes, but a shared boat with your whole group at sunset is a different mood than a paid seat on a crowded tourist ferry.
• The Karni Mata cable car. A short ropeway ride from Doodh Talai up to the Karni Mata Temple, with a view over the old city that most people underrate.
• Paragliding over the Aravalli ridgeline. Seasonal and weather-dependent, but if it's running when you're there, it's one of the better adrenaline options near the city.
• A heritage jeep evening along the lakes. If the group wants something a little more relaxed than off-roading, The Blue Odyssey, a scenic lake-focused trail, hits Udaipur's photogenic side without turning into another walking tour.
• An airport pickup that starts the trip early. GoWilly runs airport and station pickups in the same vintage Willys, so the adventure part of the trip can technically start the moment your group lands, not after checking into the hotel.

None of these need a driving licence or any paperwork on your end. Every GoWilly ride comes with a Trail Captain behind the wheel, so the whole group can actually enjoy the road instead of navigating it.

Mornings for heritage, afternoons for the lakes, evenings for the hills. That's roughly the order that works best logistically, since the palace complex is calmer early before the day-trip crowds arrive, the heat makes midday better for indoor stops or lake-adjacent cafes, and the Aravalli light is at its best in the last two hours before dark.

Morning: The Udaipur Heritage Jeep Safari, starting at the City Palace and working through Saheliyon Ki Bari.

Midday: Lunch by Fateh Sagar, followed by the quiet cenotaph stop or a wander through one of the nearby villages if the group still has energy.

Evening: A jeep trail into the Aravallis for sunset, ending at a viewpoint away from the Sajjangarh crowd.

If you'd rather not plan the logistics yourself, GoWilly's Design My Trail option lets you hand over the specifics, tell your Trail Captain what kind of day your group wants, and let them build the route.

Winter, from October through March, is the easiest season for a group trip: cooler temperatures make the jeep rides and hikes far more comfortable. Summer works if you keep outdoor activities to early morning or late evening and use midday for indoor stops. Monsoon (July to September) turns the Aravallis genuinely green and dramatic, but check road conditions before committing to a remote route.

A private vehicle or jeep beats public transport for anything outside the city center. Shared autos and buses can get you to the main sights, but the more remote villages and viewpoints really do need either your own transport or a guide who knows the roads. Groups of four to six tend to get the best value out of a private jeep booking, since the cost splits well and everyone still fits comfortably.

Book ahead for the heritage safari or any specific jeep trail, especially between November and February when Udaipur gets its heaviest tourist traffic.

GoWilly runs personalized Willys Jeep trails out of Udaipur, built around the group and the mood rather than a fixed checklist. Whether that's the Udaipur Jeep Safari, the lakeside Blue Odyssey, or a fully custom route through the Aravalli backroads, a Trail Captain handles the driving and the route while your group actually enjoys the ride. Reviewers keep coming back to the same thing: it's the drive itself, the unplanned stops, the sunset nobody saw coming, that end up being the highlight, not any single checklist item. The heritage safari alone holds a 4.9 rating across 142 reviews, mostly from groups who booked exactly this kind of day.

Booking doesn't involve forms or a deposit. You message the team on WhatsApp, tell them what your group is after, and a Trail Captain puts the route together.

FAQs

1. What are the best hidden gems of Udaipur for a group trip? A quiet centuries-old lake ringed by hills, a royal cenotaph site most visitors never hear about, and the Aravalli backroads around a few small villages are the strongest picks. They're close enough to the city for a half-day stop but quiet enough that your group won't be sharing the view with a tour bus. Your Trail Captain can point you to the exact spots once you're on the ground.

2. What does the Udaipur Heritage Jeep Safari actually include? It's a private half-day tour, 5 to 6 hours, covering the City Palace complex, Saheliyon Ki Bari, a scenic Aravalli drive, and Sajjangarh for sunset and high tea. It runs in a restored open-sided Willys Jeep with a dedicated Trail Captain, for groups of 2 to 10.

3. What's the best time of year for outdoor and offbeat activities in Udaipur? October through March, when temperatures are cooler and comfortable for jeep rides, hikes, and longer outdoor stops. Monsoon season (July to September) is beautiful but check road conditions before heading into remote areas.

4. How many people should book a private jeep safari together? Four to six people is the sweet spot for most Willys Jeep trails. It keeps the cost per person reasonable while still leaving room for everyone to sit comfortably.

5. Do I need to plan the whole route myself, or can a guide handle it? A local Trail Captain or guide is genuinely worth it for offbeat routes, since a lot of the best viewpoints and village roads aren't marked or easy to find on your own. Services like GoWilly's Design My Trail let you describe what your group wants and have the route built around it.