Udaipur to Mount Abu Distance: Routes, Time and How to Travel

Mount Abu, the only hill station in all of Rajasthan, is a cool, green and refreshing retreat high in the Aravalli hills, famous above all for its exquisite Dilwara Jain temples and its pretty Nakki Lake and Udaipur, the beautiful City of Lakes, is its nearest major city and natural gateway. The two make a wonderful pairing on a southern Rajasthan trip. This complete guide from Delhi Agra Tour Packages covers the Udaipur to Mount Abu distance, the best routes to take, how long it takes, how to travel and what to see when you arrive, ideal as part of a wider Rajasthan trip within our Delhi Agra Tour Packages.

I was born in Delhi and in more than 11 years planning trips across Rajasthan for Experience My India I have arranged this journey many times. Here is the clear, practical guide.

Udaipur to Mount Abu at a glance

How far is Mount Abu from Udaipur?

The distance from Udaipur to Mount Abu is about 160 to 170 km by road, depending on the exact route and the journey usually takes around 3 to 3.5 hours by car. This makes Udaipur comfortably the nearest major city to Mount Abu and the natural gateway for reaching the hill station, far closer than Jaipur or the other big Rajasthan cities.

The last part of the journey is the memorable climb up to the hill station itself: Mount Abu sits high on a green plateau in the Aravalli hills, at well over a thousand metres, reached by a winding ghat road that snakes up from the town of Abu Road at the base of the mountain. The drive up the hill, through the rocky, forested slopes, is a genuinely pretty one and clearly marks your arrival into the noticeably cooler, fresher air of the only hill station in the whole desert state of Rajasthan. For visitors coming from the warm plains, this change in the air as you climb is one of the real pleasures of the trip.

Routes from Udaipur to Mount Abu

There are a few road routes between Udaipur and Mount Abu, all of a broadly similar distance and driving time and all finishing with the climb up to the hill station:

• Via NH 27 (the main route): the usual and most popular route runs south-west from Udaipur along National Highway 27 towards the town of Abu Road, a distance of about 165 km and then up the winding ghat road to Mount Abu. This is the main, most direct and most straightforward route for the journey.

• Via NH 27 and the Abu Road to Mount Abu road: a very similar route follows NH 27 and then the Abu Road to Mount Abu ghat road, a distance of about 172 km.

• Via SH 32, NH 27 and the ghat road: another option combines State Highway 32 with NH 27 and the ghat road, a distance of about 162 km.

All these routes are of a broadly similar length and time, around 3 to 3.5 hours and all finish with the same winding climb up the ghat road from Abu Road to Mount Abu itself. Your driver will simply take whichever one is clearest and best on the day of travel.

How to travel from Udaipur to Mount Abu

You can travel from Udaipur to Mount Abu by road all the way or by train to the base of the hill and then up by road, with each option having its own advantages. Here is how they compare:

• By car or taxi: the most flexible and comfortable way by far, taking around 3 to 3.5 hours and the usual choice for visitors, especially those on a wider Rajasthan trip. A private car and an experienced driver takes you smoothly all the way from Udaipur up the ghat road to Mount Abu, door to door.

• By train: trains run to Abu Road, the railway station at the base of the hill, about 28 km below Mount Abu itself. From Abu Road, you then take a taxi or a local bus for the short but winding climb up the ghat road to the hill station at the top, a transfer of around 45 minutes to an hour.

• By bus: both state-run and private buses connect Udaipur with Mount Abu and Abu Road throughout the day, a reliable and budget-friendly option, though a private car is considerably more comfortable and convenient for the winding hill journey.

For most travellers, especially those exploring Udaipur and southern Rajasthan, going by road with a private car and driver is the easiest and most comfortable way, taking you door to door up into the hills.

How long does it take?

By road, the Udaipur to Mount Abu journey takes around 3 to 3.5 hours, including the final winding climb up the ghat road to the hill station, not counting any stops you make along the way for tea or a meal. By train to Abu Road, the time depends on the particular service you take, plus the short onward road transfer up the hill of around 45 minutes to an hour from the station at the base.

It is an easy half-day journey in either case, so you can comfortably leave Udaipur after breakfast and arrive in Mount Abu in good time for lunch and a full afternoon of sightseeing or make it a more relaxed drive with a stop or two along the way. Because it is such a manageable distance, it fits neatly into a wider southern Rajasthan itinerary without eating up a whole day of travel.

