Mount Abu – Keeping cool in Rajasthan (Part 2)

This is a two part series on Mount Abu. This post includes some more sight-seeing places at Mount Abu and tips for travelers. See my earlier post on Mount Abu here.

We continued with our leisurely excursions of Mount Abu on Day three.

Like every hill station in India, there were ‘points’ that offered panoramic views. These included the ubiquitous ‘Sunset point’, the ‘honeymoon point’, and Guru Shikhar. I must warn you that though the Sunset point though offered lovely views, was extremely crowded and dirty with people eating and dumping their garbage right where they stood.

Views from the Honeymoon point

Other points of interest include the Mount Abu wildlife sanctuary, a fort ‘Achalgarh’, and the ‘Achleshwar temple’. The Achleshwar Shiva temple built in the 9^th century has an idol of the Nandi that is made of five metals and weighs 4 tons. Near the temple is a lake which has the idols of 3 buffaloes which were supposed to be demons in disguise. Legend goes that the lake was once filled with ghee <although I have no clue how that is possible!>

The Buffalo trio near the Achaleshwar temple

The Four Ton Nandi at the Achaleshwar Temple

Mount Abu is also the headquarters of the Brahmakumaris spiritual university, an organization that teaches spirituality and meditation. The Brahmakumaris have several centers at Mount Abu that host visitors from all over the world in their residential programs. They also have a fabulous garden with an exquisite display of roses and other flora.

A Brahmakumaris center

Mount Abu also has a little known museum with several artifacts and sculptures in it not far from the Nakki Lake. However the condition of this museum was not very good. Most of the artifacts were carelessly kept without proper labeling or descriptions. We were the only ones in the museum for quite a while and the caretaker had to literally switch on the lights when we reached there. Inner rooms of the museum (that were open) revealed what must have been ancient artifacts dumped and dust laden.  The sheer callousness was apparent in the whole upkeep of the museum and it was quite sad.

Dumped artifacts at Mount Abu museum

Other information

Mount Abu certainly makes for a weekend or an extended weekend excursion. With convenient modes of transport cheaply available to Mount Abu and for local transportation, and hotels to suit all pockets, Mount Abu can certainly be included in a budget travel destination list.

Accommodation – Most resorts and hotels are around the Nakki Lake. For those looking out for boating activities or prefer to be near the market, restaurants etc., there are a large number of hotel options around the lake that would suit all pockets right from Rs 1000 a night to Rs 10,000 a night.  We stayed at Hotel Hilltone, which was an excellent resort with good facilities of a garden, game room, swimming pool, and good restaurants. Rooms in several formats were available and the service was quite good. I would highly recommend this resort to families.

Food – Being a tourist destination, most eateries offer a pan India cuisine from South Indian to Punjabi and even Indochinese. However, it was nicer to eat some of the traditional Rajasthani fare of Dal Baati and Churma which was much less unhealthy than the rest. ‘Baatis’ are baked/roasted tandoor balls of wheat flour dough that are broken up to eat and dipped in warm ghee (clarified butter) with the spicy dal or lentil soup. Churma comprises of broken baatis mixed with ghee and jaggery to make for a simple but delicious dessert. It was funny that the eatery owners on the way called out to us to grace their restaurants exactly when we were out to have our dinner and ceased to call us when we had finished! Another couple of things Mount Abu claimed were famous there was the ‘Rabdi’ (thickened flavored milk) and the Softy ice-cream. The Softy ice-cream easily available in the market at Mount Abu came in all flavors and toppings and was quite a delight!

Traditional Gujarathi meal

Getting around – Tourist taxis are available for about Rs 1,000-1,500 to be rented for a day and they typically show you everything that is to be seen. These taxis can also be shared.  There are options of bus tours and jeeps that are quite easy on the pocket too. Bikes can be rented for about Rs 100-500 depending on how much time you want them and the make of the bike. Getting to Abu road station from the top can set you back by Rs 500 in a private taxi or one can opt for the much cheaper shared jeeps that stuff them with passengers for a much smaller amount.

Tourist Information – A Rajasthan tourist information office is situated next to the hotel Hilltone and the police station. One can get information on what to do at Mount Abu, get maps and other information.

