Wildlife in Rajasthan - Mount Abu Sanctuary
The sanctuary located in Mount Abu was declared as a protected area in the year 1960 and ever since then this sanctuary which is spread over the gorgeous Aravalli range of mountains has been attracting not only domestic tourists but also tourists from overseas. Mount Abu is Rajasthan's only hill station and in the days of yore it used to be the summer retreat of Rajasthan's royalty.
Rajasthan Tourism department in recent times have been making rapid strides as far as Eco-Tourism is concerned. It was being increasingly felt that the desert destinations of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur etc. .. were oversold in the international tourist market. In a bid to diversify its tourism game plan, the Mount Abu sanctuary together with Mount Abu have been strategically highlighted as an irresistible Eco-Tourism circuit and needless to say, the response has been tremendous.
The sanctuary is a biodiversity hot spot and has a rich variety of flora and fauna. Some of the resident animal species include Langoor, Hyena, Indian Civet, Wild Boar, Pangolin, Sambhar, Jungle Cat, Porcupine and Hedge hog to name just a few. In the past the sanctuary also was inhabited by lions and tigers which have now vanished. The lions in particular have moved to Gir Sanctuary in neighboring Gujrat.
Apart from rich wildlife species that can be found, the sanctuary is also rich in floral biodiversity with 112 varieties of plants. Add to it the fact that some of the finest varieties of Orchids too are found at the Mount Abu Sanctuary. Also available are herbal and medicinal plants.
The best part of visiting Mount Abu Sanctuary is that, one can experience both nature based tourism as well as pilgrim tourism at one go. Mount Abu has a plethora of temples, particularly Jain temples like Vimal Basahi, Luna Basahi and of course the magnificent Dilwara temple. Mount Abu is also a renowned place of pilgrimage for the Hindu's with temples of Achaleshwar, Adharadevi, Raghunathji and Madhuvan to name just a few.
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