Jammu Vaishno Devi Yatra, Patnitop and Nathatop

Vaishno Devi temple is one of the famous shrines of the Hindu religion. It is located in Katra Town of Jammu. It is mainly dedicated to Sri Maa Vaishno Devi. It is the Sacred place where Maa Vaishnavi spent some time. This holiest temple is located over Trikuta Mountain. It is a huge temple and a must-visit place for everyone. The temple compound is also big. There is an uphill trek which people have to do in order to visit this holiest place. The altitude of Maa Vaishno temple is around 5200 feet. Thank the Indian government who made it possible to reach there by train. However, if you are going to visit this place in a pandemic then must make sure about your corona test and vaccination.

Transportaion Cost to Patnitop and Vaishno Devi trip

Well guys I consider that this trip has the cheapest transportation cost. As these places are well connected to the other major metropolitan cities. Moreover, this trip budget is according to a group of at least two people so you can adjust according to yourself if you are visiting this place alone. One thing more I would like to add is that the departure point is New Delhi here according to what I am going to explain this cost.

From	To	Distance appx.	By	Cost appx.
New Delhi	Katra	654 KM	Train (Sleeper Class)	365/- Rs
Katra	Udhampur	40 KM	Bus	40/- Rs
Udhampur	Patnitop	45 KM	Bus	60/- Rs
Patnitop	Udhampur	45 KM	Bus	60/- Rs
Udhampur	New Delhi	630 KM	Train (Sleeper Class)	355/- Rs

Total Transportation Cost of this round trip

880/- Rs

Food and Meal Cost in Katra and patnitop

See guys our blog is for budget travelers so I guess you know very well how to manage your expedition under budget. It is very simple, just avoid eating expensive food and always look for dhabas which would charge you around 50-60 Rs of your one meal and if we add it in total then your overall expenditure of food would be around 150/- Rs per day. However, while you would in Katra then you can eat in Bhandaras ( A free food kitchen). So your overall food cost would be around 500/- Rs of 3-4 days. Though i also assuming that you would bring some food with you during your 1st day on the train to Katra.

Accommodation Cost in katra and patnitop

Well, guys on your first day while going to visit the holiest shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi at that time you can spend your first night free of cost in the Adhkuwari, Sanjichatt & Bhawan where large halls are available. In the vicinity of these halls toilets and other basic needs, stuff is available. However, Moving to stay in Patnitop then there are some hotels are available which would cost you around 800/- Rs per night. So if you are 4 in a group then only 200/- Rs share would be charged to one person. Due to so many places in Patnitop, you will have to stay there for 2 days. So overall charge of staying 2 days in Patnitop is merely 500/- Rs.

Day-wise itinerary of Katra Patnitop trip

As i am not going to count your first day of travel which all know would going to spend in travel in train And also exclude the returning Day which would again be in train while back to home.

Day 1

Your first day would be in Katra. As you would go by train then you will get the chance to experience the ravishing railway station of Katra. Before leaving the railway station must collect a Yatra Slip. There are several counters in the station where you can get the Yatra Slip. After taking the slip head towards the bus stand which is around 2 km from the station. So at the bus stand, you can eat some food do some shopping like buying a walking stick after that a fabric of red color is devoted to Mata ji. Then do some walking to Badhganga Check Post which is the starting point of your trekking. You can take pony, Pithu, and palki if you don’t have the strength to walk up to 15 km. One wonderful thing about this yatra is that it is loaded with so many facilities like cheap food, ambulances emergency counters, and many more. Due to the high trek in the evening, you would be able to visit the main Bhawan of Mata Vaishno Devi ji.

Day 2

So your day 2 would be going to be passed in returning back from the trek of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji. But after that, if it was possible you can take a bus to Udhampur then to Patnitop. Stay your night at Patnitop and take proper rest try to rejuvenate the energy that you would lose on Trekking. At night visit the local Market in Patnitop.

Day 3 Patnitop

So guys this is your main hill station which is free of the crowd however loaded with magnificent nature. Guys always check the location of your hotel while booking for a hotel in Patnitop because hotel booking websites show some hotels which are located in Udhampur rather than Patnitop. Well taking about Patnitop there are so many places and activities which one can visit and enjoy. Firstly try to cover the local places which located in the area of 1 Km.

• Children Park :- It is a beautiful park situated in the mid of forest and have so many swings and other recreational activities which one can enjoy.
• Horse Riding :- Well it can impact your budget as it would charge you around 500/- Rs for covering 4 major sights on horse.
• Sky View Point :- It is one of the highest ropeways of India. If you want to enjoy mesmerizing views of lower Himalays then must go for it. It would cost you around 599/- Rs of one way and 699/- Rs for round trip.
• Nag Temple :- It is the ancient religious hindu temple which holds so many virtues and religious values apart from this it is located in dense forest.

Day 4 Nathatop and Sanasar Lake

visiting the local places of Patnitop get your bag pack for Nathatop and Sanasar lake. These both places Nathatop and Sanasar Lake located at around 15 KM and 20 KM respectively from Patnitop. There is another beautiful location named billo ki pauri. So guys you can book a shared cab or shared Volvo which charges you 1200/- to 2000/- of the round trip to Nathatop, Sanasar lake and Billo ki Pauri. So if you are 5-6 people in group then it only costs you around 250 Rs/- per trip to these wonderful places. Well talking about sanasar lake it is way better than Khajiar of Dalhousie in my opinion. Apart from this Nathatop and Mathatop are the places where even you can enjoy snowfall if you are lucky. After visiting these all beautiful places you can return to Patni top then udhampur. From udhampur you can get the train to back to your home.

Overall Cost of Vaishno devi and Patnitop

• Total cost of transportation of Round Trip :- 880/- Rs
• Accommodation cost in Patnitop :- around 500/- Rs
• Food and meal cost :- 500/- Rs appx.
• Taxi or Volvo fare to visit nathatop and sanasar lake :- 250 appx. per person
• So estimated maximum total cost of this trip :-880 + 500 + 500 + 250 = 2130/- Rs