Jai mata di. Review on Vaishnodevi

In mid  May this year we had been to vaishnodevi.  I collected all the available information thru various sites. Chopper  booking opens before 30 days but this year due to revival of contract the booking opened late.  It is very difficult to book thru Vaishonodevi site so I tried pawan hans and global vectra’s site.  They do not accept one way booking (700) and hence I dropped the idea as I was going for the first time and wanted to climb down on foot and visit other places enroute.

I took the yatra parchi online by paying rs.50/- per person. After reaching Jammu we took a bus to katra (Rs.70/-pp) and reached in about 2 hrs (the bus took a break of 30 mts.) .  We did not book hotels online as it is always costly.  So after checking out some hotels at the bus stand we checked-in at Golden Castle which is 2 mts frm bus stand.  700 for AC and 500 for non AC.

We required the room only for 24 hrs i.e. from 6 pm to next day 6 but all the hotels over there have strict check-in\check out time of 12.00 noon and hence we had to pay for 2 days and so we opted for non AC room which was a big mistake as the rooms do not have any ventilation/window and the fan was throwing hot air. We had our dinner at a vaishnav Dhaba (there are several options at bustand) and at 11.30 pm took an auto till the entry gate.

We had yatra parchi for the next day darshan but were allowed entry even before 12.00 am.  Yatra Parchi is available at the bus stand free of cost.  We planned to book registered horses for uphill journey but after enquiring from the shrine counter were informed that no horses were available till morning which we doubted was for some personal gain.  The people managing the shrine board offices are very rude and reply only after repeating your question twice or thrice including the office personnel at the entry point.  We took private horses who charged 370 pp one way till Ardhkuwari which is the steepest part of the climb.  Enroute we saw Banganga which has no water at all and a tap pipe is kept open for those who wish to take a bath but the surrounding was so dirty that you would not want to enter.  After getting of at ardhkuwari junction at 2.00 am we came across two roads, one goes directly to the temple which is 5.5 km(new road) where horses are not allowed and hence clean and which is a straight road and the other one is thru ardhkuwari which is 6.5 km and which is steep.  We thought of checking out ardhkuwari but already many people were waiting for their group  numbers.  We thought of taking a number and while coming down we can check out but the man outside informed that if we miss our group number we will have to take a fresh number so we dropped the idea and entered a tunnel  from  Ardhkuwari which took us to the new road directly.  Though the new road has gentle slope but it is more than 5.5 km as stated by the shrine.  we halted for 5/10 mts  after every half an hr as it was very tiring and my 10 yr  was tired but since we knew that the temple would close for 2 hrs at 6 am we hurried and at 4.30 am we reached the temple. After showing the yatra parchi at the counter we got a group number.  Since electronics/leather items are not allowed inside the cave we deposited our wallet/belt/shoes/camera/mobile/purse etc in the locker which took more than 45 mts. as all the lockers were full and they could issue fresh one only when somebody vacates lockers issued to them earlier.   We were there on a week day and though there was huge rush it was comparateively lesser than weekend.  After thorough checking we entered the cave within 15 mts. and took darshan of the three deities which are on the left side of  cave and are in the form of pindies.  Whatever bhaint put in the box before entering the cave or afterwards.  Nobody was allowed to offer anything  except chunri inside the cave.  After collecting the Prasad we came out of the shrine collected our belongings and took snaps.  Earlier we had decided to go to bhairon temple but since we were tired we dropped the idea as bhairon temple is steep one hr journey.  Till Ardhkuwari we took the new road only but after that it is difficult to walk due to horses but we took a combination of stairs and road and reached down at 10 am.The best thing about the temple and town is there is not a single beggar and people earn only through hardwork whether it is the pitthu, the palkiwalas, the mallishwalas or the horsewalas hence would request to avail their services as that is the only means of livelihood for them.   We rested for the whole day as our legs were aching.  In evening we did some shopping for dry fruits (as all other things are very costly) and next day morning (5.00 am) took a bus to pathankot ( 5hrs) for onward journey to Dalhousie, Dharamshala, Manali and Shimla. Please avoid katra in summer as it is very hot though bhawan is very cold in the morning.  If possible take chopper both ways (1400) which gives you a VIP pass and 3/4 hrs time to complete your darshan.  Else start uphill journey in the evening so that early morning you are back as the sun heat on the track would be unbearable.