Vaishno Devi

Vaishno Devi is among India's most visited Hindu pilgrimage sites, a cave shrine dedicated to the goddess set high in the Trikuta hills above the town of Katra, reached by a roughly 13km uphill trek, pony ride or helicopter transfer. Millions of pilgrims make the climb each year, many overnight, past a well-organised route of rest stops, langars (free community kitchens) and lodges that have grown up specifically to support the pilgrimage.

The final approach involves passing through a narrow cave passage to reach the sanctum, where three natural rock formations, known as pindis, are worshipped as manifestations of the goddess. The scale of the pilgrimage infrastructure, run largely by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, along with the physical achievement of the climb itself, gives a Vaishno Devi visit a character quite distinct from more conventional Indian temple visits, closer to a genuine pilgrimage trek.

The shrine's origins are described in Hindu mythology and local legend rather than precise historical record, but it has been an established pilgrimage destination for centuries, with the modern shrine board formed in 1986 to manage the pilgrimage's rapidly growing scale.

Katra, the base town, is about 50km from Jammu by road; the climb to the shrine itself takes 6-9 hours on foot.