amarnath yatra booking

Archna Gupta

It is also said that during one of his visits to the famous Amarnath ji cave in Kashmir, Lord Shiva had a brief sojourn at the place of present Buddha Amarnath ji temple at Mandi and started revealing to his consort Parvati the mortal secret story of eternal bliss and immortality. The story later got completed at Amarnath ji cave in Kashmir.

Thousands of devotees would throng the holy temple of Buddha Amarnath in border district of Poonch, situated close to the Line of Control. Chanting the holy mantras, the devotees from far off places come to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva in this holy temple which is nestled in the sylvan picturesque surroundings of high mountains of Pir Panjal range which remains covered with snow most of the year.Situated twenty five kilometers northeast of Poonch town near Mandi, Buddha Amarnath Temple is an ancient Shiva temple located at the confluence of two gushing streams - the Nallah Gagri and the Pulstaya Nallah. Pulsatya Nallah is also known as Loran Nallah. These two streams make this place more enchanting and present a panorama to the eyes. What is unique about this Shiva Temple is that it is located on the foot hill and not on the hill top and has a Shivling of white stone which is not self made.

The locals believe that Ravan's grand father Pulasta Rishi performed his tapasya here and had a darshan of Lord Shiva. Thus, the Loran Nullah also derives its name from the name of Rishi Pulsatya. So both the places Amarnath in Kashmir Buddha Amarnath in jammu are considered to be equally holy and sacred by the devotees. Few people even say that the pilgrimage to Amarnath cave in Kashmir remains incomplete without a visit to this shrine.

At the temple, Lord Shiva manifests himself in the form of a “Chakmak” white rock unlike other Shiva temples where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a lingam.Besides this white Shivlingam, this beautiful temple has the ancient idols collected from nearby village. The original temple was built out of one big stone with four doors indicating that the doors are open for all the four varnas. The people of the area say that this shrine is older than of Amarnathji of Kashmir. Before partition, many people used to visit this shrine from areas now occupied by Pakistan. Even now, this shrine is visited by thousands of people on Raksha Bandhan and Shivratri. On the occasions of Raksha Bandhan, a big festival, known as Buddha Amarnath Ji Mela is held at the temple which is a major draw. Though the devotees in thousands visit the shrine on Shravan Poornima, heavy rush is witnessed throughout the year At Buddha Amarnath ji, the devotees take a dip in a spring which flows beneath the temple for purification and the have darshan as of immortal Lord Shiva and makes offerings. It is believed that Lord Shiva grants wishes to everyone who makes a pilgrimage to Buddha Amarnath.

Earlier there was four holy springs near the temple, at present the water of three springs has been diverted to fourth one, which is on the southern side of the temple. The pilgrims take bath in this holy spring before entering the temple.Road transport is readily available to and from Poonch. Buses,cars,jeeps carrying pilgrims ply on the road regularly. On Raksha Bandhan lots of people visited the shrine. Transport are available for Poonch district regularly which is 225 km from Jammu.

At Buddha Amarnath ji, the devotees take a dip in a spring which flows beneath the temple for purification and then have darshan as of immortal Lord Shiva and makes offerings. It is believed that Lord Shiva grants wishes to everyone who makes a pilgrimage to Buddha Amarnath.

YATRA BOOKING

There are many ways to go about planning and booking your holiday. You can go into a travel agent and get a package deal, which included flights, car rental, hotel accommodation, and maybe even some of the activities that you would like to do when you get there.

Booking Online

A slightly more adventurous way and time consuming approach is to go online and find out what is available. Book your own flights, find your own hotel, arrange your own car rental, and do what you choose. This method of holiday planning requires a lot more effort from you. You have to be prepared to come with your own destination, then research on the various flight offers that are available and make sure you a get a good deal, you also have to look up hotels in the area and find a good hotel at a good price that is in the area and with the amenities you want.

Then car rental will also have to be arranged separately. Also you should not forget the need to book travel insurance and find out if there are any medical procedures that are required if you are going to a more exotic or tropical location. The good news is that many website now specialise in helping you to do all of this for yourself and will be a good source of information on every step of the process. These days you will probably be able to book all of the necessary elements of your holiday from the same website.

You will also have the chance of saving a considerable amount of money since you will be able to seek out special deals and offers and take advantage of discounts that are available. You will also have the freedom to completely personalise every aspect of your trip. If you’d like to fly into one airport and out of another, or stay part of the time at one hotel and part of the time at another, or any other personalisation will be completely possible since you are arranging every aspect of the trip to your own requirements.

Be Aware

There are a few things you should remember if you are planning your own holiday. First of all, you should make sure that the plans you have come up with actually are saving you money when compared to package deals, then you should also make sure you are dealing with trustworthy websites and that you have got proper travel and health insurance.

The other option is always just to go to the airport, hop on an available flight and see where you end up!

India Travel Tourism

The land of myriad cultures, staunchly rooted in tradition, the habitat of millions of people belonging to varying religions and the country known for its distinguished history…India is a place worth visiting in the Asian continent.

