Lake Palace Hotel on Lake Pichola in the centre of Udaipur.The Lake Palace sits on the Jag Niwas Island in the middle of the Lake Pichola. It used to be a recreation palace for the royal family in summers and has now been turned into a heritage hotel. The royal palace that attracts people from India and abroad alike is actually a state-of-art island hotel that was built in 1746 by Jagat Singh. Thus, it is occasionally referred to as Jag Niwas or the abode of Jagat Singh. Eight marble porticos of the Heritage Hotel mark the spot where the Mewar sovereigns were weighed in gold, the equivalent value of which was then distributed to the poor.Maharana Udai Singh II significantly enlarged Lake Pichola as a security measure, when he founded Udaipur. Embraced amongst hills, gardens, havelis, temples and ghats, Lake Pichola is the picturesque highlight of Udaipur.