Towards Jammu

Even though we had a long day in Amritsar, our enthusiasm was still high. We decided to travel overnight to Katra in Jammu to visit Vaishnodevi shrine.

11th April, 2008

Reached Katra at dawn. The mountain where the shrine is situated looked beautiful against the light-blue backdrop.
We freshened up at a government Yatri Niwas and after having some tasty Aloo parathas we were set on our way to visit the shrine. The journey uphill being a tasking one, we took up the the helicopter ride. It was the first time I rode in a copter and it was worth every rupee spent. From the Helipad, we had to walk for about an hour till the shrine.

The pathway along which we travelled provided a divine view of the surroundings.The shrine is located inside a cave in the mountain. After the darshan, we headed to Bhairon Ghati which is still higher from the shrine. The legend says that the yatra isn't complete unless one visits this place after visiting the shrine. After a strenous climb, we reached this place. The viewing gallery here provided some of the most beautiful scenery of the area with the clouds
descending on the mountains and the mist in the air.



The Climb down
This was an unforgettable part of the journey. We started climbing down to the Katra village. The winding path with steps intertwined seemed to be never ending. It took us 4 hours to reach the base after taking some breaks in between. Our legs were hurting and all we could take were baby-steps by the time we reached the base.

An unplanned destination
At Katra, while discussing with a travel agent, we had the idea of visiting Srinagar. This was not in our plans. We were soon on our way to Srinagar.

For the night we stopped at Patnitop hill station. This is a small hill station nestled in the hills of Jammu on the way to Srinagar. It was raining and temperatures dropped drastically. Luckily we could find a hotel to spend the night.