Though India covers a small area on the globe, the country earns a widespread popularity. Apart from producing some of the universally eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Sachin Tendulkar and the like, India has many other lures that add credit to its name. People from all across the world come to India to experience the divine grace and charisma in the cities of Haridwar, Rishikesh and Vrindavan etc. The great Indian temples most of which are an emblem of Indian mythology have been mystifying people in all corners of the world since ages. What to say about the contribution made by India in the wonders of the world…US President Bill Clinton too couldn’t resist the enticement to bask in the glory of globally acclaimed Taj Mahal.

This mesmerizing country recognized and memorized for several reasons including the hospitality of Indians can be explored at ease and without a second thought. The reason being the economical air fares from all over the world to India. For instance

If you are placed in Los Angeles or San Fransisco, a flight to Indian subcontinent will just cost you $1039. The decision of which Indian metropolitan to land like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai etc. is at your discretion. The rates remain uniform for all the cities.

From Dallas or Houston to any of the Indian metros the air ticket is available for a mere $1159. The rates do not vary in case you board the flight to India from Chicago, Detroit or Minneapolis.

It is still cheaper to fly to India from New York, Boston or Washington. The fare to Delhi can be purchased at the petite amount of $949. While going to Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and other cities will cost you $1,119.

These rates might slightly deviate with your choice of airline but not much. The entire information about some of widely accredited airlines to India such as Jet airways from USA to India, Luthfansa, British airways, Singapore airways and so forth is accessible online. Once you brief yourself with all requisite nitty-gritties you can book make your reservations there and then. Besides these acknowledged airlines there are some others that will facilitate you with economic airfares to India clubbed with good and reliable service. What more can one ask for that almost all of these airlines frequently pop up with heavy discounts on their various packages…!

So relish the twin pleasures of feeling the getting lost on the mother earth of Buddhism, a land that stands as a paradigm example of unity in diversity that comes with the least expense on air fare but maximum enjoyment and everlasting memories.

INDIAN TRAVEL POINT

The world’s leading travel and Tourism Journal, “Conde Nast Traveler”, ranked India amongst top 4 preferred holiday destinations in the world! There are number of factors responsible for the growth of Indian tourism at global level. India is a peaceful country without any political disturbance except for few destinations where a tourist is required to get special permission from local authority to enter into that area. The country has a federal structure with elected Governments in States. There are 28 states and 7 Union Territories administered directly by the Central Government. There is healthy competition of Tour Packages among all the states to attract the tourists from all over the world for speedy economic growth and employment generation. Not only this Ministry of Tourism and Culture has recently launched a campaign called ‘Incredible India!’ in order to encourage different types of tourism in India.

Types of Indian Tourism

All types of tourism in India projecting India as the ultimate tourist spot. The reason why India has been doing well in all types of tourism is that India is a multilingual, multicultural and multireligious with tremendous geographical diversity, hospitality, uniqueness and charm. The different types of Tourism in India are as follows:

Religious or Pilgrimage Tourism

India is famous for its temples and that is the reason that among the different kinds of tourism in India, pilgrimage tourism is increasing most rapidly. Narayan Sarovar, Sudamas Porbandar, Kabirvad Shuklatirth, Kayavarohan, Bhadrakali, Haridwar, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Varanasi, Gangotri and Yamunotri, Rishikesh, Shamlaji, Bodh Gaya, Ajmer, are important pilgrimage destinations which have kept alive the religious sentiments of the people where lakhs of pilgrims from all over the world make their religious tourism every year.

Archaeological Tourism

There are a number of places of archaeological importance which can be broadly classified as Stone Age, Indus Valley, Neolithic-Chalcolithic, Megalithic-Early Historic and Late Historic periods. Famous archaeological sites of the Stone Age are abound in Peninsular India, more prominently at Pallavaram in Tamil Nadu, Hunsgi in Karnataka, Kuliana in Orissa, Didwana in Rajasthan, and Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh. The sites of Neolithic-Chalcolithic Age are Inamgaon, Walki, Navdatoli, Ahar, Balathal, Gilund, Budhihal, Sangankalur, Maski, Brahmagiri, Utnur, Golbai, Pandu-Rajar-Dhibi, Chirand and Burzoham etc. Famous sites of Indus Valley Civilisation are Indus and Ghaggar river valleys, Kutch and Saurashtra, Dholavira, Kalibangan, Lothal, Surkotda and Rakhigari. Famous sites of Megalithic Phase are Brahmagiri, Maski and Rajan Kalur, Bhagimari, Gadabas etc. Excavations at Kosambi, Saranath, Hastinapura, Vaishali, Rajgir and Bodh Gaya, Chandraketugarh, Sisupalgarh etc. have revealed fortified cities dating back to this period. Famous sites of Buddhist Phase are Sanchi, Saranath, Ajanta, Kaneheri, Amravati, Sanati and Lalitgiri. Sites of Jainism Phase are Khandagiri-Udayagiri, Mathura. Some Islamic Archaeological sites are Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Hyderabad, northern Karnataka, Aurangabad, and Bhopal.