Trip to Katra, Mata Vaishno Devi from Mumbai
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Katra is one of the
famous tourist pilgrimage destinations in the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir, the town is situated in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains, about
45 km from the city of Jammu. Katra is a base camp site for tourists/devotees
who visit Mata Vaishno Devi Temple, which is the main attraction here for
tourists. This beautiful place is known for its scenic beauty, it also has a
cool climate and offers many pleasant sightseeing views where you can also
enjoy the beauty of the mountains. There are many budget hotels available in
Katra to stay, which offer beautiful scenic views of green valleys around.
Katra is well connected to other neighbouring cities with various means of
transportation like via Air (Jammu Airport), Road and Rail transport.
Trip to Vaishno Devi Katra from Mumbai
How to reach Katra
from Mumbai:
By Train:
The Town is served
by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station on the JammuTawi-Udhampur-Katra
railroute hence, you can reach Katra from anywhere in the country by traveling
on a train.
There is a direct
train between Mumbai and Katra. Swaraj Express is a superfast express train
that connects Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station in Jammu to Mumbai
in Maharashtra via Vadodara-Kota-New Delhi-Jammu Tawi line. The total journey
between Mumbai and Katra takes around 33 hours by train.
Note: Please go
through the official site of Indian Railways to get updated details about
ticket fare, train arrival and departure schedule, seat availability, etc.
By Road:
Katra is accessible
by road and national highways from neighbouring cities. The road distance from
Mumbai to Katra is approximately 2000kms, and it will take more than 30hr to
reach Katra by road from Mumbai. Hence I would suggest going by either train or
flight.
By Air:
The town doesn't
have its own airport, however, the Jammu airport is the nearest airport to
Katra (Approximate 50Kms) and it is well connected with almost all major city
airports across India.
From outside the
airport, one can hire a cab/taxi or take a bus / other available public
transport to reach Katra by road.
Trip to Vaishno Devi Katra
Tourist attractions
/ Places to visit in Katra and around / Places of interest in Katra:
1.Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple - Temple Bhawan is located about 12-13Kms from base Katra, situated in the foothills of the mountains range. The pilgrimage to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple (shrine) starts from the base camp at Katra. There are some modes of transportation are available to reach near Bhawan from the base (like Pony, Helicopter, Walking journey)
2.Ban Ganga, Katra
3.Bhairon Temple -
Situated at approximate 2.5-3 km up from the Bhawan and it is next place to
visit for the pilgrims after visiting the holy Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi.
4.Shopping, Sightseeing and
more …
Trip to Vaishno Devi Katra
Mumbai to Katra Trip
Details:
Are you planning to
visit Vaishno Devi temple, Katra (state of Jammu and Kashmir). Here in this
blogpost, I am going to share my trip details and photos with you so as this
will help you in planning a trip to Katra.
Day 1: Overnight journey by train from Mumbai to
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra. As this was our planned tour, we had already done
some shopping for the trip a few days before the date of the journey also
booked a ticket in advance from Bandra to Katra and seats were allotted to us
in coach A3 ac 2 tier. Coming to date of the journey, early morning...I was
pretty excited as I was going to visit Jammu (North side) the first time. We
got ready with our luggage, hired a cab and reached the station about 40 minutes
before our train was due to leave. A memorable journey was about to begin. As
this was an overnight journey, we were given a bedsheet, pillow, and blanket on
the train in AC coach. Our train departed from Mumbai (Bandra) as per the
schedule of departure and the journey towards Katra began. After leaving
Borivali, the train accelerated rapidly and maintained a good speed to reach
the destination (with official halts).
