Vaishno Devi

The Vaishno Devi shrine is positioned at an altitude of 5200 ft above sea level in the hilly Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. The holy shrine is delicately cuddled up in the Trikuta Mountain about 650 km from Delhi. This holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, the Mother Goddess is around 61 kms from Jammu with 30 mtrs length and one and half mt height. The Holy Cave features among the most revered holy sights of India, frequented by the devotees of all religions from across the globe.

The shrines devoted to the three forms of the mother goddess – Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati are also there at the extreme end of the cave. The devotes to Vaishno Devi are made out to take the entry in the cave in small groups in the course of a slender opening and walk through ice-cold waters to get to the shrines. The Holy shrine is often linked with various thoughts and theories and some of them find grounds while others get no usual takers at all.

A theory states that the Mother Goddess put herself out of sight in the cave while escaping a demon, who was eventually got killed by her. A strong theory or rather firm belief of the devotees also asserts that those visit the Shrine never returns empty handed.

Katra forms the starting point to reach to the shrine of Vaishno Devi, which lies 13 km from the shrine. Pilgrims reach/climb one km to Banganga, before getting 6 km further to the cave shrine of Ardhkunwari. These halts are used to take rest by the devotees heading to the main Shrine. The Bhawan happens to be the last place that comprises the facilities for pilgrims like washing, changing, lodging, depositing luggage etc.

Best Time to Visit
The visit to the Vaishno Devi shrine relies on the prevailing weather conditions and security concerns. Besides them, you can take up the visit for any time of the year.

How to reach Vaishno Devi

Reaching the Shrine of Vaishno Devi is a fairly convenience task due to the top-notch transportation facilities that carry around millions of devotees form all parts of India.

Air: Jammu is the nearest airport at 48 km from Katra that offers helicopter service at the cost of Rs. 2,000 one way (baggage 2 kg, 15 minute) to get to the Shrine.

Rail: The nearest train station is in Jammu that has facilities to all parts of India.

Road: Regular bus service is there to take one to Katra from Jammu which is a 52 km trip.

Foot

The Shrine is at a steep 13 km walk from katra, and besides on-foot journey, one can also rent a horse to be carried up from Katra. It takes about 4 hours to climb to the shrine from katra and around 3 hours to come down.

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Vaishno Devi Tour

Day 1 - Delhi - Receiving of guests from new delhi railway station-explore the city.

Day 2 - Jammu - Drive to Jammu.

Day 03 - Jammu - Katra - Morning arrival at Jammu. Afternoon explore the city of Jammu. Leave for Katra in the evening and on arrival, check-in at the Hotel.

Day 04 - Katra - Mata Vaishnao Devi Temple - Early morning Trek* to Mandir (16 kms). Return by evening. Night halt.

Day 05 - Katra - Explore the city of Katra- Relax after *trekking

Day 06 - Delhi - Drive to Delhi

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