What to see in Mount Abu

Mount Abu is a delightful hill station, cool and green, with a number of wonderful sights that make the journey well worth it:

• The Dilwara Jain Temples: the great highlight of Mount Abu, a group of five exquisite Jain temples renowned the world over for their astonishingly intricate and delicate white-marble carving, so fine it is almost translucent, among the very finest anywhere and an important and much-loved place of Jain pilgrimage. Please note that these are active religious sites, so modest dress is required and photography is not permitted inside the temples.

• Nakki Lake: the pretty, picturesque lake set right at the heart of the town, ringed by hills, lovely for a gentle boat ride on its calm waters and for an evening stroll along its shores among the local crowds.

• Sunset Point: a famous and much-loved viewpoint for watching the sun set gloriously over the surrounding hills and plains, a popular and atmospheric evening gathering spot.

• Guru Shikhar: the highest peak in the entire Aravalli range, with sweeping panoramic views across the hills, a short and scenic drive from the town centre.

• Achalgarh Fort and Toad Rock: the historic old hilltop Achalgarh Fort, with its ancient temples and the curiously shaped Toad Rock overlooking Nakki Lake, among the many other sights scattered around the hill station.

• Brahma Kumaris: Mount Abu is also the global headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris spiritual organisation, which draws visitors and students from all around the world for its courses and its peaceful setting.

Together, these varied sights make Mount Abu a refreshing, relaxing and genuinely rewarding retreat, cool and green and quite different in character and mood from the grand forts, palaces and desert cities of the hot Rajasthan plains below. It is this contrast, as much as any single sight, that makes the trip up from Udaipur so worthwhile.

Udaipur, the gateway city

Udaipur, your starting point, is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in all of India, the celebrated City of Lakes, famous for its shimmering Lake Pichola, the vast and magnificent City Palace, the Jag Mandir and Lake Palace island palaces and its graceful lakeside havelis and gardens. It is very well worth spending a couple of relaxed days in Udaipur itself, before or after your trip up to Mount Abu, to enjoy its lakes, its palaces, its bustling old bazaars and its famously beautiful sunsets over the water.

Udaipur also makes a wonderful base for exploring the whole of southern Rajasthan, which, besides Mount Abu, includes the great temple town of Nathdwara, home of the beloved Shrinathji temple and the mighty hilltop fort of Chittorgarh, as our Jaipur to Nathdwara distance guide covers that pilgrimage town, which lies close to Udaipur and makes an easy add-on to a trip in the region.

Combining Mount Abu with a Rajasthan trip

Mount Abu and Udaipur are often combined into a wider Rajasthan trip, which can also take in the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, as our Golden Triangle with Udaipur guide shows how the City of Lakes extends the classic circuit.

If you are instead starting your journey from Jaipur, the trip to Mount Abu is very much longer, a full day's drive across the state, as our Jaipur to Mount Abu distance guide explains in detail, which is exactly why Udaipur, being so much closer at just a few hours away, is by far the natural and most sensible gateway to the hill station. A good plan is to travel down through Rajasthan to Udaipur and then make the short, easy hop up to Mount Abu from there. Our Golden Triangle tour can be extended with Udaipur and Mount Abu to make a fuller and more varied Rajasthan journey.

Best time to travel to Mount Abu

As a hill station, Mount Abu is pleasant to visit for much of the year, which is part of its special appeal in a state known for its heat. It is especially popular in the summer, from April to June, when travellers and families come up in large numbers from the hot Rajasthan plains to enjoy its cool, fresh air, making it one of the very few genuine summer destinations in the whole state and lively with holidaymakers. The cool season, from October to March, is also lovely and comfortable for both the drive up and the sightseeing, while the monsoon, from July to September, brings welcome rain that turns the surrounding hills beautifully lush and green. Our best time to visit North India guide covers the seasons more widely across the region.

Whatever the season, the drive up the ghat road is a pretty one, so set off from Udaipur in good time to enjoy the journey and arrive with the day ahead of you.

Plan your trip with us

A Udaipur to Mount Abu journey, as part of a wider Rajasthan trip, is easiest and most enjoyable when the travel, the car and driver and the sightseeing are all arranged for you. That is what we do, a comfortable private car and an experienced driver for the hill journey, a knowledgeable guide and the whole trip, through Udaipur, Mount Abu and beyond, planned around you.

Tell us your dates and group size and we will price it honestly around your standard rather than a fixed figure. Message us on WhatsApp and Experience My India will build it for you. You can combine it with the classic circuit on our Golden Triangle tours.

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