Day 2: After around 33 hours' long journey, we
reached Katra in the evening by 5:30. After reaching there, we proceeded to
check into our hotel in Katra for taking some rest pre and post our uphill trek. Our
hotel was very close to the base point. Quickly we freshened up, had our lunch
in the nearby restaurant and took some rest. After having dinner at a good
restaurant, we got ready to proceed towards the base point to start the trek up
the hills and walk up to the shrine. We preferred night-time to trek up the
hills so as to avoid scorching heat during the daytime. At around 10:30 PM, we
commenced our journey by foot to Vaishnodevi Temple from the main entrance of
base point, a trek of around 13kms. Once you start the trek, it's all about
experiencing beautiful and scenic surrounding views of mountains and valleys,
feeling the fresh air and much more to enjoy while climbing uphill. We observed
that the road from start to end up to the shrine is neat and clean with full of
basic facilities like food shops, restrooms, etc available which made our trek
restful. To reach the temple, there are some possible modes of transport
services available like Helicopter (during the daytime), Pithoo, Pony ride at
defined rate. Services available between Katra To Bhawan, Katra To Adhkumari,
Katra To Bhawan via Bhairon, and Katra To Sanjichhat. (Updated rates can be checked
on the board). I think Yatri pass/registration is mandatory for all those who
want to visit the temple, so, that thing you will have to check before
proceeding to journey. It took approximately 7 hours to reach the temple by
walk, and it was really interesting journey.
My trip to Katra, Vaishno devi
Day 3: We reached the temple complex in the early
morning at around 5:30 am and after resting for a few minutes, stood in the
queue (darshan line) for almost hrs. That day, it was crowded, I think I got
into the queue at around 6 AM and after hours we got to the main temple. It
took about two and a half hours to get the darshan and worship. After having a
peaceful darshan and blessings, We had a quick breakfast and continued our
journey towards the Bhairon temple which is Situated at approximate 2.5-3 km up
from the Bhawan. At around 9:00 AM, we reached Bhairon Temple. After taking
darshan, we spent some time capturing beautiful pics, walking around, etc.
After a lot of enjoyment and we started walking back towards our hotel and by
4:30 PM (in the evening) we reached the base point, Katra. We had also planned
for a quick sightseeing trip but as we were so tired due to a lot of walking
and due to the limited time frame, we decided to go to the market for shopping.
After shopping and dinner, we came back to our hotel and retired for the night.
Accommodation- Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel in Katra as per tour
plan.
Day 4: Overnight train journey to Mumbai - In the
morning, we boarded the train for Mumbai from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra
Railway station and started our return journey towards Mumbai.
Day 5: Around 6
pm, we reached Bandra Terminal in Mumbai. From there, we booked a cab and
reached home safely.
Entrance base point, Walk from Katra to Vaishno devi temple
Details of expenses
during the journey from Mumbai To Katra:
1.Train Reservation
ticket from Bandra Trm to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (Swaraj Express,
Direct train / Paschim Express if via Delhi-Jalandhar): Rs pp (A.C. two Tier
2A).
2.Train Reservation
ticket from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to Bandra Trm (Swaraj Express /
Paschim Express if via Delhi-Jalandhar): Rs pp (A.C. 2 Tier 2A).
3.Food and
Refreshment during the journey:
4.Yatri Pass Parchi:
5.Hotel
accommodation room charges:
6:Local transport /
Auto (From Railway station-hotel-basecamp-hotel-
7:Locker Charges:
8.Shopping and
other:
Way To Bhawan
Note: To get more details
regarding traveling to Katra, you can take the help of internet (official
website of railways and other transport) or travel guide. Train details can be
checked on the official site of railway or other online recognized services.
Best time to visit
Katra:
October to March
Trip Duration and
Summary:
Sunday: Morning
train From Mumbai to Katra, overnight journey.
Monday: Reach Katra
in the evening. Start the trek from base camp.
Tuesday: Reach
temple complex, Darshan etc. and overnight stay at hotel in Katra.
Wednesday: Morning,
train from Katra to Mumbai, overnight journey.
Thursday: Reach
Mumbai in the evening by 6.
Keep traveling
because Every travel teaches you something new, create memories and connect to
other cultures and people, which surely helps in your education as well.
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Morning At Mathura Jn
$$$ Happy Journey $$$
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Coming Soon..My
Trip To Amritsar, Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Rohtang Pass.
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