Pilgrimage Tourism : Vaishno Devi, Katra, Jammu & Kashmir

Hi friends!!!

Today I am going to share my thoughts on pilgrimage tourism and a detailed blog on Vaishno Devi, the holy shrine at Katra in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India.

Pilgrimage tourism is a big industry and not only in India but all over the world people travel extensively for performing their religious rituals and visit the holy places. Lot of important places like the holy city of Rome, the Mecca & Madina,  the Golden Temple, Amarnath Yatra, The monasteries in Tibet etc all of them are the examples of Pilgrimage places which attract thousands of tourist all over the year. The belief in the almighty and faith in the sacred places make people travel to various locations of different terrains and weather conditions.

Pilgrimage tourism, no doubt, is a process of soothing your soul and visiting the holy places to worship, but it also brings along with it a tour to various locations which are of natural beauty as well as varied interests like great architectures or adventure spots etc.

Way towards the bhawan

In India, recently I got to visit the holy shrine of Maa Vaishno Devi, in Katra. It is a well known pilgrimage with thousand of devotees visiting the shrine day in day out. The place is located on a hill top and involves a journey of 12kms uphill with various options like walking, horse riding and helicopter services. One of the best and excellently managed shrine boards makes your journey very effortless and comforting. The place is clean and well equipped. Lodging and boarding facilities are excellent. The process of darshan is very systematic and regular development in the region has helped the place grow and keep its pace with the changing modern amenities.

General Info:

You need to get a registration slip at the starting point of the journey; this is a very important process and missing it will lead to restart the journey. After getting the slip we can start our journey up hill. I advise to take proper rest in between and walk as and when you feel comfortable as the journey uphill is tough and very steep curves come on the way. It gives a complete realty check on our fitness levels and makes us believe that the stamina has gone down to a big extent. Once you reach the bhawan, show your registration slip and get the batch number on which you can go into the temple and pray in front of the deity.

Syad baba

Sight Seeing:

If you have decided to walk, coming back would be a daunting task, but that is the beauty of the journey and the blessing of the Goddess makes you complete the journey without hiccups. Once you are done with the yatra, Katra the base town can be explored for shopping and other interests. There are some good sightseeing location situated nearby and can be explored. A beautiful waterfall is located around 30kms from Katra, called as Syad Baba. It’s again a small temple just near a beautiful waterfall falling into a natural pool. After a tiring journey just get into the pool and relax. It will the best way to relax your muscles after a long walk. May be that is the reason it is built there. Mythology brings lots of mysteries along with it.

Local Delicacies & Market:

In J&K first thing that comes into mind are the kidney beans named Rajma or “Rajmash” as they call it in Jammu. It’s a delicious dish cooked in gravy served hot with Rice. Do try them out at a small hotel called Annapurna Dhaba in main market of Katra. The place is also known for its quality and variety of dry fruits and tourists shop extensively for them. A lot of varieties pertaining to Kashmir culture can be found there. Use of kashmiri masala, local onion called “Pran” etc. All have a flavour of their own. The local markets are colourful and boast a range of embroidery garments famous for Kasmiri Kadhai. The stuff is beautiful and a must buy as a memory for the ladies. The list for shopping never ends though. Lets keep moving ahead to another journey ..another destination....