In the lap of Aravallis - Mount Abu
It was during my summer breaks during under-graduation. I was visiting home during May 2007 for my semester breaks.That summer I had the opportunity to revisit the pinnacle of
Rajasthan - The Mount Abu. One of those usual futile days at home
during the semester breaks - I was flipping through boring magazines and trying
changing those useless channels. Finally i abnegated to the idea of finding a
solution to my idleness. I was soon to be lost in my usual daydreaming sessions
when my sequence of thoughts was interrupted by the acrimonious sound of the doorbell
- Dad was home after office. Seeing the dismal look on my face I had at the
moment he quite understood that his words would definitely be welcomed by me
and guess what he wasn't wrong. After having the customary snacks he broke the
suspense. Dad had to go on tour to Mount Abu and he had planned for all of us to go with him
too....Wow...Wasn’t that great!! And When??? The
next day... After all those hurried preparations we were on the train to
commence our journey. And yeah the journey itself was fun being in one of those
royal saloons that dad gets for his trips.
After an overnight journey in the luxury of the saloon we reach
our base camp – a small town called Abu
Road. It is the last train head before the road journey begins. Landing in
the city was enough to bring back the memories of those old times when this was
home for me. Those three years of our stay in Abu Road cannot be easily
forgotten. The next two days of my life were absolutely full of fun and masti. After a light breakfast and freshening up we embarked on climbing up the slopes of our destination.
The place really has something exceptional to offer to everyone I don't even remember how many times I have visited the place but every-time I visit, the vivid serenity and mesmerizing beauty offers a thoroughly refreshing experience. The spellbinding surroundings you find around you are sure to engulf you in a feeling of tranquilization. One of the few, or probably the only, hill station in the desert state of Rajasthan, Mount Abu is situated at height of around 1200 meters above sea level. The attraction of mount is not only as a hill station but the fact that the place has witnessed various memorable instances of history give it a special importance in itself. And what is there that the place lacks...The grandeur of Delwaras , the state of repose at Peace Park, the devotion at Bharamkumaris' and the adventure of climbing to the acme of the state, Guru Shikhar, everything is so be-charming. It’s here that you reckon the adages describing nature as an actuation of writers and acquiesce in to their aptness and believe me this isn't mere adulation.
Well let’s cover things one by one. Our first destination at the hill city was the Guest house. It’s no less than a picnic spot in itself but that description is for a bit later. We are here in Mount Abu and there is no time to waste. We relax a bit and start onto the first spot to be covered. It was the Delwaras – famous Jain temples. The entire structure is a combination of five different temples based on five Jain Tirthankaras. Built before 13th century AD, marble walls with fine carvings and amazing architectures in the temple offer a marvelous picture of human craftsmanship. Outside the temple, we witnesses special art in people to write our names on a rice beans. It was late evening by the time we were done with the temples and hence we headed straight to the sunset point. The place situated at a high point provided an awesome view of the sun setting behind the Aravalis into the river Banas.
After this, we were back to the guest house for a quick dinner and then visited a man made lake – the Nakki Lake. It is believed that the lake was dug by humans using their nails. We enjoyed a good boating in the lake which itself was quite refreshing. Tod Rock – a frog shaped rock over a peak was visible in the night light. This was end of our day and we retired to have some rest before another day of enjoyment.
We woke up early, next morning, to enjoy the cool mornings at the guest house. It was beautifully maintained place with sprawling green gardens and a few kid-rides. After breakfast, we visited the 2500 year old Achaleshwar Mahadev temple. The temple is famous for the worship of God Shiva’s toe and the five metal idol of Nandi – God Shiva’s carrier. The holy pond nearby has idols of three bullocks which have a story of their own. The fluency of the story of small kids around the place is simply attention grabbing.
Next on our list was the Guru Shikhar, the highest peak of Rajasthan with a height over 1700 meters above sea level. After a tiring climb up the stairs we were there at the top and the feeling was awesome. There was a small cave temple there and a big bell to ring. We stayed there enjoying the cool breeze and then climbed down.
But advent of everything is always paired with its extinction. Our happy days were there to end too. We lived there for two days and at least for the time being that was really a worth remembering part of my summer breaks. And that’s why I have here written this blog to refresh those wonderful moments in my memory. Hope you people too could trace some hints of the exquisiteness that this hill station has on offer. Keep waiting for more and revisiting the page…
The place really has something exceptional to offer to everyone I don't even remember how many times I have visited the place but every-time I visit, the vivid serenity and mesmerizing beauty offers a thoroughly refreshing experience. The spellbinding surroundings you find around you are sure to engulf you in a feeling of tranquilization. One of the few, or probably the only, hill station in the desert state of Rajasthan, Mount Abu is situated at height of around 1200 meters above sea level. The attraction of mount is not only as a hill station but the fact that the place has witnessed various memorable instances of history give it a special importance in itself. And what is there that the place lacks...The grandeur of Delwaras , the state of repose at Peace Park, the devotion at Bharamkumaris' and the adventure of climbing to the acme of the state, Guru Shikhar, everything is so be-charming. It’s here that you reckon the adages describing nature as an actuation of writers and acquiesce in to their aptness and believe me this isn't mere adulation.
Well let’s cover things one by one. Our first destination at the hill city was the Guest house. It’s no less than a picnic spot in itself but that description is for a bit later. We are here in Mount Abu and there is no time to waste. We relax a bit and start onto the first spot to be covered. It was the Delwaras – famous Jain temples. The entire structure is a combination of five different temples based on five Jain Tirthankaras. Built before 13th century AD, marble walls with fine carvings and amazing architectures in the temple offer a marvelous picture of human craftsmanship. Outside the temple, we witnesses special art in people to write our names on a rice beans. It was late evening by the time we were done with the temples and hence we headed straight to the sunset point. The place situated at a high point provided an awesome view of the sun setting behind the Aravalis into the river Banas.
After this, we were back to the guest house for a quick dinner and then visited a man made lake – the Nakki Lake. It is believed that the lake was dug by humans using their nails. We enjoyed a good boating in the lake which itself was quite refreshing. Tod Rock – a frog shaped rock over a peak was visible in the night light. This was end of our day and we retired to have some rest before another day of enjoyment.
We woke up early, next morning, to enjoy the cool mornings at the guest house. It was beautifully maintained place with sprawling green gardens and a few kid-rides. After breakfast, we visited the 2500 year old Achaleshwar Mahadev temple. The temple is famous for the worship of God Shiva’s toe and the five metal idol of Nandi – God Shiva’s carrier. The holy pond nearby has idols of three bullocks which have a story of their own. The fluency of the story of small kids around the place is simply attention grabbing.
Next on our list was the Guru Shikhar, the highest peak of Rajasthan with a height over 1700 meters above sea level. After a tiring climb up the stairs we were there at the top and the feeling was awesome. There was a small cave temple there and a big bell to ring. We stayed there enjoying the cool breeze and then climbed down.
But advent of everything is always paired with its extinction. Our happy days were there to end too. We lived there for two days and at least for the time being that was really a worth remembering part of my summer breaks. And that’s why I have here written this blog to refresh those wonderful moments in my memory. Hope you people too could trace some hints of the exquisiteness that this hill station has on offer. Keep waiting for more and revisiting the page…
Hello Mr. Tarun,
ReplyDeleteWe are planning a road trip to Mount Abu from Ahmedanad, Gujarat this weekend. We are more interested in visiting less explored places in and around Mount Abu.
Can you suggest us any such places?
Thanks a lot in advance.