Vaishno Devi Travel Blog

Jammu, 16-01-2025: Mata Vaishno Devi's sacred Trikuta hills witnessed the season's first snowfall, transforming the revered pilgrimage site into a winter wonderland. Alongside, widespread rain swept across the Jammu region, disrupting key transport links like the Mughal and Simthan roads, officials reported. Despite the snowfall and travel challenges, the determination of devotees remained unwavering as pilgrims braved the cold to trek on foot toward the shrine, seeking the blessings of the divine. Pilgrims expressed their joy at witnessing the snowfall during their sacred journey. "Feeling the snowflakes for the first time in my life, and that too here, feels like a divine blessing," shared an elated devotee from Pune. Beyond the Trikuta hills, other areas in the J...

The natural cave at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district was opened for devotees for Makar Sankranti celebrations on Tuesday (January 14, 2025), officials said. "The doors of the old cave were opened for devotees after special prayers which were among others attended by Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Anshul Garg," they said. The natural cave within the shrine's sanctum sanctorum is usually opened during winter months when the rush of devotees is less. Many devotees wait eagerly for the day to have 'darshan' at the shrine through the natural cave, which remains closed for most of the year owing to safety issues. "The natural cave is open for the devotees from today, depending o...

Katra: Standing outside a three-decade-old tea shop at Banganga, the iconic gateway to the Vaishno Devi shrine, Sonu Thakur declared: "The fight is far from over." His words gave rise to a chorus by the crowd of two dozen pony operators and shopkeepers: "Hum berozgar ho jayenge, agar ropeway yeh banayenge (We will lose our livelihoods if they built the ropeway.)" Thakur goes around giving updates on the ropeway project. It is at such mini gatherings he finds support. Thakur, a member of the Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti (VDSS), is mobilising people against the Rs 250-crore ropeway project that aims to connect Tarakote marg to Sanji Chhat, reducing the 13-kilometer trek to the shrine that takes 5-6 hours on foot to just six minutes. The VDSS represents 60,000 sh...

The government of India has commenced the construction of a ropeway project worth Rs 250 crore for Mata Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir, a revered Hindu shrine. In 2022, over 91 lakh devotees visited the temple, with most of them trekking 12 kilometres to reach the temple located in the Trikuta Hills, which sit at an altitude of 5,200 feet near Jammu. On Wednesday, Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited (RITES) opened bids for the nearly 2.4-km ropeway project, which will employ a gondola cable car system and could decrease the arduous journey for pilgrims from 5–6 hours to just six minutes. The project will begin at Tarakote, near the base camp of Katra, and finish at Sanjichat, close to the temple. The project is anticipated to be completed within 3 years. Not...

Vaishno Devi temple news: The cave shrine of Vaishno Devi atop Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district has put in place e-surveillance through a dedicated CCTV network of over 700 cameras, officials said on Friday (January 27). A record of over 91.25 lakh devotees paid obeisance at the shrine in 2022, the highest in the past nine years, they said. "Safety and security of pilgrims is the top priority of shrine board," Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), Anshul Garg said. For the purpose of real-time tracking of pilgrims on the track, ensure proper crowd management and manage registration of the pilgrimage in a seamless and hassle-free way, the board has started the issuance of free RFID-based yatra access cards. ...

Over 91 lakh pilgrims visited the famous Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir in 2022, the highest in the last nine years, a senior official of the shrine board said on Sunday. Over 23,000 devotees offered prayers at the shrine located atop Trikuta hills on New Year's Eve. In a tweet, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board CEO Anshul Garg said, "91.25 lakh devotees paid obeisance at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in 2022, the highest number since the start of Online Individual Yatri registration in 2013. May Mata Rani continue to shower blessings of peace, happiness and prosperity upon all of us." According to shrine board data, 23,110 pilgrims offered prayers at the shrine on the last day of 2022. In 2022, the highest footfall was recorded in Jun...