Mount Abu

Mount Abu is Rajasthan’s only hill station, at 1,220 metres in the Aravalli range. It is a forested plateau rising abruptly from the arid plains of western Rajasthan and eastern Gujarat. The town itself is small, built around Nakki Lake and the 19th century British cantonment, with the Raj era Guru Shikhar peak (1,722 m, Rajasthan’s highest) and the Dilwara Jain Temples as its cultural anchors. The Dilwara Temples, built between the 11th and 13th centuries, are considered among the finest examples of marble carving in India. The white marble interiors are sculpted to a level of detail that remains breathtaking even after eight centuries. Beyond the temples, Mount Abu has the Achalgarh Fort, the Wildlife Sanctuary covering 288 square kilometres of Aravalli forest, and the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, the global headquarters of the meditation movement. Cooler in summer than the rest of Rajasthan, Mount Abu is a genuine refuge from plains heat.