|  Summer
Festival:
About the Fair |
| Activities |
Tribals and villagers from
Rajasthan and Gujarat come to sing, dance and exhibit their love
for life in the month of June. Folk dances and a general atmosphere
of gaiety prevails in this tiny hill resort and the tourist has
ample time to relax and enjoy. |
History |
| The history of Mount Abu is as diverse as
the city itself. It was once a part of the Chauhan kingdom
of Rajasthan and served as a summer resort for the Rajput kings
of the region. After that, it was leased by the British government
from the then Maharaja of Sirohi for use as the headquarter of the
resident to Rajputana (i.e. Rajasthan).
During the British rule in India, it was the favorite summer destination
of the British, who came here to escape the dusty, dry heat of the
plains particularly Rajasthan. It also served as a sanatorium for
the troops. The small huts and cottages here tell stories of those
times even today.
Mount Abu was the home of many saints and sages in the old days.
Legend has it that all the 330 million gods and goddesses of the
Hindu pantheon used to visit this holy mountain. It is also the
place where the great saint Vashishth lived and performed a yagna
(sacrificial worship on a fire pit) to create four Agnikula
(four clans of fire) to protect the earth from demons. The yagna
was supposed to have been performed near a natural spring, which
emerged from a rock shaped like a cow's head.
According to another legend, once sage Vashishth's cow Nandini was
trapped in a deep gorge and could not free herself. The sage appealed
to Lord Shiva for assistance. The Lord sent Saraswati, the divine
stream, to help flood the gorge so that the cow could float up.
Vashishth then decided to ensure that such mishaps did not occur
in future. He asked the youngest son of Himalaya, the king of mountains
to fill the chasm permanently. This he did with the assistance of
Arbud, the mighty snake. This spot came to be known as Mount
Arbud and was later changed to its present form - Mount Abu.
This place is held in reverence by Jains as well since Jain scriptures
record that Lord Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankar (spiritual
leader), also visited Mount Abu and blessed the city. |
| Places to see |
There are a number of sites
to visit in and around this small city. Besides being a hill station,
Mount Abu is also regarded as an important pilgrimage site, with
the Dilwara Jain temples, ashrams of saints and some Hindu temples
within its boundaries. The landscapes, mountains and the holy Nakki
Lake are some of the sites that would make the trip to this place
a delight. |
Getting there |
| By air |
Udaipur is the nearest airport
to Mount Abu, 185 km away. Tourists can easily opt for various road
transport facilities available at the airport for reaching Mount
Abu. A number of domestic airlines have their scheduled flight to
Udaipur, which connect the city to the major cities in the country.
|
| By road |
Mount Abu is well-connected
by roads, as it is in close proximity to National Highway No 8 and
14. A small roadway connects the city to National Highway no 8,
which in turn connects it to major cities like Jodhpur and Delhi.
There is also a good network of roads making it accessible to other
important places in the state. With good road conditions you can
also travel by private car/taxi. |
By
rail |
The railway station at Abu
Road is a two-hour drive from Mount Abu and is well-connected to
the rest of the country through a number of trains. It is a major
stoppage for a number of important long-distance trains of the Western
and Northern Railways. |
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