Jammu

Jammu, the winter capital of the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, is the largest city in the region and its major rail and air gateway. Set at the base of the Shivalik range where the Tawi river cuts through low hills, Jammu is known as the 'City of Temples, ancient shrines such as the Raghunath Temple complex and Ranbireshwar Temple dot the old city, and the hilltop Mahamaya and Bahu Fort temples overlook the Tawi. But Jammu's biggest identity is as the staging post for the pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra, 50 kilometres away, which draws more than 10 million visitors every year. Beyond religion, the city holds the Dogra-era Mubarak Mandi Palace complex, excellent museums of miniature painting and Pahari art, a riverside gorge with suspension bridges, and streets that blend Punjabi and Kashmiri food. It's also the road-and-rail transition point into the wider Himalayas, onward to Srinagar, Patnitop, and Ladakh making Jammu a practical overnight or two-day stop as well as a destination in itself.