About 11 km north of Mount Abu town, an old hilltop fort first built in the 9th century and rebuilt by Rana Kumbha of Mewar in the 15th. The fortifications are ruined but the Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple below them is one of the most atmospheric Shiva temples in Rajasthan — a domed shrine containing a brass image of Nandi and a natural rock formation said to be the toe of Shiva. Beside the temple is the Mandakini Tank, with three large stone buffalo figures and a granite statue of King Adi Pal Parmar said to depict a 14th-century battle. Stop at Achalgarh on the same trip as Guru Shikhar.