Vaishno Devi Temple, Katra

The holy shrine Mata Vaishno devi temple dedicated to goddess Vaishnavi is located at Katra, a small town in the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Katra is situated in the foothills of Trikuta mountains, it is 42km away from the Jammu city. Jammu is well connected to all other parts of India by road, rail & air network. After you land in Jammu, you can either book a taxi or you can take a bus to reach Katra. It will take approx. 1hr to cover the distance & trust me, this 1hr ride is same as an adventurous roller-coaster ride that will surely bring your liver to your mouth when your bus will start taking sharp turns in the narrow hilly road in bad condition over the deep valley. Although it was the year2013 when i went Katra, maybe today after 8yrs things should have been changed. Now direct rains upto Katra from several cities of India is also available. There are several hotels available along with the accommodations provided by Vaishno devi shrine board. 

History

The cave of Mata Vaishno Devi is very ancient(a million year old) according to the study conducted by the geologists. It is believed that Mata Vaishno Devi, who was also known as Trikuta observed the ‘Navratra’, to pray for the victory of Lord Rama against Ravana. It is also said that Lord Rama also ensured her that the entire world would sing her praises and revere her as Mata Vaishno Devi. Bhairo Nath, who chased Mata Vaishno Devi and pestered her to marry him, was actually sent by Gorakh Nath, who was a Mahayogi. Gorakh Nath had a vision of the conversation between Lord Rama and Vaishnavi. Led by curiosity to know more about Vaishnavi, the Mahayogi sent his prime disciple to collect information about the Goddess. The Goddess after forgiving Bhairo Nath and allowing him to attain Moksha shed her human form and took the form of a rock in order to continue uninterrupted meditation. Mata Vaishno Devi, hence, gives her devotees darshan in the form of a five and half feet tall rock, with three pindies or heads on the top. The cave where she transformed herself is now the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi and the pindies form the sanctum sanctorum.

The Fresh Morning

We had checked in our hotal at midnight & next morning when i woke up & went outside to have some breakfast, i suddenly stopped for a while as i was so amazed to see the serene beauty of that place. It was my very first encounter with spectacular hills of the lower Himalayas which were clearly visible from that place. I was staring them without blinking my eyes as they were seeming so close to me. The cool breeze was blowing & the sky was shining with golden rays of the sun. The whole view was like a painting. Then i stepped in the restaurant of my hotel which was offering Rajma-Rice in the breakfast. 

  

Modes of transportation

Then we got ready for that much-awaited journey for which we had came so long, the journey to the famous Vaishno devi temple located at a height of 5300ft. from sea level. Since Vaishno devi temple is a cave temple nestled in the divine Himalayas so now it was the time to climb uphill towards the temple which is going to be a 15km long well-paved trek. From Katra to Vaishno Devi Bhawan (temple), you can use any of these modes of transportation, ponies, trekking, electric vehicles, ropeway and Palki. Regular Helicopter rides are also available from Katra to Sanjhhi Chhat, followed by a 2.5 km walk. This can be booked from the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board's official website. If you are booking helicopter then you get the vip ticket for Puja which otherwise you have to take separately. 

Starting point

Since it was our first visit to the temple so we decided to go with the trek so that we could closely witness the natural beauty of that place. Another reason to choose trekking was that we wanted to experience that divine feeling when you make yourself deserving enough to avail darshan labh of the deity after your labour & time invested in the climbing. So on a walking distance from our hotel, there was the big entrance gate to the trek which is called "Banganga gate". Here you can witness the beauty of white milky water of Ban Ganga river flowing through the stones. It is a sacred river where devotees like to take a dip before continuing the Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra.  

 

After some security checks done by CRPF soldiers, we were allowed to go ahead. You must take the Yatra prachi (entry pass) at the starting point of the climb which is free but mandatory without which you won’t be allowed to enter into the main temple.

