Vaishno Devi Temple — the cave shrine on the Trikuta mountain above Katra
What it is
The Vaishno Devi Temple, also written Vaishno Devi Bhavan and known to pilgrims simply as the Bhawan, is the cave shrine of the Mother Goddess on the Trikuta mountain above Katra. Inside the cave she is present as three natural stone pindis, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati, and the walk up to her is one of the great pilgrimages of India. Wikipedia puts the Bhawan at about 1,585 m (5,200 feet); it also gives 1,500 m in another place.
Photos: Raulcaeser (CC BY-SA 3.0) · KuwarOnline Talk (CC BY 3.0) · Mabhishek84 (CC BY-SA 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
The cave and the goddess
The old cave is about 30 m (98 feet) long. Pilgrims wade through the Charan Ganga, clear water that flows from near the pindis, past rock forms that devotees know as Shesha, a conch, a discus, a mace and a lotus, to the platform of the three pindis. Beside them is a rock in the shape of a raised hand, and some traditions honour the cave as a Shakta pitha. Because so many people come, tunnels have been made alongside the old cave so that darshan can continue.
Devotees say a journey here happens only when the goddess calls, the bulava, and that once the call comes the rest follows by her grace. Long before the present name, the three peaks of the mountain were worshipped as Trikuta Devi; European travellers in 1842 and 1859 still wrote of Trikuta Mai.
How the shrine is run
Since 1986 the shrine has been in the hands of a statutory board, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, with the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir at its head. Before that it was part of the Dharmarth Trust that Maharaja Gulab Singh set up in 1846. Wikipedia says the board reported 9.52 million pilgrims in 2023.
Getting there
Register in Katra first: the board's RFID yatra card is free and must cross the Banganga check post, about 1.5 km from the counter, within 6 hours. From Banganga the walk is 12 to 14 km, with Ardhkuwari, Charan Paduka and Sanjichhat on the way. Our yatra guide covers the card, the routes and the other ways up.
Combine it with
The two-day yatra plan gives the walk a day of its own. Read the best time to go and how to reach Katra, and see Bhimgarh Fort on a rest day.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Nearby places
All of Katra →
Nearby destinations
All destinations →
Questions people ask
Where is the Vaishno Devi temple?
On the Trikuta mountain in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, above the town of Katra. Wikipedia gives its height as about 1,585 m (5,200 feet). The walk starts at the Banganga check post near Katra and runs for 12 to 14 km to the Bhawan, depending on the route taken.
Who are the goddesses worshipped in the cave?
The Mother Goddess is present in the cave as three natural stone pindis: Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati, all forms of Vaishno Devi. Pilgrims walk through the clear water of the Charan Ganga inside the cave to reach them. Because of the crowds, tunnels have been cut beside the old cave for darshan.
Can I go up without walking?
Yes. Ponies and palanquins work the path, battery cars run on part of it, and helicopters fly from Katra to Sanjichhat, a shorter walk below the Bhawan. A ropeway links the Bhawan with the Bhairon temple. We have no verified fares or booking rules for any of them, so check with the Shrine Board, which runs the yatra.