Reservations -A train reservation office is also present in the same building as the tourist information office. We booked our return tickets in a Tatkal booking so this office was God-sent to us with the train booking IRCTC site always super slow or down! There are also several tourist offices near the market that can make reservations and transport arrangements for all modes of transport.

To read my first post on the primary two attractions of Mount Abu -click here.

Mount Abu – Keeping cool in Rajasthan

Leaves droop, dogs lie languidly in the middle of roads, birds come by the flowerpot in the balcony attempting to siphon off the few drops of water that haven’t yet evaporated, Taxiwallahs sigh as they use their napkins to wipe off that unending stream of perspiration, and the only happy person that seems to be quite happy with the oppressive heat is the ice-cream vendor where a  steady stream of people make their way to at all times during the day.

A few days away from this sweltering heat is what I wanted!  With a few holidays in sight, we explored options to go to near Mumbai for an extended weekend to a nearby hill station other than Matheran, Mahabaleshwar and the other usual suspects of Lonavala-Khandala that have become as bustling as Mumbai itself during summer. I also longed to go somewhere clean, green and a place that had good roads. After much procrastination, we finally zeroed on the hill station of Mount Abu in the state of Rajasthan which seemed to offer peace, fresh cool air and relief from the sweaty dirty megapolis. Mount Abu is the highest point in the Aravalli mountain range at about 1220m above sea level making it a cool getaway from the searing summer heat in Rajasthan, nearby Gujarat and Mumbai!

Getting to Mount Abu

Mount Abu is accessible by excellent roads, trains and is about 3 hours away from the nearest airport at Udaipur. Mount Abu is conveniently located at about 750 kms from Mumbai (11 hours by train or road), and at about 230kms from Ahmedabad and 170kms from Udaipur. One can have their pick of mode of transport of trains, driving down, taxis and buses from major cities.

Mumbai to Mt. Abu – courtesy Google Maps

After a hasty tatkal booking, we were finally on our way to Mount Abu one evening.  The next morning the train chugged along to Abu Road station which seemed to be quite a busy station with several tourists like us getting off and on.  On getting out, taxiwallahs immediately hounded us to take us up the hill station. A few minutes later, we grouped up with a family going the same way and we were on our way for Rs 500 for the taxi.

A few curvy roads later, we reached our hotel and were content in whiling away our time for the rest of the day at the peaceful resort in the very pleasant weather.

A leisurely stroll down the road took us to one of Mount Abu’s main attraction, the Nakki Lake. The market near Nakki Lake is a bustling hub of activity where one can get everything from traditional jewellery, garments, bedsheets, artifacts and souvenirs at good prices.  Plenty of restaurants dot the little market and all seem to do brisk business!

The market side of the lake is in no way tranquil or peaceful with hordes of tourists, eateries, hawkers and boatmen creating plenty of noise. However, a walk around the lake brought us to several peaceful perches from where we could smile at the hullaballoo on the side of the twinkling lights of the market place. For suggested walking and trekking routes/maps visit the Tourist office nearby.

Our day ended in the hotel sitting outside in the evening without the ubiquitous mosquitoes bothering us and enjoying the cool breeze. The holiday was just as it was meant to be – relaxing and cool!

Peace at Nakki Lake

Catch me if you can – by Nakki Lake

Fun at Nakki Lake

The next day, after a morning of lazing around, we decided to venture out to see what was touted to be even more beautiful than the Taj in its interiors – The Dilwara Jain temples. These breathtaking temples were ‘paisa vasool’ for the whole trip! On the outside, they seemed to be like any other, but once we entered the sanctum, we were awestruck by the magnificence of the artwork.  I have never seen such intricate workmanship ever before. Such finesse, such grandeur and such beauty carved in marble.

The Dilwara temples were built between the 11^th and 13^th centuries and consist of five major sections or temples devoted to the five tirthankaras of Jainism. Each temple is decorated with intricate marble carvings of Jain saints, flowers, petals and designs on ceilings, pillars and temple walls. One can get quite a crick in the neck staring up at those gorgeous chandelier designs on the ceilings! Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the temple and you have to be content with memories and bad quality picture postcards.

Here are a few glimpses of the Dilwara temples courtesy Wikimedia commons.

A door opening into the inner sanctum of a deity, Dilwara

The gorgeous Dilwara temple

Ceiling on Dilwara

More on the other places at Mount Abu and tips for travelers in the next post of this two-part series. To read click here.