50
kms from Jammu. This small town serves as the base camp
for visiting the famous shrine of Vaishnodeviji in the
Trikuta Hills. The shrine is approachable on foot along
a 12 kms. Long well laid foot-path. Every year, nearly
4 million pilgrims pass through Katra on their way to
Vaishnodeviji. Accommodation is available in Tourist
Bungalows, Yatrika and a number of private hotels, beside
pilgrims''sarais'.
The Legend of Mata Vaishnodeviji.
Everyday of the year throngs of people surge up the
steep pathways that cut across the Trikuta hillsides
for mile after mile. This show of faith is finely interwoven
with the cultural strands of the Indian subcontinent,
and these pathways have been trod on for many centuries
now. Popular belief holds that anybody who walks the
Himalayan trail to the goddesses's abode to ask for
a boon rarely goes back disappointed. Whatever be it,
a new enterprise or a forthcoming examination, marriage
or birth, the devout look up to the Mata For blessings
and guidance. There are many who journey year after
year to pay obeisance regardless of their faith or belief,
creed or class, caste or religion.
Places to visit from Katra
Aghar Jitto : Just 5 km away from
Katra is Aghar Jitto, the Shrine of Baba Jitto, a devotee
of Mata Vaishno Devi and a revolutionary who led a campaign
against the feudal order. According to legends, a dip
in the holy spring water, flowing in front of the shrine,
does miracles to pre-natal women for safe delivery of
children. A path from here leads to Shri Mata Vaishno
Devi.
Dera Baba Banda : At about 30 kms
from Katra lies this major Hindu-Sikh pilgrimage centre.
Baba Banda Bairaagi was Guru Gobind Singh's favourite
'Saint-soldier', who had the gurudwara constructed on
the banks of river Chenab, where he spent his last days.
Baba Dhansar : Located 10 kms from
Katra (1 km on foot) is Baba Dhansar, a beautiful and
cool picnic spot. Here, a huge spring gushes out of
the mountainside in a thick grove of trees and forms
a number of small waterfalls before flowing into the
holy Banganga. Next to the spring in a small grove in
the rock face is a naturally formed 'Shivling' on which
droplets of water fall naturally all the year round.
A major 'mela' (fair) is held here during Shivratri.
Shiv Khori : This holy cave is nearly
a kilometer long and houses a 4 ft high, naturally formed
'Shivling'. It is considered second only to the shrine
of Mata Vaishno Devi in religious importance. There
are stalactites & stalagmites dripping milky limestone
water from the ceiling. Situated at a distance of about
100 kms from Jammu and about 75 kms from Katra, Shiv
Khori hosts a major fair on Shivratri day every year.
