Travel India: Mount Abu, a beautiful hill spot near the desert

in #travel7 years ago

MtAbu.jpg
Image: Amazing view from Mount Abu

Hello friends, today I am going to share my experience of a memorable journey to Mount Abu. Mount Abu is a small hill station situated in Rajasthan, India. I was in Mumbai that time and had a tough week at work when we decided to plan a weekend trip to Mount Abu. That was the best decision we had that month. It was a soothing and relaxing experience far away from a busy and hectic work life of Mumbai.

It was me and a close friend of mine who were really excited about our 2 days trip to that beautiful hill spot. So, we booked two bus tickets from Mumbai to Abu road. That was a 13 hours bus journey, but the highways were good so we had a smooth ride without being punished by the Indian roadways services.

We started our journey by dodging the heavy peak time traffic of Mumbai to reach the bus stop on the time that was 8 PM. I was late by the way, but still we managed to catch the bus. We were on the Abu Road by the very next morning. We decided to visit the first place before even booking the hotel room. That was really a relaxing decision as we were visiting an ashram known as the Brahmakumari Ashram in Abu Road. It is a spiritual and peaceful place to relax your body and soul.

om-shanti-pandav-bhavan-mount-abu.jpg
Image: Brahmakumari Ashram, Mount Abu. Image source

We spent about 2 hours in Brahmakumari Ashram then decided to take a ride to the Mount Abu. We booked an auto (Indian three-wheeler version of cab) to reach there, it was nearly 1 hour ride from Abu Road to Mount Abu. We were absolutely exhausted, but as soon as we reached Mount Abu, it felt so refreshing that we forget about our hunger and tired schedule so far.

First thing we did after reaching the Mount Abu was, booked a hotel room. There were some really nice hotel services at reasonable prices, which I didn’t expect considering the fact it is a tourist spot. We did not want to waste much time so we decided to fresh up as early as possible so we can start exploring the nearby places.

We were already so tired by the journey so we decided to take a tour of the town and not going to any tourist spot. We walked through the beautiful city, visited market area and communicated with the local vendors. I must say that Mount Abu is a beautiful place not just for its tourist attractions, but for its well mannered and helpful people as well.

It was getting really cold as the Sun was getting down. We enjoyed a great Rajasthani dinner on our hotel room after an amazing day at Mount Abu.

I remember I was up most of the time that night. So, I decided to go out and had a conversation with the hotel staff (they were very supportive). That was a great feeling sitting on a cold night in front of a bonfire. When I was heading back to my room to get some sleep, one of the hotel staff asked me to come by the 5 in the morning to see some exciting stuff.

I set an alarm for the next morning and had a peaceful sleep that night. Next morning I met that hotel staff on the lobby and they took me out to the garden and parking area. The view was really amazing. There were snow on the garden and vehicles. That was not actually snowfall, but the frozen pearls of the morning dew. That was one of the best morning I had that year as I belong to the region where you do not see that stuff every day (Come on! It is India and we have snow on a limited region of the country).

I had a warm cup of tea on that frozen dew garden (I named the garden) and then went to gear up for an excited day ahead. We rented a car and decided to visit Dilwara temple first.

Dilwara Temple

That was a great experience. The appearance and ambience of the Dilwara temple will steal your heart for sure. It is situated about 2.5 kilometers from the town and a must go place if you are visiting the Mount Abu. You’ll see some serious work on the marble stones there. We spent one and half hours there and then decided to move.

dilwara-temple.jpg
Image: Beautiful DIlwara temple. Image source

The next stop was the Achalgarh fort.

Achalgarh Fort

I still remember the view from the top of the Achalgarh fort. It was past noon and the Sun was on the top of us but, it was not feeling like a hot and sunny day there. We were completely mesmerized by the beauty of that place. Achalgarh fort is 11 kilometers from the Mount Abu and you’ll enjoy riding there.

Achalgarh Fort.JPG
Image: Achalgarh fort. Image source

IMG_20150118_115958.jpeg
Image: On the way to Achalgarh fort

IMG_20150118_121123.jpg
Image: View from Achalgarh fort

We spent a quality time there and then headed back to the city so we can have a boat ride in the famous ‘Nakki Lake’ at the heart of the city.

Nakki Lake

Boat riding at Nakki lake was something I will remember lifelong. The Sun was about to going down and the cold breeze of air already started. We were all by ourselves in a beautiful boat at the middle of lake. You can imagine the beauty of that moment.

Nakki lake
Image: Nakki lake

We spent a beautiful and memorable time at Nakki lake and now it was time to leave the city to get back to Mumbai. This was one of the best weekend I ever had in my entire life.

If you are planning to visit Mount Abu on your next vacation then here is some useful information before you plan your trip.

Best season to visit Mount Abu

In my opinion you should visit Mount Abu between the months of October and February. It’s winter time there and you will really enjoy the weather with your loved ones. Do not forget to pack your warm clothes for this trip as the temperature goes down to 8 degree Celsius during these months.

How to reach Mount Abu?

  1. Via Air - The nearest airport from the Mount Abu is Dabok airport in Udaipur city. Mount Abu is 185 kilometers from here. So, you could rent a car or use public transportation services to reach there.
  2. Via road - This is how I reached there. If you wanna go there by road or bus services then book a ticket to Abu road. It is well connected from the major cities like Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Udaipur, Ajmer, Delhi etc. So, check the bus availability and if you find one then that would be a cheap yet comfortable way to reach this beautiful hill spot.
  3. Via rail - Abu Road is the nearest railway station from the Mount Abu. It is well connected from all the major cities. So, you may get in there by train services as well (If you are lucky enough to get a train ticket according to your desired schedule).

You’ll not regret after visiting this beautiful spot. So, pack your bags and visit this hill station of Rajasthan as soon as you could. Thank me later if you’ll like the place. ;)

That’s it for today guys. I’ll be back soon with some really great stuff. Do not forget to upvote and follow me if you like the article.

Note - I am new with the writing in English language. So, it would be really helpful if you guys correct me where it needed so I can work with my writing skills.

Thank you.

Peace out.