What luxury means on the mountain
The British lease: in the nineteenth century the British leased the plateau from the Maharao of Sirohi, and Abu became the summer headquarters of the officials who managed the Rajputana states.
The princes followed: Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Jodhpur and other states built summer residences on the hill, and in the hot months Abu became a gathering of maharajas, officials and their households.
Country houses, not palaces of state: stone bungalows with verandas, lawns, rose gardens, billiard rooms and views over the forest.
- Style
- Princely summer houses
- Built for
- Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Jodhpur and others
- Expect
- Gardens, history, personal service
- Don't expect
- A five-star resort
- Stay
- At least two nights
- Now hotels: several of those houses take guests, and they are the reason we can offer princely stays in a hill station at all.
- What they have: real history, real gardens and a calm you will not find on the lake road.
- The quirks of old houses: rooms that vary from grand to modest, plumbing that sometimes sulks, and service that is warm and personal rather than polished.
- Set expectations: come expecting a five-star resort and you may be disappointed. Come expecting a well-loved family house in the hills and you will be delighted.
- The modern hotels: many were built for the crowds of summer and the holidays. Some are comfortable, but few offer the space, quiet and grounds our guests look for.
- This page: it focuses on the houses we know well and use often.
- Read more: our main Mount Abu guide tells the wider story, and our palace stays in Mount Abu page compares the houses in detail.
How to choose where to stay
By the lake, for views and walks
The gain: hotels on the hills above Nakki Lake give you the best views and the dawn walk on your doorstep.
- The trade-off: noise and traffic on the lake road on busy weekends and in the holidays.
- Our advice: choose a house set well above the road, with its own approach.
Towards Dilwara, for quiet and gardens
The setting: the wooded slopes along the Dilwara road are quieter and greener.
- The grounds: some of the old houses there sit in large, shaded gardens.
- The bonus: a short drive from the lake and very close to the temples, which makes an unhurried visit easy.
Near the polo ground and the old hill station
- The area: around the polo ground and Rajendra Marg, several colonial bungalows and princely houses lie within walking distance of the main street.
- Who it suits: travellers who like to stroll into town in the evening without a car.
By style, heritage or modern
Heritage: if atmosphere, gardens and history matter most, choose a princely house.
- Modern: if you need a lift, a large modern bathroom or a big family suite, a modern hotel may suit better.
- Honest advice: we will tell you which ones are worth it in the season you travel.
The princely summer houses
- Bikaner House
- Maharajas of Bikaner, near Dilwara road
- Jaipur House
- Jaipur royal family, above the lake
- Kishangarh House
- Built 1894, near the polo ground
- Connaught House
- Colonial bungalow, Rajendra Marg
Palace Hotel, Bikaner House
The history: built as the summer residence of the Maharajas of Bikaner.
The setting: a stone house in wooded grounds near the Dilwara road, with lawns, old trees and the air of a gentleman's country house.
- Inside: the public rooms keep their old-fashioned furniture and portraits.
- The grounds: large enough for a long morning walk without leaving the gate.
- Who it suits: lovers of history, gardens and quiet, and families who want lawns for children to play on.
- The room to ask for: rooms vary, as in every old house, so we ask for one in the main building with a view over the gardens.
Jaipur House
The history: the former summer palace of the Jaipur royal family.
The view: on a hill above Nakki Lake, its terraces have one of the best views in town, down over the water and the town to the hills beyond.
- Sunset: with a drink in hand and the lake turning gold below, one of the small, perfect pleasures of a Rajasthan journey.
- Who it suits: couples and anyone who values a view above all.
- Convenient: close to the lake for the dawn walk and the evening stroll.
Kishangarh House
The history: built in 1894 and first called Victoria House, the summer retreat of the Maharajas of Kishangarh, the small Rathore state famous for its painters.
- The setting: a terraced plateau in shaded grounds of more than five acres, within walking distance of the main street and the polo ground.
- The feel: family-run, with only a small number of rooms and cottages, which makes it intimate and home-like.
- Who it suits: travellers who want calm, character and a garden to read in.
Connaught House
The history: a colonial bungalow connected with the old Jodhpur state.
The setting: on Rajendra Marg, in gardens full of flowers, with the steep roofs and verandas of an English hill-station house.
- Today: part of the WelcomHeritage group, with a library and a lawn where tea is served in the afternoon.
- The feel: smaller and quieter than the grand houses, deeply peaceful and old-world.
- Who it suits: couples, readers and anyone who wants to feel they have stepped into a novel of the Raj.
The old club and the modern hotels
Cama Rajputana Club Resort
The history: near Nakki Lake, it grew out of the old Rajputana Club, where officials and princes met in the summer season.
