Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakti, located in the hills of Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Hinduism, Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata Rani and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess.
The temple is near the town of Katra, in the Reasi district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the most revered places of worship in India. The shrine is at an altitude of 5200 feet and a distance of approximately 14 kilometres (8.4 miles) from Katra. Approximately 8 million pilgrims (yatris) visit the temple every year and it is the second most visited religious shrine in India, after Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board maintains the shrine. A rail link from Udhampur to Katrais being built to facilitate pilgrimage. The nearest airport is Jammu Airport which has very high flight frequency. All leading domestic airlines have their services to Jammu Airport.
More details can be read from wikipedia link here and from the Vishno devi Shrine Board website : http://maavaishnodevi.org/
Helicopter service is available to reach the top of the hills upto 7PM. More details on this can be had from the web page here.
Excellent accommodation is available in this place. We stayed at Trikut Bhavan of Shrine Board. See the video of the rooms at the Videos section.
Well it is a pity that cameras are not allowed beyond the entrance at the foothills and hence the trekking path could not be shot..!
Though the road to Vaishno devi is not all that great, the scenery on either side is quite the opposite..!
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| This is trikut Bhavan - Our accommodation |
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| The Vaishno devi mountain makes a perfect backdrop for the hotel |
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| Can you see the pathway..Zoomed in from the balcony of my room.. |
The accommodation at Trikut Bhavan is excellent. The small temple at the centre and the open to the sky terrace is really enchanting..!
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| From the balcony of my room.. The white dots are the lighting on the path way.. |
We have never been far away from the south Indian food..Thanks to enterprising Rammohan..!
Well, no trip ends without shopping.. Does it?
The shopping is never a quick activity in the case of womenfolks.. Ram wondering when the female folks were going to return ?..
In the meanwhile , Let's take a stroll on the streets ..!
I wish they allowed cameras while trekking up..! Sigh..!
It is time to pack for our next destination..!
PHOTOSTORY
Full Set OF PHOTOS
VIDEOS
View of the Vaishno devi at night
Accommodation at Trikut Bhavan of Shrine Board
Lovely write up and superb snaps .
ReplyDeleteQuite an impressing site and I understand why cameras are not allowed as we have to respect highly religious sites such as this one. Are the Mother Goddess and Gaia different?
ReplyDeleteI love the temple and glass roof in the hotel, that is superb and creates a very unique ambiance.
Nice post Sridharan, thanks!
What a gorgeous, fascinating place, Sridharan! And your posts are always so well written and such superb photos! Love all the colors! The pathway that you zoomed in on is awesome! Thank you for sharing the beauty, the fun and the history! Have a lovely evening!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Wonderful place. I loved the scenic beauty of the place.
ReplyDeleteThanks TGS!
ReplyDeleteThanks DeeBee.. I am upset about their not allowing camera even before 14km trek..The trekking route should be a marvellous sight and provide ample photo opportunity. Well.. Mother Goddess is not really Gaia.. But a general terminology used for the feminine aspect of the God!
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking Sylvia.. Your comments are always a source of motivation, I am sure..!
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely place indeed Rajesh.. If I will not visit it again, it is only because of the fact that they do not allow cameras in the 14 km long trek..!
ReplyDeleteBewitching beauty of the hills captured so well. These images would get etched in mind forever.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chitra..I wish I had more time there.
ReplyDeleteBrings back wonderful old memories!! But Katra has developed very rapidly in the last few years, some 15 years ago it was a very quiet place...
ReplyDeleteAlso did you visit the Bhairav Nath Temple about 2 kms ascend from the Vaishno Devi Temple... It is said that without a visit there the visit to Vaishno Devi Temple is meaningless!!
nice texts and pics
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing
"HAPPY ONAM TO YOUR & YOUR FAMILY"
I too find it disappointing about "no cameras".
ReplyDeleteYou got nice shots of around the place. Great trip.
Beautiful photos and such divine atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's very disappointing to see a "No Camera" sign.
I did not Arti.. Would do it next time as my current visit has turned meaningless..(lol)!
ReplyDeleteThanks to visiting the post.!
Thanks Krishna.. Hope you had a very happy ONAM as well..!
ReplyDeleteThanks Indrani.. It was quite disappointing indeed..!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ash..!
ReplyDeleteWe have always wanted to visit this shrine; it was such a pleasure going through this post. The shops brought back recent memories from our visit to India! :-)
ReplyDeleteMagical places - i hope i can travel Indis one day to see it with my own eyes! Thanks for posting, Sridahan!
ReplyDeleteThanks ?. I too refresh my memory by visiting these blog posts of mine and others to get rejuvenated..!
ReplyDeleteThanks Martina for stopping by and caring to comment nicely..!
ReplyDeleteIt was a visual treat!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful series about your journey! I have enjoyed reading these posts very much and the photographs are fantastic- my Friend and I also enjoyed viewing them.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
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