Mount Abu ~India Travels

During our Rajasthani travels we decided to get away from the Rajasthani desert heat and took a trip to Mount Abu which is a hill station in western India’s Rajasthan state. 

Mount Abu is situated high up in the Aravalli Range and is surrounded by forest. The hill station is a popular place for people to visit to get away from the heat and enjoy some cooler weather.

The car journey up to the hill station is along windy mountain roads surrounded by mountains and greenery. There is an abundance of monkeys on the road sides ready to pounce on the cars shroud you offer any fruits,especially bananas.

There are many tourist spots to visit in Mount Abu, you can find lakes, picnic areas, temples and hill tops where you can enjoy spectacular views. The top ten tourist spots that are highly recommended to visit are:

Dilwara Temple 

This is a jain temple which was built by Vastupal Tejpal between 11th and 13th century. The temple intricately carved in Marble and you will be totally mesmerised by the amazing architecture. 

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake is a manmade lake also known as, Nakki Jheel.  The lake is Located in the centre of the hill station, and it is surrounded by   greenery, mountains and strangely shaped rocks.  The lake has picnic acres, boating and is surround with many shops and eateries.

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary

The Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across a distance of 288 km, the sanctuary crosses numerous mountain highs from 300 m to 1722 m at Gurashikhar which is considered to be the highest peak in the Aravali ranges. The sanctuary is the perfect place for trekking, seeing all kinds of flora and Faunaand igneous rocks with large cavities resulting from the weathering effects of water and wind. 

Guru Shikar

This is the highest peak of the Aravalli Range and lies about 15 kilometres from Mount Abu. The height of the peak is 1722 meters from sea level and if you do get a chance to climb there you will get some breath taking views of the surroundings. At the peak you will also find the Mt. Abu Observatory and a cave temple of Guru Dattatreya which worships Lord Vishnu. 

Shri Ragunath Temple

Shri Raghunath Ji temple is  a 650-year-old temple set on the shores of Nakki Lake, is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.  The temple has beautiful Mewar architecture and carvings on the walls and ceilings. The temple is calm and serene and many followers of Lord Vishnu come daily to offer prayers.

Sunset Point

Sunset Point is an iconic point that is very famous tourist destination of Mount Abu. Here you can come and watch the beautiful sunset setting in the Aravali Ranges. It can be reached by car and then a short distance walk. 

For those unable to walk there are vendors who offer horse rides and trolley rides. The trolley rides are carts that you sit in and they are pulled uphill by the vendors. This is heartbreaking to watch as it takes a lot of strength, hard work and stamina to carry out this work. Some of the vendors were really old and do this daily for a living.

Around the roads reading up to sunset point there are street vendors selling lovely masala chai, roasted and boiled sweet corn and other street foods.

Arbuda Devi Temple

Arbuda Devi Temple is considered the most sacred pilgrim point of Rajasthan and dedicated to the goddess Durga.It can be come reached by climbing 365 stairs to symbolise each day of the year are cut into the mountain. There is a Dhoodh Baori,a sacred well with milk coloured water near the temple, worshippers believe that the waters is holy.   The temple is constructed out of one huge solid piece of rock and the inner sanctum is reaching by crawling a narrow cave.

Toad Rock

This rock is known as The mascot of Mount Abu. Toad Rock is one of the most frequented point in the itinerary of all visitors. To see the panoramic beauty of the surrounding lake and greenish hilly regions you can climb up the rock and capture the breath-taking scenery.

Mount Abu Bazaars

There are numerous shopping markets in Mount Abu. You can find traditional Rajasthani handicrafts such as Kota sarees, bangles, linen with Sanganeri print, Jaipuri quilts, and products made of marble, sandstone and sandalwood. 

You can also find Rajasthani crafts, paintings, leather goods along with a few Gujarati artworks and local paintings. Costume jewellery, shoes and ethnic clothes stalls line the bazaars.

There are many hotels and guest houses in Mount Abu that offer accommodation in all price ranges. If you want to visit all the above places you will require a minimum of 3 days. We were only in mount Abu for an overnight stay so were only able to visit Nakki, Lake  and the Sunset Point and the bazaars. The destination is perfect for a weekend break if you just want to relax with family and get away from the scorching India heat.

You may like to read about the other places I visited in my India travel series:

• 10 Essentials to carry in your hand luggage.
• Top 15 India travel Tips
• Haridwar
• Rishikesh
• Jaipur
• Choki Dhani Jaipur
• Jodpur
• Udaipur

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