The buildings: a mix of British and Rajput styles.
- More resort than house: larger grounds and a wider range of facilities than the princely houses.
- Who it suits: families and groups who want a bit of history with more space and activity.
- We choose rooms carefully: the property has rooms of different ages and styles.
Modern hotels in town
The range: from simple places on the lake road to comfortable, contemporary properties with restaurants, lifts and family suites.
- Standards: they vary widely, and many fill with holiday crowds and wedding parties in the busy months.
- When modern is better: for step-free access, modern bathrooms or several connecting rooms.
- Our pick: we recommend one we have inspected recently.
What we avoid
The busiest stretch of the lake road: traffic and loudspeakers can run late on holiday evenings.
- Wedding-lawn hotels: those that rely on large wedding lawns in the season.
- Rooms we have not seen: in Abu, two rooms in the same hotel can be very different.
A day in a princely summer house
A stay in one of Abu's old houses has a rhythm our grandparents would recognise. In winter you go to bed under a heavy quilt, and the only sounds at night are the wind in the trees and, sometimes, the distant cough of a leopard.
Early, slow mornings: tea on a veranda while the mist lifts off the trees.
- Breakfast: in a dining room hung with portraits of the family who built the house.
- The morning out: to Dilwara, the lake or the high ground.
- Back for lunch: in the garden, then a long rest through the warm middle of the day.
- The lawns at dusk: children play cricket, grandparents sit in cane chairs, and someone always suggests a walk to the edge of the grounds to watch the light go.
- Evening: as the air cools, a fire is lit, and dinner is served late and unhurried.
- In winter: ask for a hot water bottle.
- What it needs: not a spa or a cocktail bar, but a good house, a good room and time.
Heritage or modern, and what each gives you
What the princely houses give: a sense of the hill station as it was, gardens planted a century ago, high ceilings, fireplaces, portraits and silence.
Their days: mornings begin with birdsong and tea on a veranda, and evenings end by a fire.
Their service: personal, sometimes a little slow, always kind.
- Heritage gives
- History, gardens, fireplaces, silence
- Heritage lacks
- Uniform rooms, strong Wi-Fi
- Modern gives
- Consistency, lifts, room service
- Modern lacks
- Space and soul
- Our advice
- At least one night in a princely house
- Their rooms: large or small, bright or dim, with bathrooms from generous to compact.
- Signal: Wi-Fi and phone signals can be patchy among the thick walls and trees.
- What modern hotels give: predictable rooms, modern bathrooms, lifts, room service and often a gym or a play area for children.
- What they lack: usually space and soul, and in the busy months they can feel crowded.
- Our recommendation: a princely house for at least one night, and often for the whole stay.
- Across Rajasthan: our heritage havelis and palace hotels pages explain the wider difference.
Rooms, requests and small things worth asking for
Original house or later wing: original rooms usually have more character, and newer ones often have better bathrooms.
The outlook: ask for a room facing the garden or the view rather than the drive or the road.
- Heating, December to February: nights are cold, and old houses with high ceilings can be chilly. Most will provide heaters and extra blankets.
- A covered veranda in the monsoon: so you can sit outside and watch the rain.
- The kitchen: ask for a Rajasthani or Gujarati meal, or a family recipe from the old owners, rather than the standard menu. Our Rajasthani food guide explains what to ask for.
- Steps: with older relatives, ask about them. Several houses are built on slopes, with terraces and stairs between buildings.
- The Guru Shikhar morning: ask for early tea and a packed breakfast, so you reach the summit before the haze.
Which house suits which traveller
Couples and honeymooners
Where: Jaipur House for sunset over the lake, or Connaught House for a small, quiet bungalow and a garden of your own.
- Why: out of the summer rush, quiet walks, tea on a veranda and an evening by the fire are very romantic.
- Pair it: our Rajasthan honeymoons page shows how Abu pairs with Udaipur.
Families with children
Where: a house with big lawns, such as Bikaner House or Kishangarh House, or the Cama Rajputana Club Resort for more space and activity.
- Why: children love running on the grass in the cool air after days in the hot cities.
- More: our page on travelling with children.
Walkers and birders
- Where: a house towards the Dilwara road or on the edge of the forest.
- Why: the birdsong starts at first light, and the walk to Trevor's Tank or the forest edge is short.
Lovers of history and art
- Where: any of the princely houses, for three nights.
- How: one morning at Dilwara with a good guide, one at Achalgarh, and one afternoon reading in the garden of a house a maharaja built for his summers.
What money buys here, and what it can't
The best room in the best house: the first thing a higher budget buys.
A car and driver: who wait at every stop.
