Under the patronage of Shri Mata Vaishnodevi ✨
After a break of 5 years, I'm back with a beautiful and reminiscing trip to Shri Mata Vaishnodevi, Katra. It was a long, throned wish to visit the temple, which finally got fulfilled after a wait of 17 years. As the name suggests, Vaishnodevi is a pilgrimage spot in the Trikuta Mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, which is amongst the toughest trek pilgrims undertake at 5,200 feet after an arduous journey of 14 kms. Vaishnodevi is one of the incarnations of Goddess Lakshmi. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage spots in India. So this was a family trip starting from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, through Malwa Express, a direct train departing at 12:15 PM to Katra, taking approximately 30 hours to reach the destination. We saw scenic landscapes throughout the journey as we crossed 5 states, MP, UP, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, to finally arrive in Jammu and Kashmir. We arrived at Katra the next day's evening and headed to our hotel (The Vaishvik), close to the hike's starting point