Find out the Best & most famous tourist attractions , places to visit and sight seeing destinations in Mount Abu , Rajasthan ... with latest updates .
MUST KNOW :
1. Temple remains open from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm.
2. mornings and evenings are reserved for prayers - jain's can enter.
3. shorts / sleeveless not allowed - administration gives cloth to cover when needed.
4. photography prohibited - camera , mobiles , big bags , water bottles kept outside in cloak room.
5. Footwear's outside - can wear shocks
6. Clean paid washrooms at right hand outside of the entrance.
The temple is 3 k.m. far from the main town, nakki lake & polo ground. The original name was dewalwara = dewal (of gods) + wara ( living place) which shortened to its present name with the due course of the time. Ther are 6 temples in the single complex, 5 shwetamber (wears white clothes) and 1 digamber (sky clothes or naked) temple.
Most of the international tourists comes to mount abu only to visit this temple because of the fine deep carvings in the marble from almost 1000 years old. Here is the list of the temples :
1. Vimal vasahi temple:
made in 1031 A.D. , financed by vimal shah from patan, Gujarat. He was the mightiest commander in chief that time. 400 elephants carried the marble from 50 miles away from arasoori hills. 14 years it took to built with 2700 artist & labours. Stunning profound carvings done by scratching to avoid breaking with hammers and chisels. Must visit the masterpiece.
2. Luna vasahi temple :
made in 1231 A.D. by the brothers vastupal & tejpal in the memory of their dead brother luniga or luna.
3. Mahaveer swami temple :
15thcentury A.D. dedicated to the 24 prophet in Jainism.
4. Peetalhar temple :
15th century A.D., dedicated to 1st prophet adinath swami, statue made with 5 metals where the copper (पीतल) is comparatively higher in amount, thus named peetalhar.
5. Khartar vasahi :
made in 16thcentury A.D. with the leftover from the first 2 temples dedicated to 23 prophet parshwanath swami.
6. Digamber temple .
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Nakki or nakkhi lake is among the most loved places to visit in mount abu where the tourist spent most of their time doing boat ride, taking a promenade around and eating the famous softy's in the lake market.
The name of this famous tourist attraction 'nakkhi' came from the myth in which the sage 'rasiya balam' dug this lake with the nail of his pinky. geology says that this lake is an volcanic crater ... from where the lava erupted 3.8 years back. the lake claims to be the highest artificial lake in entire middle india with an altitude of 1200 meters. maximum depth is 39 feet and the circumference is around 3 kilometer.
Perfect time for boat ride is the late evening to enjoy the scenery, sunset and sparkling lights. while walking around the lake you can benefit visiting raghunath temple, toad rock, crocodile garden and mother india temple.
Gurushikhar is the highest mountain peak in mount abu also the highest in entire middle india (1727 meters altitude). There is an small cave at the top naturally in which there are the footprints of the first teacher in hinduism ‘guru dattatrey’ … its believed that he is the one who started the system of ‘teacher & deciple’.
The guru (teacher) spent time on the mountain peak penancing for years, therefore the the mountain peak is named after him ‘gurushikhar – peak of teacher’. Its 17 km (10.5 miles) from the center (nakki lake,polo ground,main market). The way going up is everyone’s favorite specially for bikers.
Amazing view of arawali’s mountain range, lush green valleys and clear blue sky decorated with pearly clouds.
The Temple : the mythology says that the the mountain of abu (mt. abu) was not stable so lord shiva made it so by pressing it by his foot and during the process his feets thumb penetrated till the center of the earth (पाताल). From then onwards the place became the pilgrimage and was named achaleshwar.
This is the only shiva temple in the world where the his thumb is worshipped instead of the lingam.
There is an older Vishnu temple in the complex with granite suppose to be built in 9thcentury A.D.
The fort : after the name of the temple the king of mewad(Udaipur) ‘maharana kumbha’ built a fort here in 15th century A.D. which remained the hideout for the royal family for years.
There are two lakes inside the fort named after the months of rain ‘sawan & bhadow’.
Fort also comprises few jain temples but are not as elegant as dilwara. At present the fort is almost ruined completely due to negligence beside at the top there is a cave and temple where the big statue of ‘mahakali goddess’ is just divine …. Looks like the goddess is standing in front of you …. Looks soooo alive.
The hindu mythology tells that the burned body of ‘sati’ was cut by vishnu’s chakra and the pieces fell on the earth (46 in india, 4 in Nepal, 2 in Pakistan) . among which the ‘lips’ (अधर) fell in mount abu hills so the the pilgrimages is named ‘adhar or arbuda devi temple’. The temple is in a huge cave with an little entrance, you have to crouch to get in. around 100 people can come in the cave. Its an must visit tourist attraction in mount abu.
