Ancient glory
Known to be the second largest artificial lake in Asia, Rajsamand was built over a period of 15 years from 1662 to 1677. Rana Raj Singh, the then ruler of Mewar, undertook construction of the lake as part of a drought-relief programme to provide employment and also to protect his people from the ravages of future droughts. It had cost him Rs 10 lakh.
Located 60 km north of Udaipur, the lake is 6.4 km long and 2.8 km wide with a total submergence area of 18.14 sq km.
Its total capacity is 3,786 million cubic feet and most of its water comes from the Gomti, a tributary of the Banas river.