Trip to Vaishno Devi ( Jammu & Kashmir)
Complete details to plan the trip with family
History & Tourist Data:
This was another family trip to one of most visited &
famous religious shirine in India - Shri
Mata Vaishno Devi temple. Mata Vaishno Devi temple is located at Trikuta Hills,
Katra which is dedicated to Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi, and Maha Kali mother
goddess. There are approx. more than 1 Crore devotees visit temple every year. Katra is in Reasi District of J&K
situation at foothills of trikuta mountain where holy shrine is located. Katra
is at altitude of 5200 ft whereas Vaishno Devi temple is around 5800 feet.
Katra to Vaishnodevi temple – One has to trek 14 KM and
another 1.5 KM trek to Baba Bhaironath temple.
Route:
One can plan to reach Vaishno Devi temple
-
Flight ( Jammu Airport) then take taxi ( 1500
for sedan/ 1900 Rs for SUV : TollTax extra – 110 Rs), Bus Fare : 60 Rs per
person, Train fare from Jammu to Katra approx. 500 Rs ( 2AC)
Train goes till Katra Railway Station
Trek route/ options and process:
Registration:
-
Pilgrims need to register at YRC (Yatra
Registration Counter) for the journey (Near bus stand, Katra), this is
mandatory for the journey and need to produce at Banganga check post (1.5 KM
from Katra), separate yatra slip is issued for each person
-
Yatra Slip is valid for 6 hours from the time of
issue so, make sure that you report to Banganga check point within that else
you need to go back to YRC counter to get another slip issued. This is done to
control the inflow of number of tourists during peak season. During non-peak
season
-
You can do the registration online as well
through but, it can be done for max 5 person per account so, in case of more
person, you need to have another account to perform registration, There is no
validity where you must report to checkpoint within 6 hours of registration. There
is no charge for the registration.
Trek Route:
-
There are two different route from Katra to
reach Bhawan ( Mata Vaishno Devi)
o
Route 1 : Balini Bridge – Tarakote Marg ( newly
constructed and inaugurated by Mr Modi in Year 2018) – It’s 7 KM distance to
reach to Ardhkuwari, less crowded, clean route as no Ponni/Palki/Pithu operate
here, less gradient compared to Old route, easier to walk but, 1 KM extra
distance
o
Route 2 : Banganga Check post / Chetak
Bhawan - 6 KM to Ardhkuwari,
Pithu/Ponni/Palkiwalla operate here, very crowded
-
Both routes are merged at Ardhkuwari and there
are again two routes from Ardhkuwari
o
Himkoti Marg (new route where Battery cars are
available, pithu/ponni/palki use this route mostly)
o
Hathimattha Marg (Via Sanjhichat) – there is
steep ascend till Sanjhichat and known as old route
Battery Car Booking:
-
Ardhkuwari to Bhawan: Himkoti Marg
o
Battery car booking can be done at following
site: (This is specifically for senior citizens, kids below 5 years are allowed
& accompanied with senior citizens – no fee)
o
472 Rs for two person ( Bhawan to Ardhkuwari) (
200 Rs per person – online) ( it starts from morning 7 AM to 10:30 PM &
there are around 20 slots at different times)
o
708 Rs for two person ( Ardhkuwari to Bhawan) (
300 Rs per person – online) ( it Starts from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM)
o
This can be booked minimum 4 days and max 2
months before
-
Old Route : Sanjhichat : There are again two
routes – one goes to Bhawan and other goes to BhaironBaba temple, Bhawan is
around 2.5 KM from Sanjhichat helipad
-
Bhaironbaba temple is around 5 KM distance from
Bhawan and it takes around 1.5 hour to reach there, you can take ropeway also
from Bhawan ( 100 Rs per person) – Valid for 1 hour, where you can reach
Bhaironbaba in 5 mins
Heli Ride:
-
You can also take Helicopter to reach Bhawan
o
Katra Helipad to Sanjhichat Helipad ( 5-10 mins
trip)
o
Katra helipad is 2 KM from Katra bus stand and
you can reach there by auto/taxi
o
Reporting time is 1 hour before the scheduled
departure
o
Only 6 person can go in chopper at a time ( upto
2 years there is no ticket)
o
One side ticket is 1045 Rs per person, two way
ticket is 2090 Rs
o
You can book tickets only through ( max 5
tickets)
o
There are two operators:
§
Global Vectra
§
Himalyan Heli
o
They operate from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM daily
o
There are around 16 slots available each day for
Global Vectra so, around 150 – 200 people can be travelled each side using both
heli operators in a day, this is the reason, it’s very difficult to get the
tickets
o
Tickets get opened 60 days from date of journey
and minimum 4 days before you can plan to book the ticket (Realistically, it’s
very difficult to get tickets)
o
You can book return ticket as well which is at
3.5 hours gap
o
You can take approx. 3 KG luggage with you
o
You will reach at Sanjhichat Helipad (Alt: 6K
Feet) and from there it’s 2.5 KM to Bhawan
o
Since it’s all descend so, won’t have issue in
reaching Bhawan and it takes around 30 -45 mins to reach ( Sanjhichat is
highest point at Hathimatha route)
Accommodation:
-
You can book accommodation using trust site as
well
-
There are two categories of accommodation
o
Rooms
o
Dormitory beds
-
The accommodation at Katra – Spiritual Growth
center whereas Adhkuwari/ Sanjhichhat/ Bhawan is at Vaishnavi / Gauri Bhawan.
