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.
