Vaishno Devi or Vaishno Mata also known as Trikuta Devi, Ambe Maa and Vaishnavi, is an avtar of Hindu Godess ‘Lakshmi Maa’ or ‘Mahalakshmi’. This temple is one of the famous place in Jammu as it holds the belief of many people living in Jammu or outside Jammu. Vaishno Devi Temple is situated over the Trikuta hills of Katra, Jammu. Vaishno Devi temple is located at the height of 5,200 feets.
Vaishno Devi Temple In Jammu – Vaishno Devi Yatra
Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu is one of the most visited place, people from all over the country comes and visit this place. People call Vaishno Devi with other names as well like Vaishno Maa, Mata Rani, Jagjanni etc. ‘Maa’ and ‘Mata’ are basically th words that a child uses to call her mother, so in similar way people calls Vaishno Devi with the word ‘Maa’ calling her their mother. Goddess Vaishnavi is formed with the energies of Goddess Maha Lakshmi, Maha Kali and Saraswati Mata.
How To Reach Vaishno Devi Temple In Jammu:
The Distance from Jammu Airport to base camp of Vaishno Devi Jammu is 45 Kms by road. The easiest way to read Katra is to first reach the Jammu airport, Jammu bus stand or Jammu Railway station, many buses would be there which will be going to Katra, take a bus and reach Katra. Main Chowk of Katra is a base camp of Vaishno Devi, the devotees starts their pilgrimage from there. From the base camp devotees have to trek about 14-15 kms to reach the Bhawan of Devi Maa and there’s also a cave of Vaishno Devi Maa that usually opens in the month of January. When devotees reach Katra bus stand, it takes them to reach Darshani Darwaza around 10-15mins. Darshani Darwaza is the first place for devotees to have a darshan of Vaishno Devi Bhawan. Then moving further comes the first stop for the pilgrims. Ban Ganga is a place where Goddess Vaishno Devi shot an arrow and because of that spring water came out of the earth. Devotees take bath there and moves further for the pilgrimage. After Ban Ganga, the next stop is Charan Paduka at a distance of 1 Km. It is believed that the temple in Charan Paduka has the imprints of Mata Rani’s feet on a rock slap. The next stop after Charan Paduka is Adhkuwari which is considered as a midpoint of Mata Rani’s Yatra, it is believed that Mata Rani did meditation and tapasya for nine months in a cave known as Grav Joon. After Adhkuwari, the next stop is Himkoti, then Sanjhichatt. From Sanjhichatt, pilgrims have to walk around 1.5-2 Kms to reach the Vaishno Devi’s Bhawan. The last stop after Vaishno Devi darshan is Bhaironath temple, it is believed that Mata Rani gave him blessings by saying that Yatra of every devotee will be fulfilled when they will come to Bhaironath temple, so Bhaironath temple is considered as the last destination of Vaishno Devi yatra.
ALSO READ – ( Bhairavnath Temple In Vaishno Devi Katra )
How Many Routes To Reach Vaishno Devi Bhawan:
There are two routes to reach Vaishno Devi Bhawan : The main route also known as the old route and the new route which is around 600m shorter than the old route.
Services Provided to Reach Vaishno Devi Bhawan :
Devotees coming for yatra can opt for Helicopter, Pony and also for battery cars services. There’s a helipad in Sanjhichatt and to avail the service of helicopter one have to book ticket either online or from Adhkuwari. For battery car service one have to avail the service from Adhkuwari. For Pony services you can book it from the starting point of your yatra or from Adhkuwari.
Photo gallery :
Our Review:
We went to Vaishno Devi Temple in the month of January. The journey was very refreshing and full of enthusiam. The Holy Cave of Vaishno Devi was opened which they usually don’t open. We had beautiful dashan of cave and the pindis of Mata Rani. During our pilgrimage we came across many people hailing from different states. We had friendly conversation with them and discussed about our believes in Mata Rani. People were chanting Jai Mata Di with full of energy and spirit. The scenery of beautiful hills gives us inner peace. As we went in the month of January the weather there was very chilled. Though we didn’t took any other service and completed our yatra by foot and had a beautiful journey.