Ideal Time To Visit : March till July
The sacred shrine of Vashno Devi, the mother goddess of Hindus is on top of the Trikuta Hills at a height of 1,700 mt. The cave is 30 metres long and just one-and-a half mt high. At the end of the cave are shrines dedicated to the three forms of the mother goddess - Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati. Pilgrims have to enter in small groups through a narrow opening and walk through ice-cold waters to reach the shrines. According to legend, the mother goddess hid in the cave while escaping a demon, whom she ultimately killed. The shrine of Vaishno Devi is approached through Katra, which lies 13 km from the shrine and is the base for the pilgrimage. From Katra vehicles are not allowed. Pilgrims either can go by Tattos or by Helikeptor, however most of the pilgrims walking.
History
'Vaishnavi' means the one who is related to lord "Vishnu''. Goddess Vaishnavi is the manifestation of the collective spiritual strengths of Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati. It is described in Durga Sapatshati that the goddess was born as a young girl of extraordinary beauty and strength, out of the collectively pooled 'Tejas' of various 'Devtas' and three lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar. The immediate purpose of the creation of the goddess was the annihilation of Asura (Devil) Mahishasura. However another purpose of her creation was that she might usher on earth an era of pious and ascetic life so that the peace could prevail upon the world and she through her penance could rise to higher levels of spirituality and ultimately merge with Vishnu.
How to reach
Air
The nearest airport is in Jammu, which is 48 km from Katra. There is a helicopter service that departs from the airport at Sanjhi Chat in Jammu in the morning. The ride costs about Rs. 2,000 one way (baggage 2 kg, 15 minute)
Train
The nearest train station is in Jammu.
Bus
There are regular buses leaving for the 52 km trip from the central bus stand in Jammu to where the road ends at Katra (2 hr).
