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Friday 18 November 2011

Places to visit in Mount Abu

Places to visit in Mount Abu
Achalgarh  fort
Achalgarh is an imposing cute village nearby Rajmachi. This exquisite location is renowned for two major attractions the Achalgarh fort and the Achaleshwar Mahadeo placed interior to the fort. 






Achalgarh fort, built by Rana Kumbha of Mewar Dynasty during the 14th century temple, is built for watching the movements of enemies and also to have a watch over the surrounding places. The fort with a semicircular arch at the entrance encloses many temples including 15th century Achaleswar Mahadev Temple and 16th century Kantinath temple. 

The Achaleshwar Mahadeo temple is a renowned pilgrim center with the prime deity as Lord Shiva. It is believed that the footprint on the holy rock nearby is of Lord Shiva. The temple encloses a beautiful structure of Nandi and also three large stone buffalos. Achalgarh is attractive for any kinds of tourists who wish to spend the vacation and weekends in the rural villages of India.












Guru Shikhar
Guru Shikhar, Mount Abu’s highest mountain peak, is located at an altitude of about 1,722 meters above sea level in Mount Abu. The adventurous trek can take the tourist to the top of the peak. One can get eye catching panoramic view of surrounding sylvan region. The cool climate and serene environments make the peak a much sought place for seclusion. 

An ancient temple dedicated to Guru Dattatreya, the incarnation of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. There are some other temples as well in this region including the Mira temple, a shiva temple and a Chamundi temple.


                   

Dilwara Temples

One of the renowned Jain pilgrimage, the Dilwara Jain Temples constructed between 11th and 13th century are dedicated to the Jain Tirthankaras. The temple complex comprising of five marble temples out of which the oldest temple is the Vimal Vasahi Temple is one of the exquisite specimen of Jain architectural splendour.

 Dilwara temples, exquisite marvelous temples dating back to 11th century to 13th centuries AD, are a group of five legendary Jain temples. These temples are carved out of superb white marbles and have monumental attractions. Vimal Vasahi temple built in 1031 AD by Vimal Shah is the first in order and is devoted to the first Jain Tirthankaras. One another famous temple in this complex is Lun Vasahi temple built by Jain brothers Tejpal and Vastupal in 1231 AD. The attractively ornamented doorways, ceilings and panels make these temples simply majestic.
 

 

Adhar Devi temple

Adhar Devi temple with Goddess Durga as the presiding deity is built on a peak in the northern side of Mount Abu. The major attraction is the large number of steep steps to reach the temple premises. There were about 365 steps, each represent a day, to cover for reaching the sacred location of Goddess Durga. The temple is built under the rock and devotees have to take a bend to cross the temple entry. The temple is one of the main pilgrimage locations in Mount Abu. 




Nakki Lake
               It is an important tourist attraction of Mount Abu. There is the Toad Rock on a hill near the lake. Toad rock is so called as it looks like a toad about to jump into the lake, from the side of the rock facing the lake. There are two ways to go up and down the rock; to climb the rocky hill side or to use the steps leading down to Nakki Lake. By the side of the lake there is a path leading to Sunset Point. It is forbidden to climb to Sunset Point due to dangerous bandits living around the path to Sunset Point. Raghunath Temple and Maharaja Jaipur Palace are also on hills near the Lake.

                   It is a very ancient sacred Lake, according to the Hindu legend. It is called by this name because it was dug out from Nails (Nakh). One story is of dug by Gods to live in, for protection against the Bashkali rakshash (a wicked demon). While other is of Rasiya Balam (a sculpture of Dilwara Jain temple) , who dug the lake, as the king told that whoever will dug the lake within one night I will marry my daughter to him. But later king's wife refused and he couldn't marry the king's daughter. Temple of Rasiya Balam and Kunwari Kanya (king's daughter)'s is located behind the Dilwara Jain temple.


 nakki lake


Sunset and Honeymoon point
           Sunset Point, 1.5 km from the tourist office of Mount Abu, is the most popular. Hoards stroll out here every evening to catch the setting sun, the food stalls and all the usual entertainment. Is is a one kilometer walk from the road to the viewpoint or you can hire a horse.
sunset point in mount abu


 Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary
    Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is located in one of the oldest mountain ranges of India, the Aravalli range. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1960
         It spreads out into a plateau which is about 19 km in length and 6 km in breadth. In altitude, it varies from 300 meters at the foot to 1722 meters at Guru Shikhar, the highest peak in Rajasthan.
          The rocks are igneous and due to the weathering effect of wind and water, large cavities are common in them.
Gaumukh Temple
mount abu wildlife sanctuary

mount abu wildlife sanctuary

Gaumukh Temple
 Located about 2 Kms from Mount Abu, this is the site of the ancient agnikunda , where legend has it that sage Vashistha performed the great fire sacrifice. The temple contains an image of Vasistha along with images of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, both of whom are considered to be incarnations of Vishnu, the Preserver of the Hindu trinity. The name Gomukh literally means cow's mouth, referring to a spring here which flows through the mouth of a marble cow. The spring water is believed to have sacred, purifying properties. 


gaumukh templa

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