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.
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| 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.
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| 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....
