Mount Abu is the only hill station in Rajasthan, and from Udaipur it is close enough to be a weekend and far enough to feel like a change of state. The Udaipur to Mount Abu road trip takes you out of the lake city, along a fast highway through the western Aravalli, and then up a 27 km climb into a landscape of granite boulders, cool air and a lake that looks nothing like Pichola.
This guide is for anyone asking how can plan my Itinerary for Udaipur and Mt. Abu Tour in 2026. It covers the Udaipur to Mount Abu distance and the best route, what the NH27 Udaipur Mount Abu highway is actually like to drive, where to stop, what to see once you are up, what the trip costs, and when a taxi service in Udaipur makes more sense than driving yourself. It closes with how Parth Car Rental handles the route in both formats.
Udaipur to Mount Abu Distance and Driving Time
By the most direct road, the Udaipur to Mount Abu distance is roughly 160 to 165 km. Driving time in normal conditions is between three and three and a half hours, which breaks down as around two hours of highway from Udaipur to the Abu Road turn-off, and around an hour for the climb up the ghat to the town.
That figure assumes a morning start. Leave after ten and the truck traffic through Pindwara and the tourist traffic on the ghat both slow things down. Leave at seven and you can be having a late breakfast at Nakki Lake.
Udaipur to Mount Abu Route: The Best Way to Go
There are two realistic routes, and one of them is clearly better for most drivers.
Route 1: Via NH27 through Gogunda and Pindwara (recommended)
This is the standard Udaipur to Mount Abu route and the one to use unless you have a reason not to. Leave Udaipur west on the Gogunda road, which becomes the NH27 Udaipur Mount Abu corridor. The highway is four-lane and well surfaced for most of its length, passing Gogunda, crossing the Aravalli through a short ghat section, and continuing through Sirohi district to Pindwara.
At Pindwara, turn off the highway towards Abu Road town. From Abu Road the climb begins: 27 km of well-maintained hill road with wide curves, a toll gate at the base and a Mount Abu entry point near the top. The whole run is about 163 km.
Route 2: Via Kherwara and Ambaji (longer, more scenic)
If you want to make a loop of it, you can drive south on NH-48 towards Kherwara, then cut west through the Gujarat border region past the Ambaji temple, and approach Abu Road from the south. This adds around 25 to 30 km and an hour, and the roads are narrower, but it lets you visit Ambaji and return via NH27 so you see two different landscapes. Better as the return leg than the outward one.
Self-Drive Udaipur Mount Abu: What the Road Is Really Like
For anyone considering self-drive Udaipur Mount Abu, here is the honest picture section by section.
Udaipur to Gogunda is fast and easy, with a short climb through the hills just past the city that gives you the first proper Aravalli views. Gogunda to Pindwara is flat, straight and full of trucks moving between Gujarat and northern Rajasthan. Keep to the right lane only to overtake and expect slow-moving tractors near villages.
Pindwara to Abu Road is a shorter state road with more local traffic and a couple of railway crossings. Then the ghat. The climb from Abu Road to Mount Abu is one of the better-built hill roads in the state: two lanes, decent barriers, good tar and switchbacks that are wide enough for buses. Use low gears on the way down rather than riding the brakes, keep to your side on the blind bends and watch for langurs on the road near the top.
In monsoon, between July and September, the ghat can have low cloud and the occasional rockfall warning. In December and January, early morning mist sits on the highway around Gogunda. Neither is a reason not to go, both are reasons to drive slower than the limit.
Best Time for a Udaipur to Mount Abu Road Trip
Mount Abu is a summer refuge for Rajasthan, so April to June is its busiest season, when the hill sits ten degrees cooler than the plains. The road is dry and fast, but the town is crowded and hotel rates peak.
October to March is the best driving season. The highway is clear, the ghat is dry and mornings on the hill drop close to freezing in December and January, which is a novelty for anyone coming from Udaipur. Carry warm layers.
July to September is the green season. The climb from Abu Road passes through cloud, Nakki Lake fills, and the granite outcrops run with small waterfalls. It is the most beautiful time to drive the route and the one that needs the most care on the ghat.
How Can Plan My Itinerary for Udaipur and Mt. Abu Tour
The question we hear most is how to fit both cities into a short trip. Here is a three day shape that works, followed by a two day version for anyone tighter on time.
Three day itinerary
Day one: Udaipur. City Palace in the morning, a Pichola boat ride in the afternoon and sunset at Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace. Stay in Udaipur.
Day two: Drive Udaipur to Mount Abu by car in the morning, leaving by seven. Reach by half past ten, check in, and spend the afternoon at Nakki Lake and the Toad Rock viewpoint. Catch sunset from Sunset Point. Stay in Mount Abu.
Day three: Dilwara Temples first thing when they open, then Guru Shikhar, the highest point in the Aravalli, and Achalgarh Fort on the way back down. Drive back to Udaipur in the late afternoon, or continue on to Jodhpur or Ahmedabad if that is your onward route.
Two day itinerary
Leave Udaipur at six on day one, be at Dilwara by half past nine, see the temples and Guru Shikhar before lunch, spend the afternoon at Nakki Lake and stay overnight. On day two, do Sunset Point in reverse as a sunrise walk, visit Achalgarh, and drive back to Udaipur by early afternoon. It is a full two days but it covers the essentials.
What to See in Mount Abu
• Dilwara Temples: Jain temples from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries with marble carving that has to be seen in person to be believed. Open to visitors from noon, though timings vary by season, so check ahead. No photography inside.
• Nakki Lake: The centre of town, with boating, a promenade and cafes. Best in the early morning before the crowd arrives.