The Trek

The yatra route is open 24 x7. It is paved and most of the part is covered with roofs. Here you can see the beautiful face of nature as the trek goes upward over the deep green valley surrounded by the Trikuta hills. You can have the stunning view of mountains. 

 

Cleanliness level is satisfactory here. There are CCTV cameras in-place. Loudspeakers are there all the way for public announcements. Public toilets are easily accessible, the only issue is with the cleanliness. After every 15-20 steps you will find shops. Shops are mostly of prasad, souvenirs, dry fruits, snacks and juices, and massage parlors; onion , garlic , liquor, cigarettes are not allowed on the trek. You will come across a number of idols and temples on the route. 

 

 

 

For those who are not regular walkers need not to worry. It is a fun trekking. You can take as many halts. You will see most of the people walking up. This becomes a motivation in itself. You can re-energize yourself with snacks and juices. You can sit down and watch the beautiful sights. 

 

You see a mini-India here as pilgrims from different States visit this place. Wear seasonal & loose clothes maintaining the decency and sanctity of the place. Avoid tight and fashionable clothes. It will only make your journey tougher. Women should avoid wearing heavy makeup (trek can sweat you profusely on a warm day) and expensive jewelry. Shoes with good grip are most important. Chappals and sandals will slow down your speed. For solo up to a group of three, minimum cash in hand should be Rs. 10,000/-. You will definitely not spend it all, but by any chance if a member gets medical issues say, an ankle twist or develops cramps, you will have to hire a pony or palkhi. Don’t rely on ATMs. For foot pilgrims, marching ponies are a big nuisance. They hurriedly cross your road or come from the opposite directions. Donkeys carry ration and supplies to the top. They do have separate lane marked for them, but neither pilgrims nor the pony men follow it. Monkeys, not present throughout the way, have an eye on eatables. You are at risk of getting your eatable robbed by the monkeys. There are steps as well as road is available on the trek. Steps will make your journey shorter, but it requires good amount of thigh strength. Paved roads have rush of pilgrims and ponies. You can alter between the paved roads and steps. If you are going in winters do carry winter clothing as it gets really cold on top. Road has proper lighting.  At night, you can have picturesque view of the Katra town from the top illuminated with lights. I think this town never sleeps because of non-stop movement of pilgrims in the town. 

 

The Bhawan

We had started climbing at approx. 12 o'clock in the noon. The restaurants en-route were providing delicious food so we had big kulchas in our lunch, big means literally those were too big in size. Usually it takes 6-8 hours to complete the trek depending upon your stamina. Since i travel with my mother & she was not able to walk speedly on the trek so we could reach at the Bhawan upto 10PM in the night. There comes a point 3-km before the Mata Mandir where they have locker facility (free of cost). You have to deposit footwear, bags, cellphones or any metallic thing in the locker. You can carry only prasad and cash after this point. This is the last check point. Soon after entering the arched marble tunnel you can feel the positive energy and your mouth utters "jai mata di" always in full spirit. Once you reached the place, you can see mata kali, mata saraswathi and mata lakshmi in pindi forms and the panditji was very kind enough to explain and allowed us to pray for sometime with our full satisfication of worshipping (they do not take any money except our offerings to god). After darshan you come out of caves and you start taking deep breaths. The ambience at the top is divine – a feeling that can’t be expressed in words!