To reach the temple there are 300+ steps. After reaching at the top the view is awesome. The way passing through the rocky tunnel is impressive. You have to submit your camera & phones at the gate as photography is strictly prohibited inside. Temple is open from early morning to dark. Its 2 km from the center.
The old way to mt. abu was from the west via the village ‘anadara’ 10 km on the plain …. So its called ‘anadara point’ , also 400 elephants with tons of marble on their back came climbing from here to build the ‘dilwara jain temples’ in 11th and 13thcentury. Britishers also explored mount abu from this route, later they made the modern road from which the world visits this hill station.
Being in rajasthan at the border of Gujarat mount abu attracts honeymoon couples , and with the increasing love for ‘anadara point’ this spot also got famous as ‘honeymoon point’. One can easily spot the love birds sitting in peace & isolation enjoying the beautiful nature sceneries and the first honemoon’s sunset. Its 2 km from the center you can see sunset from here if you don’t want to go to the busy ‘sunset point’ (its not important). You can see sunset from ‘gurushikhar’ & ‘ beyley’s point ’ around the lake.
Among the places to visit in mount abu this is normally ignored by the tourists as it requires the maximum time and stamina visiting. There are 700 steep steps descending for the temple through dense forest. Down at the temple there is an cow face in marble, originally it was of granite stone which is replaced. From the mouth of the cow water springs throughout the year.
Its said that lord raam,his younger brother laxman and wife sita visited this place during the exile. Here they assisted sage vashishtha in generating 4 warrior clans from the holy fire to protect sages from demons. nearby, there is a devine temple with the statue’s of raam,sita,laxman and sage vashishtha.
Ancient script tells that the king of ayodhya visited this place and served cow kaamdhenu for a month, which resulted him in the boon of having raam as son in his 4th generation.
Estimated time to visit the temple is 2 – 3 hours. Going in late evening may result in danger from wild animals and tribes. Its 2 km from the center.
vishnu temple - 5000 years old temple
this temple with an stunning granite statue of god ''vishnu' one of the hindu trinity , is believed that it was made by the ''pandavas'' 5000 years back . the pandavas - 5 son of pandu came to mount abu during there exile and here they stayed in an cave nearby known as ''pandav gufa''. while living here they decided to make an temple and dedicate it to their friend , cousin and supporter ''krishna'' who was the 8th incarnation of god vishnu.
the temple is completely made from black granite stone with some impressive statues of hanumana ( monkey god ) , ganesha ( god with elephant head , son of parwati ) , apsara's etc. among the finest tourist places in mount abu , this vishnu temple is under renovation , so exterior is not that impressive.
kanya kunwari temple - the court
this temple with an mix of granite and marble work houses a human size marble statue of goddess kanya kunwari dressed like an bride. married and unmarried ladies offers her the packet filled with major symbols of an married women including mangalsutra ( necklace made with black beads) , colourful bangles , heena , bindi and chunri (piece of cloth richly decorated) etc. these packets are sold outside the temple at the regionable cost of rs 20 each. offering these things to goddess ensures the boon of safety and long life to there present or future spouse.
outside is the statue of monk ''rashiya balam'' in the centre who was a monk and was in love with the princess. the king and queen wanted him to dig a lake during one night to win the hand of the princess. the monk with his special power almost dug the lake with his nails ( nakh ) but failed at the end due to the conspiracy by the queen. nakkhi or nakki (by nail) lake is named after this incident ..... lake by nail.
the story says that the monk started the work at night and had almost finished it by the dawn but , the queen croocked as rooster indicating morning to stop him. the monk believed the birds singing and stopped the little remained work. but after some time the real cock and birds started singing due to the true dawn and monk aknowledged the cheating. he went to the court and cursed both princess and mother and they two turned into stone statues. he further kicked the statue of mother in anger and broke it and then he moved into the forest in dispair. whenever the people visits this place they insult the mothers stone pile while throwing an stone on it. slowly the little pile turned into an little mountain which you can see nearby this mythological tourist attraction in mount abu .
Sunset Point is around 15 mins drive from Nakki Lake, which gives you a delightful viewpoint of the setting sun. A few people come to this area during the evening amidst a festive atmosphere. We cant take our vehicles beyond certain point from where either we can walk or take a horse-ride or come via Pram. There are few vendors selling snacks and cool drinks.
The excellent inclines, the soothing serene view, and the enchanting environment makes it a most cherished spot of the travelers. Even in the middle of Summer, this place was not hot and had magical breeze wavering over us wanting us to be there forever.
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