Journey to Mata Vaishno Devi
A Temple Dedicated to Shakti

Kanayalal Raina *

Many Indo-Canadian devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi and Indian-origin persons, whose forefathers migrated many years ago to Guyana, Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius and other parts of the globe and are now well settled in Canada, want to make a pilgrimage to the holy cave of Mata Vaishno Devi along with their family and friends.

Most of them here in Canada do not know that the abode of the holy Mother falls in Jammu region of the J&K state. The Holy Cave Shrine of Maa Vaishno Devi is situated in a beautiful recess of the Holy Trikuta Mountains forming a part of the lower Himalayas in the State of Jammu and Kashmir located at nearly 5200 ft. above sea level.

To go to Mata Vaishno shrine from Canada, first you have to travel to India. Before that you must check with the office of the Consulate General of India in your region for visa and travel requirements. One can go to India by Air or by Sea. Presuming that you want to go by Air, the first choice of landing airport should be Amritsar or New Delhi. Alternatively you can land in any other city which has an international airport. After reaching India, get your travelling cheque en-cashed to Indian rupees and keep plenty of small denomination of currency in hand as well as coins. Keep the traction vouchers. You have many options to travel to Jammu. You can take a flight or a train or go by any road transport. It is advisable to book your passages in advance. Pawan Hans operates two flights daily from Jammu and 5 flights from Katra to Shrine during summer. But these flights are not regular and hence must be re-confirmed with authorities. The Town Katra is 50 Kms away from Jammu and 35 Kms from District HQ Udhampur and is linked by road.

From Jammu airport or city you can hire a local taxi to Katra. Katra is the starting point of the yatra. When you reach Katra, first thing you should do is obtain a yatra slip from the Yatra Registration Counter at the Tourism Reception Centre, which is near Katra Bus Stand. Without an authentic yatra slip, crossing of Banganga check post will not be allowed. The Yatra Slip is absolutely free but is necessary to commence the Yatra. The devotees of Mata have to cover about 14 km. of terrain on foot to reach the Mata’s Darbar. Howsoever difficult the passage may be: the difficult ascents, with innumerable stairs, are accomplished on foot by those who had never walked even small distances at their homes. A supernatural power seems to draw them through the mountain and they climb up those great heights step by step, chanting 'Prem se bolo, JAI MATA DI'.

Those who have problems in climbing on the mountains can hire the services of a pony or dandi (palenquin). Pithus (local persons who carry load on their backs) can be hired for carrying the children on shoulders. All the devotees are advised to carry minimum personal luggage, but those who do have some luggage may hire local Pithu (persons) who can carry the luggage /weight on their backs for you. It is advised that you should avail of the services of only registered people be it the pithu, pony or the dandiwalla and keep his token for the period he is engaged. Refreshments like biscuits, cold-drinks tea, coffee, milk, mineral water, etc. are available along the way at refreshment Units of the Shrine Board. Nearly all of these units are located at carefully selected locations from where one can have a panoramic view of the valley. They are also known as View Points. There are a total of 12 such view points. 9 of these refreshment units (or view points) are located on the old track while 3 are located on the alternate track to Bhawan. All the items offered at these view points are on a no-profit basis thus ensuring proper quality and value for the money paid by the pilgrims.

For the convenience of the pilgrims, the Shrine Board offers free as well as rented accommodation at Jammu, Katra and also along the Holy Track. At Jammu, accommodation is available at Vaishnavi Dham and Saraswati Dham complexes located right next to Jammu Tawi Railway Station. At Katra, accommodation is available in the Niharika complex, situated next to the main Bus Stand. Accommodation is also available at Adhkuwari, Sanjhichat and Bhawan. On reaching Bhawan, show your Yatra Slip at the Registration Office and obtain the Batch no. provided on the slip. This number is important as it will determine your place in the queue for darshan.

On reaching Bhawan, have a bath and change your clothes. Be sure to get your luggage and leather items booked in the cloak rooms and obtain the receipt. Free cloak room facilities are available at the main Bhawan complex also. There are at least two cloak rooms which are functional round the clock. There is a cloak room located just opposite to the main queue complex. This cloak room can be used for depositing shoes, belts, combs and all other items that are not allowed in the Holy cave. In addition, another cloak room is functional in Sridhar Bhawan. Yatries can deposit their entire luggage here before proceeding for Darshans. However, yatries are advised not to keep their cash, jewellery, valuables or electronic items amongst the deposited luggage.

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has its own no profit no loss shops at Bhawan known as Bhaint Shop where Prashad/Bhaints offerings are available at a fair price. Hence the pilgrims are not required to buy offerings at Katra and carry them all the way to Bhawan. Beautifully packed Bhaints in eco-friendly jute bags are available in the Bhaint shop at Bhawan at reasonable rates. The Bhaints are available in the denominations of Rs. 11, Rs. 21 and Rs. 31. The Shrine Board has also got prepared gold and silver coins of the Holy Pindies on one side and that of Goddess Durga on the other. These coins are available at the Prashad counter just outside the Holy Cave and at all the banks at Bhawan.

[Kanayalal Raina is a Brampton based engineer by training, project consultant by profession and free lance writer by passion.]