Bhairavnath temple

Bhairavnath temple is a few more kilometers up from here. You can take a long break before you start for Bhairav Mandir. Quality food is available in number of outlets at this point. Outlets like Café Coffee Day have kiosks here. Best part is that they are all no-profit outlets. You get food at subsidized rates. After a 30 mins to an hour break, you should start for Bhairavnath Mandir. By then we were too tired & didn't that stamina left for further trekking. So we hired ponies to reach at Bhairavnath temple. If you are thinking that riding on the pony would be more comfortable then you are completely wrong because at the end your inner thighs and buttocks would hurt badly. It was so scary when suddenly the pony used to start walking on the edges of that steep road because at that time no fencing was there & there was a deep valley beneath the road. People with spine/back problems and pregnant women should avoid pony ride. As being an inexperienced rider while stepping down from the pony, i jumped on a single leg which started paining after a few minutes. While returning back to the Ardh kunwari cave by the ponies, my mother started shivering & she had high fever. Somehow we reached at Ardh kunwari where there was a long queue for entering into the cave. We had to wait there for about 2hrs (more than the waiting time at Vaishno devi bhawan). It's my suggestion that one must do Ardh kunwari darshan in return journey only as during peak season it needs 5 to 6 hrs,so you can relax there and wait for your turn while returning. 

Ardh kunwari cave

It was a chilled night of winter season & we were already suffering with pain & fever and we were sitting there in an open ground waiting for our turn to enter into the Ardh kunwari cave. It was a terrible experience which later on turned into a miraculous one after crossing that cave. At Ardhkuwari a separate cave is situated to which an interesting legend is attached. This separate cave is said to be the place where Vaishno Devi hid from Bhairo Nath for 9 months. It is said, the Goddess positioned herself in the same way as an unborn child is placed in his/her mother’s womb. This cave is also known as Garbhjun.The cave is around 5 to 7 Mt long and 2 to 2.5 ft wide. Any man can pass through it easily but people who are extremely claustrophobic may avoid this. Right after passing by the cave at 4am in the morning, we noticed that suddenly my mother's body temperature got down to normal & my leg pain just vanished. It was unbelievable, this was something I've never experienced before. It was a divine magic because as we came out of the cave, we were feeling so energetic & fresh that after that we again got our stamina back to go down the trek by walking only.

The local market

Shopping should be done on way back. Souvenirs, devi mata photos, prasad, dry fruits, etc. are decked up at thousands of shops on both the sides along the route. Most shops are open 24x7. On return journey you will be provided prasad and a small coin at the exit point. It's free of cost. We reached back to our hotel near about 8am in the morning & rushed to the bed. After having rest for the full day in the room, we went to the local market for some more shopping. Many shops line the road here and sell many things such as traditional Kashmiri handicrafts, Pashmina stoles and shawls, walnut, wood carvings and the world-famous Kashmiri chillies to carry with you back home. I've bought two Kashmiri kurtis along with a piece of dress material made of Kashmiri silk. Here you can find quality handloom products which include pashmina shawls, kani shawls, Basohli pashmina shawls, raffle shawls, cotton bed sheets, woollen blankets, cotton kurta-pajama, linen fabrics, coats, Kishtwari blankets, pattoos, loies and other handloom items. The best part is that here you don't need to worry about how will you manage this extra luggage in return journey because if you book heavy items like the blanket combo pack generally offered by the local shopkeepers, then all you have to do is just paying half of the bill & the purchased items will be delivered at your residence (anywhere in India) where you can pay the remaining amount. Isn't it amazing for the shopping lovers! 

Since Jammu & Katra are very sensitive areas and are security prone to terror attacks, so everywhere in both of the towns you will find soldiers of armed forces roaming there holding big riffles. Even while going to Katra from Jammu, I've noticed that there were several check posts situated along with the road on top of which an armed soldier was standing holding the gun point without moving.

Overall experience

This was my first planned trip outside Madhya Pradesh although 1year ago in Dec2012 I'd came to Delhi & Gurugram(then Gudgaon) to attend some family function but during that trip we could visit only Red fort & some museums located in Delhi because at that time continuous protests were going on everywhere in Delhi due to the heart-wrenching Nirbhaya rape case, so most of the monuments were closed that time.
As the popular saying, you can visit this place only if Mata calls you ... so we were lucky enough to get the chance ( mata ka bulava ). Overall this was a good trip. Actually I can’t express the feeling and the aura that I've experienced while visiting Vaishno devi. It was a lifetime divine experience. 

Photo from Google

 

JAI MATA DI..