Travelling to Vaishno devi Shrine, katra, jammu, hotels in katra

I have travelled to vaishno devi shrine before as well but this time I decided to cover up and photograph the whole thing and write a detailed article on the same.

I live in Jaipur but decided to start the journey from Delhi. The decision was based on large amount of trains from Delhi to Jammu. We were two pairs with four kids in total. One of the kid was just four year old and deciding the dates in January was a big risk. (January is very cold and temperature drops to subzero levels near the cave) We planned everything and God planned ahead of us.

I suffer from pulmonary disorder and have to be very cautious while climbing anything. I suffered from mountain sickness before, and this time I was very cautious. Our medi- supplies were full of all sorts of medicines and painkillers. This also included medicines for children. There were other medicines for vomiting, stomach and body ache etc etc. One should plan everything before, especially when planning a yatra in acute winter and that too with children.

Travelling to Vaishno devi Shrine, katra, jammu, hotels in katra

Following are the details of the yatra.

Date: 11^th Jan 2014

Jaipur to Delhi.

Delhi to Jammu by Shalimar express which reached Jammu station at 5:10 am.

Jammu to katra via Innova (Pre-planned and provided by tour agent)

Katra to Bhawan by walking.

Staying at Bhawan for the night. ( Internet reservation)

Going for darshan early in the morning.

Going for Bhairav Ghati at the same time.

Back to the hotel in Katra.

Overnight stay in Katra.

Travel back to Station to catch a train in the evening hours.

After lots of searching and talking to people I narrowed down one tour agent. He gave us the package which included pick up and drop from Jammu station. One night and two days stay in the hotel with one breakfast. The hotel was hotel Hari Resort Katra. The name of the agent is Mr.Karan Manhas. Numbers are +9194199-11659,+9198585-11659. (Please note that I am not associated to this person)

The whole trip was planned ahead. Besides the food items we had following things in our list:

Tea kettle (Which was used for cooking Maggi inside the room. The rooms are on the top and after reaching the place, nobody has the stamina to go down and fetch some fresh food. So we cooked it in the room. Fresh and warm with green peas and mushrooms bought from Delhi market)

Throw away plates, Cups, Plastic spoons, knife, charger (all types), camera equipment, mobile (Post-paid works over there), zipper pouches (leather cannot be carried inside the cave), tissue paper, Extra dry bags (In case of rains), Flask ( For hot home cooked tea along the way). Folding trolley for the child, rubber bands (they were really put to use), pins, needle, dried ginger + turmeric (natural pain killer).

Yes, this list seems ridiculous to some but we were planning a yatra with kids and ask somebody who is going to face freezing temperatures (with children). This list can become lifesaver to some.

We reached Jammu station on time. It was 5:10 am and temperature on thermostat showed 6 degree. I called the taxi driver (I called my agent to get his number) and he came and picked us up. We reached our hotel within an hour. The hotel is very near to Banganga post but the taxi charges was around Rs 150. Our journey to the shrine started at 9:30 am. We also hired a pitthu for two small bags and pulling up the trolley. The prices of Pitthu can change a lot and you should not believe when they say that they will walk with you. The fact is that they are always in a hurry to get a second or even third trip and earn some money (It is also fine, they deserve that). They will not wait for you and will keep on running towards top. Our pitthu’s name was Javed Khan. Once you hire a pitthu you should take their id with you. This is done for security purposes.

We never go to Ardhakumari and always take the new route. I visited it once when I was in Punjab and again in 1997. Then in 2005, I took the new route and used the same route ever since. There are many facilities on both the routes so one should not worry about anything. The newer route is plainer and well developed.

This yatra to shrine is a yatra of faith and devotion. Without this two fold system no yatra is complete. These are the two pillars which help you complete the yatra without any problems. I knew it would be very cold during winters but I wished that Mother divine would light my path with sunshine. Mother divine fulfilled my wish and the whole path was lit by good sunshine. We never even felt a shiver and children were happy as well. No body fell ill and the yatra completed without any problems. Your faith and devotion is the success mantra for any yatra. You may face obstacles, but they will be crushed by your faith. As sunshine crushes the darkened shadows of night, your faith will demolish every obstacle in your path. No matter how ill you will be, no matter how much pain you have to bear, you will cross every hindrance with ease. As Shri Guru Nanak Dev sahib says:

“Nanak naam jahaj te, jo chadiye utre paar”.

