Mt Abu is Rajasthan's only hill station

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2006………6wks-4th CYCLING TRIP-Gujarat & Southern Rajasthan, INDIA...........
Mt Abu is Rajasthan’s only hill station& is largely hotels that cater for romantic holidays for both Gujaratis & Rajasthanis. It is a hilly plateau at 1200m & so is both hilly and lush. Set around a lake it reminded me of Dalat in Vietnam. I met up with the Swiss retired teacher turned traveler and B&W photographer that I had met in Udaipur. While I can appreciate B&W photography if I only had one word to describe India I would say colourful. He has exhibitions at home of his work which is largely about people in working situations.

We both joined a day tour of the town’s sights which consisted mostly of a temple tour with only 2-3 that were really worth seeing. The Dilware Jain Temples rank among India’s finest & date from 1031. They are plain from the outside but incredibly intricate in carved marble. This follows the Jain’s philosophy of development of the inner self - the body is unimportant. The 2nd temple in the complex had some 2500 workers for 25 yrs for its creation.

We visited Rajasthan’s & Gujarat’s highest point at 1721m where there is the Atri Rishi Temple with a priest sitting in a tiny cave that only has room for one other person to receive their blessings. Also atop the hill were huge radar dishes to monitor any Pakistani invasion. The town ends at Sunset Point which has a great view across the plain below. Various viewing points have been set up along the hill’s edge and it is a whole piece of theatre almost with stalls on the way up selling clothing, souvenirs, practical wear & food; horse rides and hand-pushed simple trolleys for the incapable or fat & lazy. Cars, motor cycles & rickshaws are largely prohibited around Mt Abu & these trolleys are seen being pushed all over the place with people or their luggage.

I didn’t wait for the sun to actually set as a beer was calling me from the terrace of the heritage Jaipur House that has a view across the town, lake & hills. I wanted to be here as dusk turned to darkness with the lights of the town twinkling below- a nice spot.

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Photos

Bridge across the lake in Udaipur
Those Holy Cows again!

Street Shrine, Udaipur
Even the Maharajah gets worshipped here