• Guru Shikhar: 15 km from town, the highest point in Rajasthan at 1,722 metres. A short climb from the parking area to the temple at the summit.
• Sunset Point: A ten minute walk from the main bazaar. Busy, but the view west over the plains is the reason Mount Abu exists as a resort.
• Achalgarh Fort and the Achaleshwar temple: 11 km from town, an old Parmara fort with a Shiva temple that is quieter than anything else on the hill.
• Toad Rock and the Honeymoon Point walks: Short scrambles over granite with views back across the lake.
• Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary: The forest that surrounds the town, with a trekking trail network and a chance of sloth bear sightings at dawn.
A Quick History of Mount Abu Worth Knowing Before You Go
The hill has been a pilgrimage site far longer than it has been a resort. The Dilwara temples were built by Jain ministers of the Solanki rulers of Gujarat between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, and the marble was hauled up the hill on elephant back before any road existed. Achalgarh was fortified by the Parmara dynasty and later rebuilt by Rana Kumbha of Mewar, the same ruler responsible for Kumbhalgarh. The British made it the summer headquarters of the Rajputana Agency in the nineteenth century, which is where the lake promenade, the polo ground and the colonial guesthouses come from.
Knowing that much turns the drive up the ghat from a scenic climb into a route that a lot of people, from Jain merchants to British residents to Rajput princes, have made before you.
Stops on the Way
Gogunda is a good chai stop 40 km out, and the hill section just before it has a couple of viewpoints worth a photograph. Pindwara has clean highway dhabas for lunch if you are running late. If you are taking the Ambaji route home, the temple town is worth an hour and has good Gujarati thali. Abu Road itself is a railway town with little to see, but it has the last big fuel pumps before the climb, so fill up there.
Where to Stay in Mount Abu
The hotels around Nakki Lake put you in the centre of everything and within a walk of Sunset Point. The properties on the Dilwara road are quieter and closer to the temples and Guru Shikhar. Old colonial-era guesthouses along the ridge have the best views and the coldest rooms in winter. For a self-drive trip, check that the hotel has parking; the lakeside lanes are as tight as anything in Udaipur.
What to Pack for the Drive
• Warm layers between November and February, since mornings on the hill are cold
• A rain layer and a small torch in monsoon
• FASTag topped up, plus cash for the ghat toll and the Mount Abu entry
• Water and snacks for the Pindwara stretch, where good stops are spaced out
• A printed or offline map, as signal drops on the ghat
• Motion sickness tablets for anyone who struggles with switchbacks
Safe Driving Tips for the Abu Road Ghat
• Start the climb with at least half a tank; there is no fuel on the ghat and the pumps in Mount Abu are small.
• Use second and third gear on the descent and let the engine hold the speed. Brakes that are ridden for 27 km fade.
• Stay on your side through every blind bend. Buses and tourist tempo travellers cut corners on the way down.
• Sound the horn briefly before hairpins; it is expected here and the locals do it.
• Keep dipped headlights on in cloud or after dusk. High beam reflects off the mist.
• Watch for langurs and the occasional cow on the upper section. Neither moves for a horn.
• Do not stop on the carriageway for photographs. Use the marked pull-outs, of which there are several with good views.
Mistakes to Avoid on the Udaipur to Mount Abu Route
The most common is leaving Udaipur after breakfast and hitting Pindwara at the same time as the trucks, then reaching the ghat as the day-trip buses climb it. The second is arriving at Dilwara before noon and finding it closed to non-worshippers. The third is booking a lakeside hotel without parking and spending the first hour on the hill circling for a space. The fourth is under-dressing for a December morning at Guru Shikhar, where the wind at the summit is very different from the plains three hours earlier. The fifth is trying to squeeze the Ambaji loop into the outward leg, which turns a relaxed morning drive into a long afternoon on narrow roads.
Self-Drive or a Driver for This Route?
Self-drive suits this trip well. The highway is straightforward, the ghat is well built, and having your own car means you can stop at Guru Shikhar at your own pace and detour to Achalgarh without negotiating.
A driver makes more sense if you are travelling with elderly parents or small children, if you are planning the Ambaji loop and do not want to navigate the narrower border roads, or if you would rather sleep on the way back after a long day on the hill. Booking a taxi service in Udaipur for a two day outstation trip is usually priced as a round-trip package with the driver's stay included, and for a group of four it often works out close to the cost of a self-drive SUV once fuel and tolls are added.
Planning It With Parth Car Rental
Parth Car Rental operates from Chittor Road in Udaipur and runs the Mount Abu route regularly in both formats. For self-drive there are sedans and SUVs suited to the highway and the ghat, with enough boot space for a weekend's luggage. For those who want a driver, there are outstation cabs, SUVs and tempo travellers for larger groups, with
round-trip packages that include the driver's overnight stay, tolls and the Mount Abu entry charges quoted upfront.
For this route specifically, the useful part is knowing the timing: which hours the Pindwara stretch is heaviest with trucks, when the ghat is likely to be in cloud, and how early to leave to reach Dilwara for opening. Vehicles are handed over clean and fuelled, rates are stated in full before you leave, and support runs round the clock if anything comes up between Udaipur and the hill.
Conclusion
The Udaipur to Mount Abu road trip is the easiest hill escape from the lake city, and in 2026 the road has never been better. Leave early, take NH27 through Gogunda, respect the ghat, and give the hill two nights if you can so Dilwara and Guru Shikhar are not rushed. Whether you want a self-drive SUV for the freedom of stopping where you like or the best taxi service in Udaipur so someone else handles the trucks and the switchbacks,
Parth Car Rental can put the right vehicle on the route for your dates. Call or message Parth Car Rental to confirm your itinerary and rate before you travel.