Travelogues

 Being the only hill station within driving range from Ahmedabad and a weekend off and a new car on hand for the run, there was nothing to do but to pack our bags and spend the weekend in Mount Abu. It was like an opportunity had been handed to us on a platter and all we had to do was take it and that is exactly what we did. It is about 228 Klms away from Ahmedabad and the road is said to be fantastic. We have been to Mount Abu so many times but every time has been an experience better than the last. We have in our earlier days with friends made this trip on Bikes and to recent times also(Refer to the travelogue BIKING TO MOUNT ABU) It being the monsoon season we were extra cautious and started early about 6 in the morning on Saturday as we wanted to avoid any delays or reroutes. In this journey we were accompanied by our family friend and his family which consisted of his son and wife, Kiran Uncle, Jagruti Aunty, Keyur their son & my mom.

We took the route that took us from Kalol, Mehsana, Siddhpur, Palanpur but enroute we decided to take a short 56 klms detour and go visit the famed temple at Ambaji. We stopped at the famous restaurant in Palanpur called WAY WAIT. We all had knickknacks to eat and started on our way. There r 2 ways that comes after Palanpur 1 goes towards the Rajasthan border and the other towards AMBAJI. Take the turn right after passing Palanpur and this road leads to Ambaji. This is a famed temple of the Goddess Ambe Ma also known as Sherawali in the north. The temple is beautiful and we took the blessings and said our prayers and headed towards our destination of Mount Abu. There is a back road from Ambaji that goes to Abu Road; this is the land point and the train head to reach Mount Abu which is 27 Klms from Abu Road. We reached Abu Road mid day and were greeted by the usual rail crossing which we have experienced always closed and this time was no different. Agonizing wait for 20 mins and negotiating traffic from the other side as they would not scratch my new car we reached the slopes which is a climb of 25 klms. Switching off the air conditioner in the car we started to climb. Slow and steady kilometers started to wipe off on the milestones and we reached a temple of Hanumanji which is famed by tales of which people say when 1 asks for something here it comes true and yr wishes r fulfilled, so we stopped here and said our prayers and headed to mount Abu, we reached the check post and paid the entry tax to mount Abu, this is used to upkeep the hill station and pay for the repairing and rebuilding the roads and civil services.

After paying the tax we head to our guest house which was pre arranged by Kiran uncle and we headed directly towards it which I had seen before so we did not need to ask for directions. We reached the guest house and checked into a room which was a suite room and we were informed our lunch was ready and we were very hungry and we hogged like mad the fare was basic Daal – Chawal, Roti - Subji simple but tasty. Came back the room and rested for some time and then decided to go for a picnic. Packed all our picnic gear which we were already carrying from home which consisted of snacks, cold drinks, ice and Orange flavored vodka and headed to this amazing picnic spot named JAWAI VIEW POINT(AKA AAMIR KHAN SPOT in our group) enroute to Gurushikhar the highest point of the Aravali Mountain Range which also houses a Temple and a mountain observatory owned and operated by the Space Department. This picnic spot has some gazebos on the side of the road which are covered and they over look a valley. Knowing it is the monsoon season we predicted that we would meet with dense fog at the picnic spot and we wanted it that way, the moment we reached the spot it was covered in dense fog, the fog was rolling and it kept coming and going which added to the beauty even more. Mom set up shop and started with the snacks and the drinks, this was a pleasurable 3 hours we spent here after listening to music and photos in all poses imaginable we decided to pack up and go to town and spend the evening in and around the Nakki lake. Legend has it that this small lake, virtually in the center of Mount Abu, was scooped out by god using only his nails, or nakh. Some Hindus thus believe it to be a holy lake. The lake is surrounded by hills, parks and strange rock formations. The best known, Toad Rock, looks just like a toad about to hop into 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.  At the cross junction of Nakki lake we decided to go the other way to ANADRA Point which is very famous for its views and the mountains end here and all u can see till yr eye can see is endless landmass also u can see the sun set here every evening if the clouds permit, we were not so lucky as it was the monsoon season and there was heavy cloud cover but we could