India Travel Guide

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Mount Abu

Mount Abu is a famous hill station situated 35 kilometers from Abu road. It is in the southwestern Aravli ranges and mean altitude of this place is about 4000 feet. The highest peak 'Guru Shikhar' is 5653 feet high. Mount. It was once a part of the Chauhan kingdom of Rajasthan and served as a summer resort for the Rajput kings of the region. After that, it wasleased by the British government from the then Maharaja of Sirohi for use as the headquarter of the resident to Rajputana (another name for Rajasthan).

How to Reach Mount Abu

By Road : Rajasthan Roadways run comfortable deluxe buses from Jaipur and Abu Road to Mount Abu. It is also connected by road to Delhi, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bundi and Udaipur.

By Train : Abu Road is the nearest railway station and is about 22 kms from Mount Abu. And well connected by Ahemdabad, Jaipur, Mumbai and Jodhpur.

By Air : Udaipur is the nearest airport. Daily flight form Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur are available to Udaipur.

Places of Tourist Interest

Nakkhi Lake - This is a beautiful lake with an adjacent garden and the surrounding wooded hills have some good caves like Champa Ghupha, Haathi Gupha to name a few. The Toad rock - It is a toad shaped rock stands over-hanging in the south of the Nakkhi Lake.

The temple of Adhar devi - This is a temple of Goddess Durga is very famous and is situated underneath a huge rock and approachable by 360 stairs.

Raghunathji temple - This temple built in 14th century stands adjacent to Nakkhi Lake. There is another ancient temple of Lord Shiva called Dhuleswar Mahadeva nearly. The Sun set Point - From a platform on the hill top tourists can watch a spectacular view of Sun set and see beautiful surrounding valleys.

Dilwara Temples - In the village Dilwara three kilometers from Mount Abu are the world famous Dilwara Temples. These temples are famous for their exquisite carvings and architecture. The Vimal Vasahi and the Lun Vasahi (Tejpal) temples are the most important ones. Vimal Shah a minister of Maharaja Bhim Singh built the temple of Vimal Vasahi in 1030 A.D. There is a big statue of Bhagwan Aadinath the first Tirthakar of Jains in the main temple. The main portico of the temple stands on 50 intensively carved pillars. The octagonal dome out side the main shrine is formed by eleven concentric rings decorated with exquisitely carved human and animal effigies notably the elephant processions. Out side in the oblong courtyard are 50 small cells having various Jain Tirthankars statues. The Lun Vasahi Temple, dedicated to the 22nd Tirthankaras-Neminath, was built in 1231 A.D. by two brothers-Vastupal and Tejpal,Ministers of Raja Vir Dhawal, a ruler of Gujarat-belonging to the Porwal Jain community. This temple is a very beautiful example of artful carving and charming architecture. The distinct features of this temple are the delicately carved pillars, callings gates, Torans, marble pendant in the dome and the inner portico. This temple is dedicated to the 22nd Jain Tirthankar Lord Neminath and was built by two brothers Vastupal and Tejpal. There is a ten stage Hastishala (house of elephants) a marble elephant in each stage.

Achalgarh Fort - An impressive fort with some beautiful jain temples enclosed within. Among the noteworthy temples are Achaleswar Mahadev Temple (1412 A.D.) and Kantinath Jain Temple (1513A.D.) . The latter has gold plated image. Mandakini Kund and a sculpture of Parmar Dharavarsh are situated close to the Achaleswar Mahadev Temple. The Fort was built in the 14th century A.D. by Rana Kumbha and is approachable by a motorable road.

Gurusikhar - The Guru Shikher (5700 feet or 1722 meter above the sea level) is the highest peak of Mount Abu. It is a good place for getting a panoramic view of the surrounding valleys and villages around Mount Abu.

Gou mukh - Twelve km from mount Abu is natural fresh water spring where perennial flow of fresh water comes out of a cow head shaped cave. A marble statue of Nandi Bull stands nearly and next to it are temples of Neelkanth Mahadev, Kunwari Kanya and cave of Raja Bhartrihari.