-
The Double Bed Hut charges at Vaishnavi Bhawan
is 900 Rs and Four Bedded hut charges at Gouri Bhawan is 1500 Rs
-
The charge for Suite is 3000 Rs whereas double
bed AC room category charges is 1700 Rs
-
The Checkout time is 10 AM for all complex
Poojan
-
Individual Poojan –
o
Category 1 : 2100 Rs ( NRI/ Foreigner – 5100
Rs), total 50 token available for the day
o
Category 2 : 11000 Rs , total 2 token available
for the day ( max devotees – 5)
-
SSVP Poojan
o
26K per person – only 1 slot available in
morning & 1 in evening ( max 5 devotees)
-
Atka Arti Darshan
o
2000 Rs per parchi/ person : Total 200 slots in
the morning & 200 in the evening
TRIP PLAN
We were five people ( Myself, my father, mother, wife and our
three year old daughter) I was planning from last couple of months so that
there won’t be any discomfort to anybody in this trip.
The plan was to take train from HMH to Jammu, proceed to
Katra in taxi from Jammu and stay in Katra hotel on that day and start journey
to visit temple next day, return on same day and proceed to Jammu in taxi and
stay overnight to board the train back to HMH on following day. We came to
hometown in Diwali vacation and got this plan included in it. My mother was
skeptical about the journey but, I assured her not to worry as we’ll be taking
helicopter from Katra so, they can comfortably join us.
I registered everyone to mata vaishno devi trust website,
waiting for the day when chopper ticket booking would be open. 60 days before
the journey, I logged in to book ticket but, as expected, their server got
crashed and couldn’t book tickets and later there was no ticket available in
any slot. It was big setback as I had planned chopper trip because my parent has
difficult to walk.
I started enquiring about alternate modes and got to know
online that there is batter car also available but, it’s from Ardhkuwari only.
Around one month before the journey, got to know that I can book battery car
online also but, it’s only for senior citizen and kids( less than 5 years) can
travel free along with grandparents. I booked two return tickets online for my
parents from Ardhkuwari to Bhawan. Now, the plan was to book Palki from
Banganga to Ardhkuwari and pithu for daughter and me and wife will go by walk.
We had to start on Diwali night, the train was from HMH
station at 4 AM, the taxi guy didn’t turn up so, owner reached around 3:40 AM,
by the time, we boarded taxi, it was around 3:50 AM, the station was around 6 KM from my home and
we reached at 4 AM, the train was at station, announcement was happening and it
was about to leave when we all boarded train, train had to depart at 4 AM but,
left around 4:10 AM and these extra minutes saved us to miss the train.
The action had started, and we got settled at our seat and
did sleep for some time. We reached Jammu at 3 PM, there was escalators at
station and I think at major stations, railway has put up escalators which is
very helpful for visitors of old age or people carrying luggage.
We came out of station and I went to taxi stand which is
around 200 meters, it’s prepaid taxi counters where I met with one taxi driver
– Mr Satpal Singh, booked Dzire taxi in 1400 Rs + toll tax extra ( 110 Rs) till
Katra hotel. Satpal ji quickly became like family member, continue to explain
over the J&K situation post Article 370 abolishment, acted like a guide
during the trip and we had comfortable ride till Hotel in Katra.
We reached around 6:30 PM, boarded hotel and after quick shower, went to sleep as we had to start early in the morning for the Bhawan.
Mr Satpal Singh - Taxi Driver
29-Oct-19
We woke up at 4 AM, got ready, had tea/snacks
and did check out hotel, deposited luggage at hotel reception counter, taxi was
arranged by hotel as complimentary drop till Banganga check post.
We reached and there were hundreds of palki, pithu, mule
owners who surrounded us to book services from them, there was fight among them
to handover their ID card to us soon when they got to know that we needed two
palki and one pithu. After bit of struggle, I had 2 palki owners ID and one
Pithu’s ID, went to prepaid counter, paid 1800 Rs for one person till
Ardhkuwari and 600 Rs for Pithu ( service charge for one person for carrying
baby in Pram from Banganga till Bhawan). I paid total 4200 Rs approx. and
started journey around 6:30 AM. We bought two stick for walking which is very
helpful during trekking. The distance from Banganga check post to Ardhkuwari is
around 7 KM and we reached there around 8:15 AM. My daughter didn’t like
sitting in pram and was crying continuously to come out of it and this
continued for around 30 mins, when she got chocolates/ candies/ juice, got
settled and started enjoying the ride in pram.
