Just travelled to Mount abu last week so thought of writing few words about the place and our trip.
We(my wife and me) are cold freak and enjoy chilled atmosphere. So the best time for us to go to any hill station is Dec - Jan. We decided to go to some place nearby(considering the fact that its recession time:( and spending too much isn’t advisable).
We boarded Aravali express from Mumbai at 9 PM hoping to reach Abu Road by 10 AM next morning, however we reached there in afternoon.(reason. ENGINE FAILURE and that too just one station before abu road.thanks to Laluji). We made it just in nick of time for the lunch at the hotel(SRP INN).
It takes around 1 hour for the bus to reach mount abu from abu road bus stand which is at 5 minutes walk from abu road station. Its a curvy road(however not like the hair pin bends we have in Ooty). The valleys are good but not as beautiful as you see while travelling from Jammu to Srinagar. One can feel the cool breeze as the bus reaches the top.
We booked a Indigo for a full day sightseeing. It will cost you 600 bucks(if you bargain hard may be 500) and will take you to most of the popular places(Nakki Lake, Toad Rock, Sunset Point, honeymoon point, Om Shanti Bhawan, peace park, Adhar Devi or Arbuda Devi Temple, Mount Abu Sanctuary, Dilwara Jain Temples, Govt. Museum, Achalgarh, Guru Shikhar). Description about all these places can be found on various sites over the internet, however descriptions are inflated ones.
We could not sight a single wild animal(forget wild there is not even a normal animal) in the sanctuary except for one crocodile and that too was lying stiff as if dead. Most of the tour operators skip this place however, we being nature lovers couldn’t resist the temptation of visiting the sanctuary. The Trevor’s tank view is really good. Do not visit the sanctuary if you want to see any animals.
Dilwara is worth watching for its magnificent carvings. Unfortunately camera is not allowed inside the temple so one has to capture the view only by ones eyes.
Sunsent is beautiful as always and so is the lake. Boating is must in the lake.
Honeymoon point and Toad rock have got their names due to rock formations.
Guru Shikhar is the highest point in the Aravali ranges. The view from Guru Shikar is breathtaking.
Most of these points are just around the Nakki lake. Only Achalgarh, Dilwara temples, Sanctuary and Guru Shikar are bit far. The entire sightseeing is just about 20 Kms drive. Sightseeing tours are also conducted by bus(around INR 50-60 per person for a full day trip).
2 days are more than sufficient for sightseeing. We did not visit Gaumukh as one has to take 750 steps down to the valley.
We stayed at SRP INN. Its a steal to get such a good hotel room, just for INR 350.
The delicious Rabdi is available at Abu road. Its rare to find Rabdi at Mount abu and even if it is available they charge double the rate. So make sure to eat as much Rabdi as you want at abu road.
Tempature varies between 0-6 degrees at night and day is pleasant. Heavy woolens during winter is recommended.
Overall a nice place to vist atleast once.