The Delights of Mount Abu
Mount Abu is the only hill station of Rajasthan, the land of sand. Situated at a height of 1220 m, it spreads into a plateau. It is a heaven for tourists on Indian visa.
Indian visa holders will see that it is home to a number of spectacular Jain temples, the main being Dilwara Temples. A mesh of complex temples carved out of pristine white marble set in midst of highly forested hills. It was built somewhere in the middle of 11th to 13th centuries AD by Chalukya. Among these temples Indian visa holders can visit the most ancient - the Vimal Vashi Temple dedicated to Jain Tirthankaras. It has a standalone temple set in an open courtyard flanked by a rich detailed corridor with miniature Tirthankara idols. Indian visa holders can see Luna Vashi Temple - another one of the Dilwara Temples, built by two brothers from the Porwal community called Vastupal and Tejpal. There is the Rang Mandap with a dome with a hanging pendant. The other three temples namely the Pithalhar Temple, Khartar Vasahi Temple and Mahavir Swami Temple are smaller in size but just as spectacular.
Next in the list of Indian visa holders should be the Achalgarh Fort, which is about 11 km north wards. Originally constructed by kings of Paramara Dynasty, it was later renovated by the great Maharana Kumbha. It encloses many beautiful Jain temples including the famous Kantinath Temple and the Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple.
Indian visa holders will find the Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary nestled in the arms of the oldest mountain ranges of India to be another beautiful spot. It is home to an exotic variety of flora and fauna. Mount Abu is rich in its floral biodiversity and has everything ranging from sub tropical evergreen forests to xenomorphic thorn forests. India visa holders can even see a variety of orchids - the only place in Rajasthan to have. It has also been reported because of presence of rare species of wild roses, algae and bryophytes. In the fauna category there are many rare and threatened species of wild animals. Indian visa holders can expect to see leopard, jungle cat, sambhar, small Indian Civet, hyaena, jackal and wolf. The sanctuary also has pangoline, hedgehog and porcupines. Indian visa holders who are bird lovers are also in for a treat, since the place has more than 250 species of birds among which the grey jungle fowl is the most popular.
Indian visa holders can visit many of the Jain temples. One of the most popular is the Adhar Devi Temple, carved of solid rock. Others include Shri Raghunathji Temple, Ambika Mata Temple etc.
Then offcourse Indian visa holders can go to the Nakki Talao. It is considered to be a very sacred one as per Hindu mythology. The lake has the famous Toad rock atop a hill in its vicinity. It is so named because It resembles a toad which is about to jump in the lake. Maharaja Jaipur Palace and Raghunath temple are also located in hills flanking the lake. India visa holders can boat in the lake or ride in horses to feel the old world charm associated with the place.