I had all the time dismissed Mount Abu as a crowded, touristy vacation spot and it it was by no means on our journey radar. Till someday, a analysis led us deep into this ‘hill station’ and we have been pleasantly shocked.
Mount Abu is a ‘hill station’ on the Aravalli vary of mountains. The Aravallis are amongst the oldest mountains on the earth. Being at a excessive altitude, and maybe in a beneficial windward location vis-a-vis the distant Himalayas, Mount Abu will get very chilly within the winters. Very chilly. Individuals have reported a skinny layer of ice on the lake our bodies within the greater elevations of Mount Abu in winters.
As a result of it was a analysis journey, we received to discover the non-touristy a part of Mount Abu and realised what an superior place it’s.
The drive up the hill to Mount Abu is thru a lazily winding highway by means of the dense Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary. The forests are house to sloth bears, leopards, rhesus macaques and plenty of different animals. The temperature retains dropping as you climb. End up a pleasant place to remain and also you shall have the ability to actually get pleasure from this pretty city within the hills.
Since Mount Abu is the one ‘hill station’ in Rajasthan, and likewise neighbouring Gujarat, a lot of the erstwhile royalty and rich individuals from these two states have had sprawling summer season and winter retreats right here. Jaipur Home, Bikaner Home, Kishangarh Home and so on are notable examples that come to the thoughts. Most of those estates have been transformed into motels, and kind some superb locations high keep.
Our personal journey to Mount Abu was about assembly individuals. We went into the city, visited houses that are over 70 years outdated, mentioned a number of tales and historical past. We went for walks contained in the sanctuary, and walks round Trevor’s Tank (Colonel Trevor was an Agent To The Governor Common, in pre-Independence India), a person made water physique on the high of Mount Abu which now harbours many crocodiles. We trekked by means of the slopes and search for tell-tale indicators of sloth bears on tree trunks.
Conversations and tales inspired us to go to extra of this city. We went to Trevor’s Pavilion, a Colonial period polo floor, the place the lettering says ‘1894’, maybe the 12 months the pavilion was constructed, making it 126 years outdated in 2020.
Over subsequent journeys, we fell an increasing number of in love with Mount Abu. There’s a lot to do right here and lots to see. It’s stated Guru Nanak too had visited Mount Abu and there stands a Gurudwara to commmorate that, constructed by the First Sikh Governor of Rajasthan named S. Gurmukh Singh in 1960.
When to go to: Mount Abu will get very popular within the summers. The perfect time to go to can be monsoons (July-August) and the winters (mid-late October until mid March).
The right way to Attain : The closest airport is Udaipur. Abu Street is the title of the railway station. You’ll be able to drive too, the roads are wonderful.
The place to remain: Although there are numerous motels in Mount Abu, we might extremely advocate ‘Wordsworth Lodge’, one of many oldest constructions right here. It could be a tad costly, however price it. An alternative choice could possibly be one of many many ‘Homes’ of erstwhile royalty of rich individuals which have been transformed into motels. We had as soon as stayed at Jaipur Home and do advocate it as effectively.
