Of Places I Go...: Vaishno Devi

This has been one of the most challenging journeys I've undertaken in my life.

The other challenging one I recall was one to Kedarnath-Badrinath.

Day 0, 22nd May, 2016
At around 8am, we departed from Ahmedabad for Jammu Tawi.
Next day at around 5 pm, we reached Jammu Tawi.
Vaishnodevi temple is situated at Trikuta Mountains which is located in a small town, Katra, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Pre-paid taxis are available at Jammu Tawi Railway station for Katra.
It took about 90 minutes for us to reach Katra.

Day 2, 24th May, 2016.
At around 8.30am we started our climb. The Base Camp is known as Ban-Ganga from where the pilgrims start the climb for Maa Vaishnodevi. The main temple of Vaishnodevi is known as Bhawan.
The temple is situated on Trikuta Mountain, with a climb of about 14 km from Ban-Ganga.
Services like Pony, Pitthu are available.
We walked on foot till Ardh Kuari. Now Ardh Kuari lies midway between Ban-Ganga and Bhawan. The track till Ardh Kuari can be easily walked. There are lot of refreshment shops on the way.

Ardhkumari is Garbhjun where Maa Vaishno Devi had spent 9 months period. This is the belief that one should cross this cave before going to Bhawan. But Ardhkumari is all time crowded and there is all time long waiting queues. My suggestion is check if your waiting time is within 6 hrs then you can wait else go to bhawan & visit ardhkumari in your return journey. We don't need to pay any amount for getting Yatra Parchi, for Bhawan (main Vaishno Devi temple), as well as at the Ardh Kuari.

Now the path from Ardh-Kuari to Bhawan is a bit difficult. The slope is really steep.
We took ponies for this path. Ponies dropped us at Sanji Chaat. Sanji Chaat is where the Helipad is located. Helicopter services run between Katra and Sanji Chaat. Sanji Chaat to Bhawan is a 3 km walk which is mostly flat.

At about 2pm in the afternoon, we reached Bhawan.
For Darshan, one needs to have a Yatra Parchi. We registered online on the Vaisnodevi Shrine Board website and obtained the Electronic Reservation Slip(ERS) for our date. It requires ID Proof numbers of each member. We do not need to pay any amount for obtaining ERS. After obtaining the ERS, we need to show it near the Ban-Ganga check post, which is located about a kilometer from the base camp, on the way towards Bhawan. Here, we received our Yatra Parchis.

At Bhawan, there are cloak room services available. Any electronic or leather items are not allowed inside temple and there are about 2-3 checks for the same.

At Bhawan there are 4 gates.
Gate 1 & 2: Gate 1 & 2 are the normal gates. Gate 2 remains closed most of the time. The entry for pilgrims is mostly from Gate 1. When we went, although the queue was continuously moving, it took us about 15 mins from getting in queue to the main Darshan. If there is rush, then you could have to wait for long. It is said that sometimes it takes 2-3 days during times of October-November.
This kind of scenario happens only in time of Navarati.

Gate 3: This is entry for Military official & their family, friends. This lines join Gate 1&2 line at last. It saves lot of time.

Gate 4: This is VVIP gate. The entrance of this gate goes direct for Darshan without any stoppage.

Each Yatra Parchi will have it's Darshan Session Number. This will be provided by them while issuing the Parchi. Ours was Session 77, which was running exactly at the same time we reached Bhawan.

Previously when I came to Vaishnodevi, in 2003, we had to go via a narrow cave. But they have renovated a bit, and now there is a walk-able path available.

After the darshan, we headed for Bhairon Temple. Now the path from Bhawan to Bhairon Temple is one of the most difficult I had encountered. An almost 45 degrees uphill and frequent U-turns which again had a 45 degree slope making it one of the most challenging.
According to the instructions of Shastras, the journey of Mata Vaishno Devi will not be complete without visiting Bhairon temple and take blessings of the Lord Bhairon.
We took ponies for our return journey till Ban-Ganga. It took about 2 hours and at almost 7.30pm, we were at the base camp.

This was a bit tiring for us. But we expected it. And for the same reason we had kept the next day as a leisure day so that we could rest properly. And we did.

Day 4, 26th May, 2016
We headed for Shiv Khori. It is a Shiv temple located about 70 kms from Katra. The road from Katra to Shiv Khori is quite hilly as these are all border roads. I needed to have a tablet to prevent nausea, even when sitting on the front seat.

At Shiv Khori, it is about 4 km of climb to the main temple. Ponies and Pithoos are available here as well. The path from the base to the main temple is bit dangerous I must say. The path doesn't have fencing. And on such paths, if you are on a pony, believe me, it will scare the hell out of you. I remember my descent at Vaishnodevi on a pony. Even when there was fencing, I used to hold my breath at the narrow U-turns, where if you see below, it will be an endless valley.
We avoided the ponies, and went afoot.
Also, the shades have been kept at very discreet distances, every 400 meters or so. It was noon time, and climbing afoot in the sun was a daunting task for us.

Now at the main temple, there are two caves: the Old one and New one. Everyone will be directed towards the old cave.
This is not known to many that the old cave is too narrow to pass and one has to really struggle themselves up the cave. It is a natural cave with rocks sticking in between two halves of the mountain wall.. which is really narrow. By chance, if there is any movement, or an earthquake where the rock shakes just a bit, the guy will just be stuck in there with a very less chance of getting out. Even more, if you have claustrophobia, it would be really difficult.

I don't know why they don't direct the pilgrims towards the new cave. This new cave has an entrance from behind the temple.
I had joined the queue in the old cave. When I saw the cave, I simply resisted to go further. We asked if there's an alternate path, and directed us towards the new cave.
I strongly suggest taking the New Cave, which is not a cave exactly but a path which meets at the same temple and is much more suitable for walking.

On the returning path from Shiv Khori to Katra, there are couple of places for sight-seeing.

Day 5, 27th May, 2016
We headed for Ahmedabad via Jaat Express.

Altogether, it was a pleasant trip, rejuvenating mind and body. We were tired after the several hours of travel and walking but the kind of relaxation and peace of mind we experienced after this pilgrimage was tremendous.