Day 01 : Jammu Katra by road (50 km) Vaishno Devi by trek (13 km, uphill and downhill)
A warm welcome on arrival at Jammu airport/railway station, and move to Katra. On arrival at Katra, check into the hotel. After freshening up proceed to Vaishno Devi temple either by trek/pony or helicopter. After darshan return to the hotel at Katra.
Katra is the base camp from where the Vaishno Devi darshan starts. The nearest airport and railway head is at Jammu and at a distance of 50 Kms.
The Vaishno Devi Shrine is an uphill climb of approx 13 km from Katra.The journey is either on foot or by pony and takes approximately 10-12 hrs.There is also a helicopter service from Katra to the Sanjichat (Helipad) and then a 2.5 Km trek to the shrine.
Legend of Mata Vaishno Devi
As per the legend, the three main manifestations of Durga i.e. Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati got together and pooled their collective Tejas or spiritual strength from which a beautiful young girl emerged out .
The Devis explained to the girl to live on earth and uphold righteousness and evolve herself spiritually so that she would reach higher levels of consciousness. Once she did that, she would merge with Vishnu and become one with him.
The girl was reborn into a pious family and was named Vaishnavi .Soon, Vaishnavi learned the art of meditation and realized that meditation and penance only could bring her close to her objective. Thus Vaishnavi went deep into the forest for Tapasaya (meditation) and set up an ashram at the base of Trikuta hills.
Soon her glory spread far and wide, and people began to flock to her Ashram to seek her blessings. As time passed, a tantrik named Gorakh Nath became curious to find out whether Vaishnavi has been able to attain a high level of spirituality. He, therefore, sent his most able disciple 'Bhairon Nath' to find out the truth. Bhairon Nath started observing Vaishnavi, and realized that though a 'Sadhvi' she always carried bow and arrow with her, and was always surrounded by langoors (apes) and a ferocious looking lion. Bhairon Nath enamored by Vaishnavi's extraordinary beauty began to pester Vaishnavi to marry him but she tried her best to daunt him. On failing to do so, Vaishnavi decided to flee away into the mountains to continue her Tapasaya undisturbed. Bhairon Nath however chased her to her destination.
The goddess after halting at (present day) Banganga, Charan Paduka, and Adikuwari, finally reached the holy cave Shrine. When Bhairon Nath continued to follow her, the goddess was compelled to kill him. Bhairon Nath met his ultimate fate when the goddess, just outside the mouth of the cave, beheaded him. Bhairon Nath after death realized the futility of his mission and prayed to the deity to forgive him.
Meanwhile, Vaishnavi decided to shed off her human form and assuming the face of a rock she immersed her self into meditation forever. Thus Vaishnavi, in the form of a five and a half feet tall rock with three heads or the Pindies on the top is the ultimate destination of a devotee. These Pindies constitute the Sanctum Sanctorum of the holy cave known as the shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji, which is revered by one and all.
The route from Katra to Vaishno Devi
The 13 Kms path from Katra to the shrine has numerous temples with many legends attached to them, along the route.
The first is at Banganga, 1 Km away from Katra, where one can have a holy dip. As per the legend, the goddess, accompanied by Langoor-Veer shot an arrow into the ground and a spring gushed out, when Langoor-veer felt thirsty.
Second is at Charanpadhuka, about 2.5 Kms away from Banganga, As per the Legend, the goddess stopped at this place for a while to look back and check whether Bhairon Nath was still chasing her or not. Due to her standing there for a while, her footprints got engraved there hence the name Charanpaduka.
The third stop is Adikuwari, about 3 Kms from Charanpadhuka. Here the devotees can visit the cave "Gerbh jooni (womb).The word Adikuwari means Eternal virgin. At this place the Goddess is believed to have worshiped Lord Shiva in a cave for 9 months and when Bhairo Nath discovered her inside the cave She made an opening in the cave with her trident and proceeded towards Bhawan.
The last stop, approx 4 kms from Adikuwari, is Sanjichat. The Sanjichat is the highest point on the path and from here it is a descent to the temple.
