GENERAL INFORMATION

 This holy mountain lies at the southern extremely of the Aravali range. Surrounded by forests rich in flora and fauna, the town appears as an oasis. The drive uphill along Abu Road overlooks an arid region strewn by huge rocks with smooth surfaces and weird shapes, fashioned by high velocity winds.

The altitude of this plateau, 1220 metres and abundant vegetation, have endowed Abu with a pleasant climate, it is a resort as well as a celebrated place of pilgrimage.

Abu, according to legend, stands for the son of Himalaya, deriving its name from Arbuda, the powerful serpent who rescued Nandi, the sacred bull of Shiva, from a chasm.

Yet another legend explains how the lake at Mt Abu got its name, it is believed that the gods formed the lake-bed by digging it with their fingernails-‘nakh’ hence Nakki Lake.

Many sages and seers had their retreats on Mt Abu; most famous being sage Vashista. To regenerate the human race, he performed a ‘Yojna’ or fire sacrifice from which were born the pratiharas. The natural spring beside which this legendary event occurred is situated below Abu and emerges from a rock shaped like a cow’s head, hence its name, Gaurmukh.

Mt Abu was dedicated to Shiva before it became a Jain pilgrim centre. The greatest draw of Abu are the Dilwara temples. Half hidden by mango groves, their sober exterior belies the wealth of their interior ornamentation. Wondrously carved in marble, the Dilwara temples enshrine various Jain ‘Tirthankaras’, saints.

WHAT TO SEE

DILWARA JAIN TEMPLES

The temples here built between the 11^th and 13^th centuries are famous for their rich intricate carvings in marble.

Vimal Vasahi is the oldest of these Jain temples, Built in 1031 AD in the village of Dilwara by Vimal Shah, the minister of Bhim Deva, the first Solanki ruler of Gujarat, it is a perfect example of Gujjar-Pratitar temple architecture, comprising a central shrine, a room with a transept, a large colonnaded area and an embulatory lined by 52 small shrines each housing a statue.

The other Jain temple was built 200 years later in 1231 AD by two brothers Vastupal and Tejpal who belonged to the Parwal Jain community and were ministers of Raja Virdhavala, a ruler of Gujarat. The temple is dedicated to Neminath, the twenty second Jain Trithankara. The door-costing, friezes. Architraves, pillars, the sculptures of porticos, are astonishing in their extremely fine workmanship.

ADHAR DEVI TEMPLE

A beautiful temple chiseled out of a huge rock, it is formed by a natural cleft.

NAKKI LAKE

Beyond the Raghunath temple is the placid Nakki Lake studded with little islets. Nowhere else in India, except in the Himalayas does a lake exist 1200 metres above sea level. This lake, as legend has it, was dug out by gods with their nails.

GAUMUKH TEMPLE

A little brook flowing from the mouth of a marble cow gives the shrine its name. It was here that the legend of the four Agnikula clans of the Rajputs was born. Nearby is the marble image of Nandi who was rescued by the mighty serpent Arbhuda. Carved out of a rock, the hill temple of Arbuda stands against a picturesque backdrop.

SUNSET POINT

This place offers an enchanting view of the crimson colours of dusk kissing the lush plains on the horizon.

HONEYMOON POINT

Until recently known as the Anandra Point, this place provides a pleasant view of the verdant valley and plains. It looks especially beautiful  at sunset, when it acquired on aura of serenity 

SHRI RAGHUNATUHJI TEMPLE

Situated near Nakki Lake, it is believed that Shri Ramanand, the famous Hindu preacher, placed the image of Shri Raghunathji on this spot in the 14^th century.

MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

It is located at Raj Bhawan Road, opp. Post Office

EXCURSIONS

TOAD ROCK

1.2 km it is so called because of its likeness to a gigantic toad overlooking the nakki Lake, about to leap into the water.

TREVOR’S TANK

3 km Trevor’s Tank named after a British engineer is a bird-watchers paradise. The thickly wooded hills around it are alive with pheasants, pear cocks and patridges.

ACHALGARH

10 km. This fort built by Rana Kumbha in the 14th century is 10 km. out of Abu. Along a motarable road upto Achalgarh. Some beautiful temples enclosed in this fort are Achaleswar Mahadev Temple (1412 A.D.) and the kantinath Jain Temple (1513 A.D.) which has a gold plated image. Near Achaleswar Mahadev Temple is the mandokini kund and a sculpture of Parmar Dharavarsh. Other temples are of Meena and Chamundi.

GURU SHIKHAR

15 km. The highest peak on the mount to an attitude of 1722 metres. It commands a panoramic view of Abu and the surrounding are as Besides a small Shaivite shrine ‘Shikhar’ there s a temple of Dattatreya.

HOW TO GET THERE

AIR

Udaipur 185 km is nearest airport.

RAIL

Abu Road 29 km is the closest railhead linked with Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur by train.

ROAD

Mount Abu is well connected by road from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Ahmedabad