Just board the ship of faith, you will definitely hit the shores.

We reached Bhawan by 2:30 pm though we were walking very slowly. I was dead slow and have to rest at every fifteen minutes. Our rooms were located in Mata Vasihnavi bhawan which is en-route to Bhairav Ghati.  You need to carry your registration slip and identification document to identify yourself as the person who did the booking. We paid Rs300 more as we were two pairs. The room was booked for Rs750.

The room was small which was good. Larger rooms take lot of time to heat up and this room was fine. Heater was on, and we unloaded ourselves. We cooked tea in the tea pot with our home made spices and it was very relaxing. Then we cooked Maggi in batches. Please note that Maggi contains garlic and onion powder in its spice sachet. As this shrine belongs to “Vaishnavi Shakti”, one should not consume such things in that area. We used our own spices to cook maggi and did not brought the regular maggi sachet. (I have seen that some shop keepers over there are selling Maggi. They just smiled back when I told them that Maggi contains garlic and onion.)

Everybody enjoyed the hot maggi in that freezing temperature. I was cooking standing near the gate and I was just six feet away from heater. Even then I was shivering. I was wearing two sweaters and a jacket and you can imagine that they were not enough for my bones. The area around the room was having ice all around.

We went for a sleep after this dinner.

We wake up at 2:00 am and took the bath. The children also took a bath. The geysers in these rooms work well and it was also relaxing. We were out at 3:00 am and it was very cold outside. We huddled together and walked till the starting point of the cave. You can deposit your shoes in the lockers near the cave. The locker people will give you keys and you have to remember your locker number. These lockers are free of cost.

There were people sitting just before the railing. People were sitting on mat but I found that the area was not closed near the railing. I went inside and was stopped by a policeman. He asked me about the registration cards or “Yatra parchi”. I showed him the parchi but he told me to go back and get them stamped. Please note that the new yatra parchis are made with your photograph and they also need to be stamped near the bhawan area. I was planning to go down to get them stamped when the policeman looked at me and told me to go inside. He smiled at me and it was a heavenly smile. I was dead tired and it would have been too hard to walk back to that point in that subzero morning. I smiled back and we walked towards the shrine. We were allowed through old cave which I have seen before in 1991 and in 97 as well.

We went near the Pindis and we were there for around five six minutes. The priest held up my daughter in his hands and showed her the pindis. He was explaining everything about the pindis and we were looking with awe. He offered her tilkam and was also offered some almonds and flowers from the front of the pindis. We were given flowers too, and then we took the old path to come out. We also drank the “Amrut Jal” which was falling near the old cave.

The area near the shrine is super charged with positive energies and one can feel it as well. I do not know why I was allowed to go inside because when I came out then it was 165^th lot waiting outside the cave. People were still sitting near the railing. We came back to our room at around 5:30 am. We took some rest and went to Bhairav Ghat. The darshans were easy and we witnessed the food offered to wild crows. There was a yajna going on and the music from drums was adding an enthralling effect. We took some “Vibhuti” from there. We were back by seven and we took a rest till 10:00 am. (The checkout time of all the rooms in bhawan is 10:00 am)

We took a good breakfast in one of the food outlets over there. You can also find a very fine dosa chain outlet over there. Food is expensive but hygienic and satisfies your taste buds.

Our walk back was also very fine and we used the stair path to come down. It took three or four hours and we were back at the hotel by 4:00 pm. We took rest and then enjoyed our dinner in a nearby restaurant. The food there was just like home cooked food and the restaurant was just opposite the hotel (hari resort). Our rooms were equipped with every amenity and facility possible. The hotel staff was fine and looked after your needs very well.  I would hereby like to mention Mr.Karan Manhas. He was looking after everything with great care and was really very sensitive toward our needs. He coordinated everything and called me time and again to help me. He also called me to get my bookings in the bhawan. Everything was perfectly planned by mother divine and her modus operandi came in human forms whether it was Karan, Javed or that smiling police officer.

Next day, we visited Shalimar  park which is an ominous copy of Shalimar Garden in Kashmir. Still, the garden is fine, considering it is green and was very near to hotel. Children enjoyed a lot and it was very refreshing.

Our train was an evening train and we reached Jammu station by 17:00 hours. The whole yatra was a rejuvenation of faith in mother divine. We were all very happy as you can make out through the photographs taken.

 

Alok Jagawat