Vaishno Devi is located 14 km from the town of Katra and 52 km north of Jammu. Katra is situated at 2,800 feet and takes about 2 hours to each from Jammu by bus.

• Air
  The nearest airport is in Jammu, which is 56 km from Katra. There is a helicopter service that departs from the airport at Sanjhi Chat in Jammu in the morning. The ride costs about Rs. 2,000 one way (baggage 2 kg, 15 minute)
• Train
  The nearest train station is in Jammu.
• Bus
  There are regular buses leaving for the 52 km trip from the central bus stand in Jammu to where the road ends at Katra (2 hr).

Walking
From Katra it is a steep 13 km walk. You can rent a horse or be carried up from Katra. You can go up to the cave and back in the same day. It takes about 4 hours to climb up and 3 hours to come down. Pilgrims must get a Yatra-Slip from the shrine board counter near the bus stand in Katra to get pass Ban Ganga. It is a hard climb to Vaishno Devi.

For the ease of Journey the tourist must

• Register themselves at the booking counter Katra and get the yatra slip
• Get permission for the video camera, if interested.
• Check the identity card of the Pithoo, Pony and Palki before hiring them.
• For ease of Journey Travel as light as possible, since all the facilities are available on the track.
• Avoid the use of Polythene bag to protect the environment.
• Throw the waste in the waste-boxes available.
• Walk on the track only and enjoy the beauty of the nature. Wrong track can lead to disastrous results.
• While leaving for the Darshan of the Holy Shrine, deposit your belongings at the clock rooms and get the receipt.
• Donations are to be made at the donation counters and get the receipt duly signed.