About 43% of tourists to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir are pilgrims to two Hindu shrines — Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Amarnath in Kashmir. Their trips are usually short — an average pilgrim spends three-four days, arriving mostly by flight in Srinagar or Jammu, and then travelling by road to the base camps for Amarnath or at Katra, respectively. Now, in the ongoing period of Navratri, during which there’s a significant surge in pilgrims to Vaishno Devi, the administration is trying to encourage visitors to stay longer and see more within J&K.
The new attractions include ‘Mata Ki Chauki’ (singing of devotional songs in praise of the mother goddess), daily Ramlila shows, prabhat pheris (in Katra, morning religious processions featuring artistes from different States), ‘Mata Ki Kahani’ (renditions of the story of the mother goddess), decorated ‘Shiv-Parvati’ tableaux with folk dances from different States, laser shows, garbha dancing nights, devotional song competitions, and special tourist packages to sites across the Jammu and Kashmir divisions. The J&K Tourism Department has also lined up an all-India devotional song competition, cultural programmes, and multimedia exhibitions.
Free horse rides and battery car services are provided for people who are unable walk all the way up to the Vaishno Devi cave shrine. RFID tags ensure pilgrims’ safety. Priority darshans are arranged for the physically challenged.
