Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakti, located in the hills of Trikuta, Jammu and Kashmir, India. VaishnoDevi, also known as Mata Rani and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess.

The temple is near the town of Katra, in the Reasi district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the most revered places of worship in India. The shrine is at an altitude of 5200 feet and a distance of approximately 14 kilometres (8.4 miles) from Katra. Approximately 8 million pilgrims (yatris) visit the temple every year and it is the second most visited religious shrine in India, after Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board maintains the shrine.

Katra town is located at the height of 2500 ft whereas Maa Vaishno Devi Bhawan is located at the height of 5200 ft.


The Holy Bhawan houses the Sanctum Sanctorum - the Holy cave which is the ultimate destination of the yatries. The Yatris have to undertake a trek of nearly 13 kms from the base camp Katra. The management of the devotees and regulation of the shrine is under Mata Vaishno Devi Ji Shrine Board formed in 1986.The accommodation facilities are taken care by the board.br>
In order to visit the Vaishno Devi Shrine or reaching vaishnodevi , one has to reach the Katra town, lying in the foot of Trikuta mountains.Katra serves as the Base camp for pilgrims who visit Vaishno Devi. It is located in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir state. Katra town offers plenty of hotels, guest houses, restaurants, dhabas, fast-food joints that fit all kinds of budgets. Hotels in katra [http://www.vaishnodeviyatra.org/katra_hotels.php] also fits in all budgets. Katra town is located around 45 Kms from Jammu which is the winter capital of state Jammu and Kashmir.Jammu is well connected by air,rail and road with rest of India. It takes around 1:30 hrs in private car/taxi and around 2 hrs in bus to reach Katra from Jammu. Passengers using Air or Rail as a mode of travel have necessarily to break their journey at Jammu and from thereon select an alternative mode of transport to Katra.

There are lots of places around katra and Jammu to visit. one can visit patnitop, Sudh Mahadev,Shiv Khori ,Mansar Lake. If one has little more time, he can visit Kashmir which is the switzerland of India.