I will be arriving at Delhi airport on 10th September with my parents, and we plan to go to Vaishno Devi. My parents family are all in Ahmedabad, so we don't really know anything about traveling in the North part of India. Our mode of transport to get to Vaishno Devi will be by train, and what we are want to know is how can we fulfil the Vaishno Devi yatra by train without any problems. We have not traveled on a train in India before so we need help from booking tickets to boarding the train. We would also like to know how long the yatra will take? The time we should start the yatra? Any place which we should visit while there?
Hello, @Avantika! Welcome to the forum! Katra has its own railway station named Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station. The station is just about three kms away from the Vaishno Devi Bhavan. From Delhi, there are direct trains going to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station. Here are their timings: Jammu Tawi Express Train No. 11449 - This departs from Okhla during Wednesdays at 22:07. It arrives in Katra at 15:20. Andaman Express Train No. 16031 - This departs from Okhla during Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 22:07. It arrives in Katra at 15:20. Himsagar Express Train No. 16317 - This departs from Shakurbasti during Mondays at 00:46. It arrives in Katra at 15:20. Navyug Express Train No. 16687 - This departs from Shakurbasti during Thursdays at 00:46. It arrives in Katra at 15:20. Tirunelveli Jammu Express Train No. 16787 - This departs from Shakurbasti during Mondays and Thursdays at 00:46. It arrives in Katra at 15:20. Kota SVDK Express Train No. 19803 - This departs from New Delhi during Sundays at 00:10. It arrives in Katra at 15:20. Swaraj Express Train No. 12471 - This departs from New Delhi during Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 4:50. It arrives in Katra at 17:10. Sarvodaya Express Train No. 12473 - This departs from New Delhi during Tuesdays at 4:50. It arrives in Katra at 17:10. Hapa Jammu Tawi Express Train No. 12475 - This departs from New Delhi during Thursdays at 4:50. It arrives in Katra at 17:10. Jamnagar Jammu Tawi Express Train No. 12477 - This departs from New Delhi during Wednesdays at 4:50. It arrives in Katra at 17:10. SVDK Premium Express Train No. 22679 - This departs from New Delhi during Mondays at 7:50. It arrives in Katra at 20:25. Sri Shakti Express Train No. 22461 - This departs from New Delhi everyday at 17:30. It arrives in Katra at 15:10. Jammu Mail Train No. 14033 - This departs from Delhi everyday at 20:10. It arrives in Katra at 11:50. Uttar Seamark Kranti Train No. 12445 - This departs from New Delhi everyday at 20:50. It arrives in Katra at 8:40. From the station, you can walk by foot, ride a bus or ride a taxi to reach the Vaishno Devi Temple which is just a few kms away from it. For online booking of ticket, here is the process: Go to the IRCTC website and register a new account. Exit the browser and open a new one. Enter your login details, username and password. Click on the Plan My Journey tab, select the station to station name. In your case, From Station would be Delhi and To Station would be Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra. Select your journey date as well. Select e-Ticket type in the drop down list for ticket type. Click on the Submit option. The List of Trains will then show your available options for trains, fares and routes. Click on the Class Type preferred for one particular train. To book tickets, click on the Book Now option. The ticket reservation page now appears. Make sure the details are correct before proceeding. For more than one passenger, input the names, berth and gender of each. The ticket details, availability of tickets at the particular time and the fare, including the service charge, appear on the screen, along with the payment options. Select payment option and bank from the dropdown list. Click on Make Payment and it redirects you to the bank site. After successful payment, the user is shown the ticket confirmation details along with a Print Reservation Slip button. On clicking the button ERS is shown with an option to print. Print this section and show at the ticket collector in the train. You would also receive an SMS with the details of your journey. You can show the SMS to the ticket collector along with a valid document like PAN Card, Ration Card, Aadhar Card or Voter Card. Then, download the IRCTC Connect App or the National Train Enquiry System App (NTES) for tracking your train's running status. For more information about this, do read this thread: How to check train running status?. You can then keep track of your train's running status and know when it will arrive to Delhi exactly. Be there at least 30 minutes before it arrives. Also, don't forget to bring your valid documents and IDs. The Vaishno Devi Temple is located at a distance of about 12 kms from Darshani Deodi, this is where the trek commences. For a normal healthy person, it takes about four to five hours to reach the temple. For the elderly, it can take a bit more, at about 6 hours or more. However, there are other options to reaching the temple: Helicopter - This takes just 8 minutes to reach the temple. Fare is at Rs. 1,170 per person for a 1 way ride. Palki - This is mainly for the elderly and costs Rs. 3,000. Pony - This costs Rs. 700 and it can take you 2 hours to reach the temple with this one. Pitthu - You can hire this one for your luggage or even small children. It costs Rs. 260. You can start the yatra any time of the day as it's open 24/7. But if you'd like to reach back home on the same day, do start early in the morning so you can get back home before late night time. Also, make sure that you have registered your group prior to starting the yatra, at the Yatra Parchi Counter. So aside from the Vaishno Devi Temple, you can also visit these other places: Ardh Kuwari Cave - This is located midway to the Vaishno Devi Temple. Some devotees opt for a stopover here before continuing on their journey for the Vaishno Devi Temple. It is believed that the the Mata Vaishno Devimade this her abode for nine months before settling on the Vaishno Devi Bhavan. It is also quite narrow but its length is about 15 feet long. The unique narrow shape of the entrance is believed to have been planned as a way for Mata to escape Bhairon. Inside the cave, there are shrines for the three goddesses which are Kali, Laxmi and Saraswati. Bhairavnath Temple - This temple is located about two kms away from the Vaishno Devi Bhavan. The story goes that Shridhar, a faithful devotee of Ma Devi, was asked by the goddess to prepare a collective lunch for the village people. And so Shridhar did invite the people along with a malicious sage named Bhairavnath. On the day of the lunch, the Goddess appeared as a little girl and took care of everything, serving food ample enough for all the villagers. However, Bhairavnath kept on testing her and even followed the Goddess to her home in the caves. Upon seeing him, the Goddess threw her trident with so much force that his head fell off. With his last breath, he asked for forgiveness and salvation. The Goddess promised him that all the devotees coming to her to seek blessings, will also have to visit his temple in order to complete their holy journey. Thus, the place where his head fell became the site of the Bhairavnath Temple. Baba Dhansar - This is about 15 kms away from Katra. It is located at Karua Jheel, near the village of Karua. It is believed that Shesh Nag came in the human form as Vasudev here. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar, who was a saintly person. For a time, there was a demon who lived in the village. Baba Dhansar asked for the help of Lord Shiva and the Lord did comply to kill the demon. The temple of Baba Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva here near Karua Jheel has become a place of worship. Karua Jheel is a pond and it is considered sacred, bathing is not permitted. I hope this helps!
