India Travel

Arrival and information of Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Moving on from Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Buses leave Mount Abu for Abu Road every hour until 9pm; Jeeps leave when full (from opposite the bus stand), and taxis are available on request (from the junction at the southeastern corner of the polo ground; Rs200 for a full car). For train travellers, there's an information and booking office, or "Out Agency" (Mon-Sat 9am-1pm S 2-4pm) directly opposite the police station, next to the bus stand. It has quotas for services to Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, but not Jodhpur, so if you're heading northeast towards Jaisalmer, you'll have to head back down to Abu Road railway station

The Town of Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Mount Abu has a significant number of religious sites but all are some way out of town. Nearer the centre, Nakki Lake is where everyone converges in the late afternoon for pony and pedalo rides, and to dress up in fake peasant clothes to have their photos taken. Of several panoramic viewpoints on the fringes of town above the plains, Sunset Point is the favourite - with its hordes of holiday-makers, peanut sellers, camel drivers, cart pushers and horse owners, it has to be the noisiest and least romantic place imagmable to watch the sun sink over the horizon. Honeymoon

Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Rajasthan's ruling caste, the "twice-born" Rajputs, trace their mythological origins back to a powerful fire ceremony, or yagna agnikund, conducted by the sage Vashisra after the fall of the Gupta empire in the eighth century AD. The ritual is believed to have taken place at the top of a huge rocky massif in the southwest corner of the state, near the present-day border with Gujarat. More than a thousand years later, the British, attracted by the same outcrop's cool air and clear light, founded a sanitarium on the high plateau at its centre. Thereafter, MOUNT ABU became a permanent hot-season

Eating and drinking of Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Mount Abu's predominantly middle-class Indian visitors arc typically hard to please when it comes to food, so standards are exceptionally high and prices low in the numerous restaurants dotted along Nakki Road. Competition is stiffest between the squeaky-clean pure-veg Gujarati thali joints, most of which have indoor seating, but you can eat top-notch south Indian snacks and spicy rice-plate meals al fresco at the terrace cafes between the bazaar and the lake, and there are plenty of busy ice-cream stalls towards the waterfront. The classier hotels serve alcohol, also available at the wine and beer shops opposite the Veena at

Travel details in the Rajasthan

Trains Jaipur to: Agra (2 daily; 7hr); Ahmedabad (2 daily; 14hr); Ajmer (5 daily; 2-3hr); Alwar (7 daily; 2hr 35min-4hr); Bikaner (3 daily; 6hr 30min-1 Ohr); Calcutta (2 daily: 29hr); Chittaurgarh (2 daily; 7hr 40min-8hr 15min); Chum (3 daily: 5hr 20min); Delhi (8 daily; 4hr 20min-6hr 30]; Jhunjhunu (3 daily; 4hr 40min-6hr); Jodhpur (4-5 daily; 5hr-6hr iOmin); Kota (3 daily; 3hr 45min); Mount Abu (3 daily; 8-9hr); Mumbai (2 daily; 16hr 30min-22hr); Sawai Madhopur (2-3 daily; 2hr-3hr 20min); Sikar (5 daily; 3hr); Udaipur (2 daily; 10-12hr). Jodhpur to: Abu Road (3 daily: 5hr); Agra (2 daily; 13hr); Ahmedabad (3 daily; 10hr);

Ranakpur North of Udaipur in Rajasthan

The complex of Jain temples at RANAKPUR, 60km north of Udaipur, is the largest of its kind in India, boasting marble work on a par with that of the more famous Dilwara shrines at Mount Abu and Shatrunjaya near palitana in Gujarat. Unlike the latter two hilltop sites, however, this sacred spot is hidden at the base of a wooded valley. The land, deep in the Aravalh range, was originally gifted to the Jain community in the fifteenth-century by Rana Kumbha, the Hindu ruler of Mewar. Ranakapur's isolated position has kept it well off the foreign tourist trail, but if-you're working

