Jammu Travel Diary

Part 01: Jay Mata Di

It was on the 27^th of May, 2018 that our train pulled into Udhampur station (sorry everyone, but I shall be mentioning the name of the place under this alias), at around half an hour before midday. 

We were glad to finally have arrived at our destination, since or as our train had been running late.  My cousin (whose home we were to stay in) had come to pick us up and he told us that he knew it was running late, since he had been tracking it. On the way to his home, I must confess, I was struck speechless by the beauty of the place, with the scenery being topped by mountains on both sides of the road, and the lush greenery which was present in every direction the eye could see.

Well, upon our arrival, we freshened up, partook of our lunch and retired for an afternoon siesta. That particular evening passed by swiftly, with all of us sorting the things for the trip to Katra next day (the location of Maa Vaishno Devi’s shrine) and then playing with my cousin’s daughter.

The next morning we set out very early, around 06.30 am. The view of the mountains and the trees and Mother Nature in all her glory was something that appealed to all of us equally. Upon reaching there at around 9 am, we all had to wait for about a little more than 2 hours, since the queues to book the helicopter tickets (yes, we did travel in a helicopter to the base of the mountain from where we would begin the climb to the top).

Well, Maa was kind to us, and we managed to reach the base of the mountain by 01.30 pm, and I must add, sitting in the helicopter was quite something again, from the beginning of the journey, when the helicopter slowly lifted from the ground to its journey over the mountains as well as flat land to its landing on the helipad.

After having alighted from the helicopter, we made our way towards the top of the mountain (it was quite a climb, to be honest, with a major part of the journey being an uphill one),  and yes, though I repeat myself, I must say, the view was quite spectacular as we were climbing, and to be honest, while we were climbing, a thought had occurred to me, I mean, my mind went back several thousand years in time, to the time (an approximate time anyway, since I do not know the exact time it was built) when the temple complex must have been built, and I pictured thousands of thousands of workers, hammering and chiseling away, until they had achieved or obtained the required goals of architectural splendor.

When we finally crested the mountain, we said our silent thanks to God and then further ascended the steps leading to the shrine; my, wasn’t that another experience, with such a great or vast number of people, whose ages ranged from 8 to 80 (I assure you, I do not joke when I say this), just climbing on and on, with periodic cries of “Jay Mata Di” (Glory to the Goddess).

After we concluded our business there (that is, we had come to pay our respects and offer our obeisance to the Goddess), we made our way back, this time not on foot, but on horses (yes, you read that right).

After reaching the helipad, it was just a matter of time until we found ourselves flying back to the very place we had set out from (we spent our time in the interim by enjoying the cool shade of the trees and by observing the antics of the monkeys, who were plenty in number, I must say).

And once we disembarked from the helicopter and sat down in the taxi that conveyed us back to Udhampur, we were happy and satisfied at the trip having gone well. On the way however, we felt quite hungry, as we had not partaken of our breakfast in the morning since we had left, and so we had our lunch at a roadside dhaba called Om Bhojanalay Dhaba, and I have to admit, the food was quite delicious (tandoori rooti, dal fry, chana masala, paneer, and to top it all, delicious pudina flavored butter milk; simply lip smacking, would you not agree?).

Part 02: Local outings and hill station Patnitop

The day after, we set out for the local entertainment plaza, which is known by the name of Chinar Complex, which despite not being spread out over a big area, was quite charming and well maintained, and indeed, I could tell from the place that during winter, one could just sit there in the market square for hours on end, sipping tea and swapping stories to one’s heart’s content.

After spending quite a fun-filled and refreshing 3 hours there, both eating as well as shopping, we came back.

However, we were not done for the day as we had to pack for our trip to Patnitop. Once we were done packing, we promptly fell asleep.

The next day, we were on our way to Patnitop. I shall not eat your heads by repeatedly harping about the views, so I shall keep mum upon that point.

As to how we spent our time there, well, I need not say much, save that we rambled about the place, exploring it and then slept.

We checked out from our hotel the day after, exploring the nearby attractions along the way, such as the local Nag temple (that is, a temple dedicated to snakes), Sanasar lake etc.

We finally came back the day before yesterday, that is, on the 30^th, in the evening.

We spent the last evening quite nicely, chatting with my cousins and just enjoying the general atmosphere of gaiety that prevailed, though, for my part, I was quite depressed since we were leaving.

Well, there is nothing more to say, save that our cousin came to drop us and see us off yesterday.

Thus ended our trip to Jammu, which went exactly how I have described it.