Train horns and platform calls fill the station as Delhi and Ahmedabad trains pull in, and passengers lean out for small dishes of rabri. A few minutes north, at Talhati, the mood turns quiet. White-clad Brahma Kumaris cross the shaded lanes of the Shantivan campus, and behind them the Aravalli wall rises toward Mount Abu.
South of town, the carved stones of Chandravati lie scattered near the West Banas River, and pilgrims head over the Gujarat border to Ambaji. Summers are hot and dry, the monsoon turns the hills green, and winter nights are cool. A Local Friend tells you when to catch the station at its liveliest and when to stay on for sunset over the hills.
