Navratra Festival Katra

A pilgrimage to the holy shrine of shri mata vaishno devi ji is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimage Popular in the world as mooh mangi muradhay poori karne wali mata sh Mata vaishno devi ji resides in a holy cave located in the folds of trikoot parvat Due to unflinching faith of devotees who throng the shrine during navratras the jk tourism department has instituted the navratra festival as an annual event to be held for all the nine auspicious days of the navratris navratri or navratra is a combined word which translated means nine nights In navratris during the first three days the goddess is invoked as a spiritual force called durga also known as kali in order to destroy all our impurities vices and defects During the second three days the mother goddess is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth lakshmi who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible wealth She is the goddess of wealth And the third set of three days is spent in worshipping the goddess of wisdom saraswati In order to have allround success in life believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity hence the nine nights of worship A large number of tourists pay their obeisance to the holy deity of maa vaishno devi ji during this period As such to engage the tourists and to showcase the religious traditions as well as the popular culture of the region among the millions of pilgrims who visit the vaishno devi ji shrine during this period the festival has been planned accordingly Gandola ride to bhairow mandir pithoo pony wala and alternative route of tarakote are recently added facilities for the pilgrims visiting the shrine Attractions located nearby are Devi Pindi Nau Deviyaan Daba Dhansar Aghar Jitto White Water Rafting at Baradari and Siard Baba near Katra base camp are other options which visiting pilgrims can avail within short span of time