JAMMU Location : Around 575 Kilometers North of Delhi Established By : Raja Jamboolochan In 14th Century BC Known As : Winter Capital of Jammu and Kashmir and City of Temples Mostly Visited For : Vaishno Devi, Raghunath Temple, Mansar Lake, Bahu Fort

Jammu – A City in Wilderness of Nature

Getting There

People

The place that has been created with much patience and care lies on the vast Shiwalik Range and is proudly called Jammu City. All the hues of nature have found their destination in this place and makes it the most adorable place at least to be visited once in a lifetime, the lush green alpine forests, roaring rivers, breathtaking beauty of deep gorges, soothing waterfalls and the rich flora and fauna adds to its charisma. The Pir Panjal Range and Trikuta Hills and low lying Tawi river Basin contributes to the beauty and diversity of the city's landscape. Plan a tour to this city and enjoy your holidays in the wilderness and unexplored meadows of Jammu.

Tourist Attractions in Jammu

Vaishno Devi Shrine – Divinity of Mother Goddess

Vaishno Devi Yatra

Pahalgam

Patnitop

The millions of devotees from all over the world throng this place to have a Darshan (look) at the Mother Goddess nestling on top of the Trikuta Hills at the height of 1700 meters. This sacred temple is located 13 kilometers from Katra a small town, that serves as a base camp for devotees and is just 48 kilometers from the Jammu city. The cave that leads to the shrine is 30 meters long and 1.5 meters high and all the pilgrims walk through this narrow cave and ice cold water in it to reach the shrines dedicated to the three forms of mother goddess that is Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati. All the devotees visit this place to pay their tribute to the goddess and pray to get their wishes fulfilled. Pay a visit to this shrine and you will feel the peace and tranquility of your mind.

Patnitop and Sansar - Reputed Hill Resorts of Jammu

Patnitop is the famous hill resort among the locals and is located 112 kilometers from the city on the Jammu and Kashmir National Highway. This place offers you the panoramic beauty of the mountain-scape of Chenab basin while you are taking an easy walk or relaxing in the park on the top of the hill. In winters it is a common sight to find clouds much below the height of these mighty mountains. Sansar is the pure adventure place where you can play a game of golf in the calmness of deep forest and the meadows are covered in gigantic conifers. It is the best place for paragliding and you can stay at the huts, tourist bungalows and dormitories belong to the J and K Tourist Development Corporation. (J&KTDC).Sansar is just 19 kilometers from Patnitop and 129 kilometers from Jammu.

Mansar Lake – Covered By Hills with Verdant Woods

For the picnickers Mansar Lake is the best choice to loose there self in the fresh and azure water lake that is covered by the mountains with the lush green forests. The concrete path around the lake and the perfect illumination facility makes it the most picturesque place. On visit to this place you will experience many things that you would not have imagined about. Experience boating is one of the exquisite facilities provided by the state tourism department. This place is also a holy site where on the east bank of this lake a temple of Sheshnag (mythological six headed god) is situated. You can also pay a visit to the two ancient temples of Umapati Mahadev and Narsimha besides a Durga temple located in the vicinity of this lake. Many Hindu rituals also take place at this lake like Mundan ceremony (first hair cut of male children's), going around the lake several times by the new wed couples (Parikarma) and many other rituals including this.

Bahu Fort and Bagh-E-Bahu – Traces of History

The great sentinel of history, Bahu fort is the oldest fort in the city and is believed to had been constructed by Raja Bahulochan some 3000 years ago but the present fort is the improved and rebuilt version of the original fort. The renovation took place during the Dogra rule and today’s fort is more famous for a temple inside dedicated to goddess Kali and popularly known as Bave wali Mata. The fort and its terraced gardens are the most favored excursion spots of the local folks. The Bagh-E-Bahu located on the banks of river Tawi are most celebrated and overlooks the old city and Tawi River. If in a mood you can have a coffee at the cafeteria in one corners of the garden.

Raghunath Mandir – The Pride of Jammu

Situated in the heart of city Raghunath temple complex is dedicated to Lord Rama and is the most outstanding temple in north India. This temple is surrounded by various temple dedicated to many god and goddesses. The inner Sanctorium of the main temple has inner three walls gold sheeted and displays the big statues of all the pantheons representing Hinduism. Visit this temple in this city and look at the galleries you will find lacks of ‘Saligrams’ the library of this temple contains rare Sanskrit Hindu manuscripts. The work on this temple was started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1835 AD and was completed by his son in 1860 AD.

Dargah of Ali Shah – Symbol of Protection

The shrine of Peer Budhan Ali Shah is the most venerated shrine in the city and is said to protect the people from the mishaps and evil spirits. Despite belong to different religions all the people visit the shrine to pay their tribute to this saint and find the solution to their daily problems. Peer Mittha was another saint who used to accept nothing more than a pinch of sugar from his devotees and was named Mitha for this reason. Visiting this place will be a real spiritual experience and spend sometime in the introspection you will definitely find answer for your queries.

Other Attractions of the City

A revolving restaurant named Falak located on top of the K C Residency located on Residency road is one of the major attractions of the Jammu City. While you are taking the meals it will be an enthralling experience to have a look at lush green Trikuta mountain forests and vigorously flowing River Tawi. Shopping in the main city markets like Raghunath Bazaar, Gole Market in Gandhi Nagar, Apsara Road and Bahu plaza will be the most pleasurable activity.Rajinder Park located on the canal road is the best place where your children’s can enjoy splashing water on one another in its large fountain. And You can also go to the Amar Wilas Palace where you can spent sometime in the Museum and it is to be sure that you will find many interesting things in it

Reaching City of Temples

Jammu city is most accessible by all means of transport the Airport in the city has flights to Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, and Ladakh. The Jet, Indian Airlines, Kingfisher, Spice, GO, Deccan and many other airlines have their flights between these cities. The Railway station has trains to the eastern as well as southern tip of India hence connecting many major railway stations to this city. Most excellent service is provided by the road transport, there are daily buses for Srinagar and Delhi while many buses go to many districts of Punjab like Jalandhar, Amritsar, Chandigarh among others.