Arrival and information in Gujarat

Arriving in Junagadh by bus or train, you're within easy walking distance of nearly all the hotels. From the long distance bus stand, turn right, then left at the main road and straight on across the railway tracks into the town centre; from the railway station, take a right down Station Road and a left at the end, by the petrol station. Local transport is provided by auto-rickshaws, though bicycles are great for getting around; with a bit of leg-work you can even cycle to the foot of Mount Girnar. Run-of-the-mill bikes can be had from 3 shop just west

Dilwara temples of Mount Abu in Rajasthan

Jains consider temple building to be an act of devotion, and without fail their houses of worship are lovingly adorned and embellished, But even by Jain standards, the Dilwara temples. 3km northeast of Mount Abu (daily noon-6pm; free; no leather, cameras, transistors, tape recorders, or menstruating women), are some of the most beautiful in India. All five are made purely from marble, and the carving, especially in the two main structures, is breathtakingly intricate, unparalleled in its lightness and delicacy. Each litde section stands on its own as a work of art, inspiring a stunned response from even the most

Arrival and information of Jaipur in Rajasthan

Jaipur's Sanganer airport, 15km south of the centre, is served by domestic Indian Airlines and Jet Airways flights from Delhi and Mumbai. An airport bus into town costs Rs30; taxis charge more like Rs250. The railway station is lkm west of the Pink City, very close to the main concentration of hotels, while state buses from all over Rajasthan and further afield pull in at the more central Inter-state Bus Terminal on Station Road. Arriving from Delhi, you skirt the south side of the city, stopping briefly at an intersection called Narayan Circle, where rickshaw-wallahs frequently board the bus saying it's

Accommodation of Mount Abu in Rajasthan

The steady stream of pilgrims and honeymoon couples ensures that Mount Abu has plenty of hotels. Lots of them offer luxuries for newlyweds in special "couple rooms"; the Samrat International, for example, takes pride in its curtained four- or six-poster beds and deep marble bathtubs, and even boasts swings for two in some rooms. Though in low season you can live in stylish comfort for little more than you might otherwise pay for rock-bottom accommodation, prices rocket in high season (April-June & Nov-Dec), reaching their peak during Diwali (Oct & Nov).We have indicated below where the difference in seasonal rates

Arrival, city transport and information to Ujjain in Western Madhy Pradesh

Trains arriving in Ujjain on both broad-gauge branches of the Western Railway pull-in at the station in the centre of town; Ujjain is on a link line between Indore and Bhopal, with regular intercity trains shunting between the three. Two minutes' walk northeast of the station is the Dewas Gate bus stand, where buses for Gwalior, Agra, Rajasthan and Bhopal depart. The inconvenient P.D.V. Bus Stand, next to the MPTDC Yatri Niwas, serves Indore, Bhopal and Mandu. The city is fairly spread out, so you'll need to get around by auto-rickshaw or by renting a bicycle from the shop opposite

Arrival and information in Himachal Pradesh

State-ran buses from Manali, Mandi, Pathankot, Kangra and Delhi pull into the bus stand in the very south of the lower town, though some continue after a short stop all the way up to McLeod Ganj - the usual arrival point for private and deluxe buses from Delhi and Manali. The nearest point of arrival for trains from Delhi, Punjab and Jammu Tawi is Pathankot - the narrow-gauge train linking Pathankot to Jogindernagar also stops at Kangra and at Nagrota. Dharamsala's airport, 11km to the south at Gaggal, has three Indian Airlines' flights a week to Delhi. The tourist office (Mon-Sat

Keoladeo National Park Practicalities East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

Cycle rickshaws are the main form of transport within the city, but fares for he long haul in and out of town soon mount up, and it makes sense to rent a bicycle, either from your hotel (around Rs35/day) or the shop on NH-11 outside the Spoonbill Restaurant. If you need to change money, head for the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. Binarayan Gate (Mon-Fn 10am-2pm, Sat 10am—noon). Bharatpur's bus stand is in the west of town near Anah Gate, just off NH-11. If you're arriving from Fatehpur Sikri, get off well before, when the bus stops at the crossroads

