North India · Hill station
Rajasthan's only hill station, with Dilwara's marble Jain temples
Photo: Andreas Kleemann · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Best: Oct–Mar
Mount Abu is an island of green granite at the south-western tip of the Aravallis, high enough that winter nights dip toward freezing and summer days stay mild while Jodhpur bakes. Sage Vashishtha is said to have performed the yagna here that created the Agnikula Rajput clans, and the plateau has been holy ground since. The Dilwara temples are the reason to come: Vimal Vasahi, built in 1031, and Luna Vasahi, built in 1230 by the merchant brothers Vastupala and Tejpala, are Jain temples whose plain exteriors hide ceilings of white marble carved into lotuses, dancers and pendants so fine the stone looks like paper.
Photography is banned, which makes the seeing better. Nakki Lake in the middle of town, said to have been dug with the fingernails of a god, has boats and a promenade; Toad Rock and Sunset Point are the local walks. Guru Shikhar, at 1,722 metres the highest point of the Aravallis and of western India, has a Dattatreya temple and a view over the plains; Achalgarh Fort below it holds the Achaleshwar Mahadev temple, where a toe of Shiva is worshipped instead of a lingam.
The Brahma Kumaris have their world headquarters here, and Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary's sloth bears and leopards still roam the forest above the town.
Best Oct–Mar
October to March for clear, cold days; also July to September when the plateau is green; the Winter Festival runs 29 to 31 December.
Give Mount Abu 2 days and it repays the time; with fewer you are choosing between Dilwara Temples' marble ceilings in Vimal Vasahi and Luna Vasahi and Guru Shikhar, the Aravalli summit at 1,722 m. We build the hours around the weather — early starts when it is hot, long afternoons when it is not.
On the ground
The days we would actually plan for you, in the order that suits the light.
At the table
Getting there
Abu Road station, 28 km down the hill, has trains from Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai; Udaipur airport is 185 km and Ahmedabad 225 km by road.
Airport pickups, station transfers and the driver for the days here are all part of what we arrange — including the hour you should leave, which is usually earlier than you think.
Next door
Places that join Mount Abu without a long drive — the way a real week is built.
LakeRajasthan
Marble palaces mirrored in Lake Pichola beneath Aravalli hills
TempleRajasthan
Fifteenth-century Jain temple of 1,444 carved marble pillars
FortRajasthan
Thirty-six kilometres of wall around Maharana Pratap's birthplace
CityGujarat
India's first World Heritage City, of pols, mosques and mills
Before you ask
Photograph of Mount Abu: Andreas Kleemann · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
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