- Expert guides: one at Dilwara who can read the carving like a book, and a naturalist for the forest at dawn.
- Private dinners: on a lawn by a fire.
- Timing: the freedom to come midweek in the quiet months, and to be at Guru Shikhar before the crowds.
- What it can't buy: a palace on the scale of Jaipur or Udaipur, because there isn't one on the mountain.
- Nor an empty holiday weekend: everyone queues for Dilwara at the same hours and shares the narrow lake road.
- Budgets: our page on what a luxury Rajasthan journey costs explains how we balance them across a trip.
Grand hotels on either side of Abu
Udaipur's palaces
The distance: about three and a half to four hours away.
- Some of India's finest hotels: the Taj Lake Palace floating on Lake Pichola, The Oberoi Udaivilas on its shore and The Leela Palace Udaipur.
- How guests use it: many spend three nights there before or after Abu.
Leopard country at Jawai
The distance: about two and a half hours away.
- The camp: SUJAN JAWAI is a luxury tented camp among granite hills where leopards live alongside Rabari herders.
- Why pair it: one of the finest wilderness stays in India, and it pairs beautifully with Abu.
A rawla near Ranakpur
Where: on the road north towards Ranakpur.
- The house: Rawla Narlai, a former hunting lodge of the Jodhpur family below a great granite hill, with dinners at a lamp-lit stepwell.
- When: a lovely stop between Abu and Jodhpur or Udaipur.
Dining in the old houses
Family recipes: ask in advance and the kitchens can cook the dishes of the families who built the houses.
What that means: slow-cooked dals, Rajput meat dishes, game-style curries made today with mutton or chicken, and simple, perfect rotis from the tava.
- Vegetarian and Jain: on the Gujarat border and with many Jain pilgrims, the kitchens are skilled at vegetarian food and at cooking without onion and garlic.
- Tell them on arrival: share your preferences and they will plan around you.
- At least one Rajasthani dinner: rather than the continental menu, served outside by a fire on a cold night.
- In town: the vegetarian thali restaurants are cheerful and generous, and roasted corn by the lake is part of the ritual of an Abu evening.
- The traditions: our page on food and royal kitchens explains them.
Getting to your hotel on the mountain
From Udaipur: about three and a half to four hours, and Udaipur's airport is the nearest with good connections.
Abu Road station: at the foot of the mountain, about 28 kilometres from town, on the main line between Ahmedabad and Jaipur and Delhi. The drive up takes around 45 minutes.
- From Udaipur
- About 3.5 to 4 hours
- Nearest airport
- Udaipur
- Abu Road station
- About 28 km, 45 minutes
- From Ahmedabad
- About 4 to 5 hours
- From Ahmedabad: allow about four to five hours, which makes Abu a natural first or last night of a journey through Gujarat.
- Daylight arrivals: the ghat road is narrow and busy, and the views as you climb are part of the pleasure.
- Steep drives and stairs: some houses sit up steep private drives, and a few have stairs between buildings. Tell us about mobility needs and we will choose accordingly.
- Transfers: our guide to getting around Rajasthan explains how we plan them.
When to book, and the name on the map
The busiest times: May and June, Diwali and the week between Christmas and New Year, with families from Gujarat and the plains filling every room.
For those dates: book several months ahead and expect minimum stays and higher rates.
- Busiest
- May, June, Diwali, Christmas to New Year
- Book peak
- Several months ahead
- Calmer
- October, November, February, March
- Quietest
- The monsoon
- October, November, February and March: calmer, but the best rooms in the small houses still go early.
- In the monsoon: you may have a house almost to yourself.
- The new name: in 2026 the Rajasthan government announced that Mount Abu would be renamed Abu Raj, a change it described as honouring the place's traditional name.
- On your booking: you may see either name on bookings, maps and signs for some time while records are updated, and most people still simply say Abu.
- The seasons: our guide to the best time to visit Mount Abu explains them.
How we usually plan it
Arrival: from Udaipur or Jawai in time for a late lunch at your house, a rest, and a walk down to the lake at dusk.
First full day: the lake at dawn, Toad Rock, and Dilwara with a guide in the visiting hours, then tea or a drink on a terrace for the sunset.
- Second day: Guru Shikhar and Achalgarh early, a rest after lunch, and a naturalist in the late afternoon, ending at Trevor's Tank as the light goes.
- A third night: do nothing at all, which is the oldest hill-station tradition.
- Moving on: down the mountain into Gujarat on our Mount Abu and Gujarat journey, or north to Ranakpur and Jodhpur.
- Plan the days: our Mount Abu itinerary gives one- to four-day versions, and things to do in Mount Abu lists everything worth your time.
