Things to do in Mount Abu
Although I was born and raised up in Mumbai, I am originally a pahadi(mountaineer) and may be that is the reason why I love hill stations so much well, who doesn’t love hill stations is a good question to ask on that thought! This summer, as Mumbai gets too hot, I planned my travel to Rajasthan’s most famous hillstation called Mount Abu.
Midnight was the best time to start my Road trip:
As I was already travelling in Jamnagar, it made sense for me to take a road trip to Mount Abu along with my family. It takes about 8-10 hours to reach there by car. In order to avoid traffic, we left home at around midnight and it was amazing to experience a part of Gujarat at night time. We stopped by at a dhaba to have some Chai and then drove non-stop until we reached Rajasthan! It is nostalgic for me when I get to see traditional India and how much it varies from one state to other. I couldn’t help but notice the change in local outfits and street food (only two things that I notice : p). Another thing that amazed me was how well the roads were planned entire way. We just had to keep a look on direction boards; you can anytime ask people to double check as they are very helpful. As we drove closer to this beautiful hill station, lanes got narrowed and we were going uphill all the way. I could smell that fresh air; see beautiful birds, monkeys on the way before we landed to our hotel room. I was glad to notice café coffee day close to our hotel as I am a caffeine addict!
Main attractions of Mount Abu:
Mount Abu is a small hill station and you just need 2-3 days to explore it all. All main attractions of this hill station are walking distance from one another. You can also rent a scooter if you plan to visit some places like Delwara Temple and Guru Shikhar that are a bit far.
What you can’t miss in Mount Abu:
I love to walk so on our first day we just walked to polo ground where many kids were playing the most famous sport in India – Cricket. We then walked to Nakki Lake another famous attraction in Mount Abu. Near Nakki Lake, there are several shops from where you can rent traditional Rajasthani clothes. All of these shops will have one person whom I called my Fashion Designer; he made me wear those clothes and accessories in just about 1-2 minutes! I will soon write about my traditional Rajasthani clothes in future blogs. Apart from this, you can enjoy boating in Nakki Lake, have fast food or shop clothes/accessories from Tibetan market there. I was able to see a kid’s magic show which was hilarious!
If you plan a vacation to this beautiful hill station don’t forget to visit Delwara Temple. I wish they allowed me to shoot inside the temple which was actually like a white palace all made of sparkling marbles and shapes of Indian Gods all over the temples structure. I was so much tempted to dress up like a queen and take pictures there.
Mount Abu is a small hill station and you can plan a trip there if you live close enough to take road trip there or if you are visiting Udaipur/other places in Rajasthan. Also, this place is famous for boarding schools for young children. As I explore India more, it is amazing to know how diverse its culture, costumes, languages and food is so I love to travel and explore India as much as I love to explore places in United States although they both are so different!