Arrival and information of the Agra in the Uttar Pradesh

Agra has no less than six railway stations. The busiest is Agra Cantonment (Cantt), in the southwest, which serves Delhi, Gwalior. Jhansi and points south, has a tourist information counter, and is near most hotels. Trains from Rajasthan pull in close to the Jami Masjid at Agra Fort Station, further from the main hub of hotels. Don't be persuaded to get off at Agra City Station, an expensive rickshaw ride away from town. To get to a hotel, use the prepaid auto-rickshaw/taxi booth at Agra Cantonment Station (Rs40/90) or flag down one of the cycle rickshaws (Rs25) that wait in the

Mount Girnar in Gujarat

Rising to a height of over 1100m, Mount Girnar, a steep-sided extinct volcano 4km east of Junagadh, is a major pilgrimage centre for both Jains and Hindus, and has been considered sacred since before the third century BC. Buses leave from Junagadh's local depot hourly, dropping passengers at the mountain base from where five thousand irregular steps lead to the summit. It's best to start the ascent, which takes at least two hours, well before 7am when the scorching sun rises from behind the peak. The path climbs through eucalyptus forests before zig agging across the sheer rock face, and

Arrival and information in Delhi

Delhi is India's main point of arrival for overseas visitors, and has two airports, one domestic and one international. State buses from all over the country pull into the Inter-state Bus Terminal in Old Delhi, while private buses stop in the more central location close to New Delhi railway station. Trains arrive at the railheads in Old or New Delhi, both well connected to Connaught Place, the commercial centre of the city, by rickshaw and taxi. For a summary of the kinds of accommodation available in different areas of the city, which may well determine where you head first, see p.

Pushkar Practicalities East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

Most long-distance journeys to and from Pushkar have to be made via Ajmer. Pushkar does not have a railway station. The Ajmer bus stand in the east of town is served by buses from Ajmer and Jaipur, while travellers from destinations further afield, such as Delhi, Jodhpur and Bikaner, arrive in the north of town at Marwar bus stand, to be besieged by accommodation touts.The lack of rickshaws means that you'll have to walk to your hotel (though there are bicycles for rent right by the Ajmer bus stand, and hand carts for transporting luggage). Pushkar doesn't have a tourist office.

Hindu temples in Rajasthan

Beyond the Brahma Kumaris University, about 3km northeast of town, a flight of more than four hundred steps climbs up to Adhar Devi temple (dedicated to Durga), cut into the rocky hilltop. The milk-coloured water of the Doodh Baori well at the foot of the steps is considered to be a source of pure tnilk (doodh) tor gods and sages. A further 8km northeast, the temple complex at ACHALGARH is dominated by the Achaleshwar Mahadeo temple, believed to have been created when Lord Shiva placed his toe on the spot to still an earthquake. Its sanctuary holds neither an image of

Bikaner Arrival and information in Rajasthan

Rickshaws ply the route between the bus stand, opposite Lalgarh Palace a few kilometres north of the centre, and the south of town, where you'll find the railway station and most hotels. The very helpful tourist office (daily 10am-5pm) is in the RTDC Dhohmaru Hotel at Pooran Singh Circle. For trips around town, use any of the cycle or auto-rickshaws, or rent a bike; you'll find two cycle rental shops outside the post office on Station Road. Travellers' cheques can be changed at the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (Mon-Fri 10am-2.30pm) opposite the entrance to the fort. Booths have

Mount Harriet and Madhuban in The Andaman Islands

The richly forested slopes of Mount Harriet make for decent exercise and can easily be done as a day-trip from Port Blair. You can take one of the hourly passenger ferries from Chatham to Bamboo Flats or, if you want to have your own transport on the other side, there are five daily vehicle ferries from Phoenix Bay. From Bamboo Flats it's a pleasant seven-kilometre stroll east along the coast and north up a path through trees hung with thick vines and creepers to the 365-metre summit, which affords fine views back across the bay. An intermittent bus service runs