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The views over the
plains from the hilltops around Mount Abu town are a revelation. Down in the
market area, you gain little sense of the wonderfully wild landscape enfolding
the town, but head for a few minutes up one of the many trails threading through
the rocks and undergrowth around the sides of the plateau, and it is easy to see
why the area has inspired sages, saints and pilgrims for centuries.
In recent decades, the forest has been decimated by woodcutters, but a recently
imposed, and strictly enforced, ban on wood gathering seems to be heralding a
recovery. Abu's other environmental menace is the lantana plant. Introduced by
the maharaja of Alwar early in the last century, this fragrant flowering weed
has invaded most of the slopes, squeezing out many of the eighteen highly prized
medicinal herbs listed as growing here in ancient Hindu scriptures. A standard
way to occupy school-kids from the town is to dispatch them into the hills on
lantana weeding detail.
Also under pressure from the changing forest ecology have been fragile
populations of bear and leopard. However, sightings of both are still not
uncommon and you should take great care while trekking not to disturb any
encountered along the trails.
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Bears, in
particular, can be dangerous if surprised, or when with young. A couple of years
back, two unwary French tourists were mauled during an evening scramble around
the rocks above Nakki Lake. Menstruating women are especially at risk.
Most of the mountain peaks and rock outcrops visible from the town are
accessible on foot, but finding the trails to them amid the undergrowth can be
very difficult, particularly after the monsoons. The best way to enjoy the
mountains, therefore, is to sign up for one of the free walking tours organized
by Lalit Kanojia at the Shree Ganesh Hotel (phone 02974/43591 or 37292, s_ganesh@datainfosys.net
), a nature enthusiast and keen trekker who leads small groups of tourists to
Abu's more remote hilltops and hidden lakes.
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