We
reached Ardhkuwari ( Manokarma Bhawan) around 8 AM and the battery car booking
slot was at 8:30 AM , there was huge line and we got to know that it’s open for
all age people and not restricted to only senior citizen. There was security
guy taking online booked tickets for senior citizen separately and giving slip
allotting taxi number. I asked my parents to start onward journey in battery
car along with daughter, it was approx. 30-45 mins journey from Ardhkuwari to
Bhawan.
They started around 8:40 AM and reached by 9:30 AM. My wife
was in queue for additional two tickets of battery car, and by the time her
number came up, the counter got closed ( around 8:45 AM) and we had to wait for
another 1.5 hour to have counter opened. Meanwhile, one guy came to me asking
if anybody needs taxi as only one seat was available but, slightly higher price
( 400 Rs per person) , we got agreed but, requested him for two seats and later
he agreed to accommodate both of us and we reached Bhawan at 10 AM where we met
with our parents who had bought Prasad from counter by that time near the Yatra
Slip Counter No-2 / Locker number -1.
Every pilgrim has to go to Yatra slip counter when they
reach Bhawan and get their yatra slip checked and obtain the group token
number. They can deposit their luggage in the designated lockers ( three
lockers before entering the temple premise) . Nobody can carry leather item,
wallet, mobile, camera etc inside temple premise so, they have to deposit it at
lockers.
I got to know that due to less number of tourists, it was
not require to get group token number and everybody can go directly to temple.
I tried finding locker but, all were occupied, the locker 2 & 3 near
temple, there was big queue ( around 100 people in one line, there were two
lines), they were waiting for locker guy to come and operate for them. I
inquired nearby shops who were also offering temporary storage area in their
prasad shops and one guy was ( Shop number 56) providing such service but, you
need to take prasad from his shop, so, I also bought it and deposited all
mobile phones, wallet, watch to him ( no deposit token, everything works on mutual
trust 😊)
I kept all the money and deposited rest everything at his shop and came at entry point of premise. We started around 11 AM and it took 1 hour to come out from the temple. There was little waiting time but, manageable as it kept moving. There was no rush inside temple and had easy darshan of Mata Vaishno Devi. My parents got the lift that opens inside the temple so, they didn’t have to climb even single stair to reach to temple and they returned from same route. We came out and had breakfast after collecting luggage/ mobile/ watches without any issue.
We found that there was big queue at ropeway counter for
Bhairon Baba temple so, we dropped plan to visit the temple. We noticed another
big queue ( around 100 guys) standing in the queue for battery car and counter
had to open around 2 PM, we also got in queue as we had to take additional two
ticket( each person in queue can take max 2 tickets), counter opened at 2 PM
and our turn came up in 45 mins, we were lucky this time, got two tickets and
counter closed with us at approx 2:45 PM
Meanwhile, my father got into separate queue for senior
citizen having online ticket issued. Since all battery vehicle had left by the
time we reached there so, had to wait for another 15-20 mins for vehicles to turn
up. It took again 30 mins to reach Ardhkuwari from Bhawan. The only problem
with these taxi was, excessive honking, these guys were going one after the
another and continuously honking and creating nuisance for the people who are
walking along the route.
We reached around 3:30 PM and after some wait, got palki,
pithu for Banganga ( Chetak Bhawan – PrePaid counter, Banganga Check post) in
4K Rs ( 1800 Rs each and 350 Rs for Pithu).
There were lot of food shops route, filtered water, rest
rooms, dispensary availability. The taxi operates in newly path – Himkoti Marg
and from Ardhkuwari there are two ways, one is newly constructed / opened - tarakote Marg ( only available for pilgrims
and no battery car/ palki/ pithu operate there ) and Banganga route.
We reached by 5:30 PM at Banganga check post where asked
Taxi ( Mr Satpal Singh, Dzire taxi – JK21-B-1026) driver to pick, he was in
Katra so, picked up around 6 PM and went to hotel to pick luggage, we had snacks
break for 1 hour and started for Jammu around 7 PM, reached LemonTree, Jammu
around 8:30 PM. The hotel is just opposite to Jammu Railway station which was advantage
because our train was on following day around 7:50 AM.
It was amazing trip and didn’t have any difficulty during
the journey & trek to Bhawan. Hope the blog will be helpful for you guys as
well especially when planning trip with family/ kids.
Very useful & important informations have been shared by Munesh Boss..
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a detailed blog ..and will help us ..hope Mata Rani send us a invite too soon !!
ReplyDelete