The Mt. Abu Chapter

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Places we visited : Delwada temples, Kodra Dam, Gurushikhar, Shabari Van, Trevor Tank, etc.

Duration : 14th to 17th August 2009.

Route : Ahmedabad -> Mehsana -> Palanpur -> Mt. Abu

The major highlights of this trip were
some unexpected revelations,
nail biting mysteries,
life threatening trekking,
humor pills,
incarnation of Dushyant,
never ending 'kaali teree',
exceptional photography flingz and
awesome food.

I'd love to stay here.....



but the deadly mosquitoes forced us to move to......



and for the food.......







Day 1:
Reached Mt. Abu ( hopefully ) ........






and then practiced the best activity of the day...eating :). The delicious food was accompanied by some sound sleep. ( Images unavailable )

The evening was dedicated to Nakki Lake...







Day 2 :

Delwara Temple ( Images unavailable )

Kodra Dam trekking expedition







Gaumukh Point







Shabri Van




Day 3:

Trevor Tank






Gurushikhar




Day 4:

I hate to say this, but someone has to reveal it.
"Instead of going for any damm activity, we left for Ahmedabad because of some workaholic who wanted to fulfill his work commitments. ( Now thats the reason what he gave; god knows what the truth is ;D ...!!! )"


Some Other Regrets:






Any yeah, forgot to mention, besides me, the then Vinay , Kavan and Sagar, Sanath was also a part of the trip :)

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FYI

Mount Abu is the highest peak in the Aravalli Range of Rajasthan state in western India. It is located in Sirohi district. The mountain forms a distinct rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar, at 1722 meters above sea level.

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 (another name for 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.