Divya Darshan 360
Machail Mata Temple

Famous temples · Jammu and Kashmir

Machail Mata Temple

Devi Durga as Chandi, in the Paddar valley of Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir

Checked 22 Oct 2026 with shrimachailmatayatra.com2 min read

DirectionsShare

Getting there

  • By air

    Visitors fly to Jammu or Srinagar, then travel by road to Kishtwar district.

  • By train

    The nearest railway station is Udhampur, about 150 km from Kishtwar town.

  • By road

    Kishtwar is about 235 km from Jammu by road, a journey of 6 to 7 hours.

On the way

  • Gulabgarh is the gateway to the yatra and has accommodation for pilgrims.
  • The final stretch from Darshani Gate to the temple is a foot trek of about 2 km.
  • Machail village is at a height of 2800 metres.
Open in Google Maps

Rules to know

  • For the 2026 yatra, online registration was mandatory, and no offline registration was offered.
  • Devotees are not allowed darshan without an RFID card.

Why devotees come here

Machail Mata Temple is a shrine to Chandi, a form of Devi Durga, in Machail village, Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir. Usually, people take two days on foot to reach it. The shrine cannot be reached from December to February.

Machail Mata is a shrine to Chandi, a form of Devi Durga, in the village of Machail in the Paddar valley of Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir. The district yatra page calls Maa Chandi a living deity, and devotees come to the shrine each year on the yatra.

The annual Machail yatra is a 43-day pilgrimage held from late July to early September. The Chhadi Yatra, a holy mace procession, goes from Chinote in Bhaderwah to Machail. The yatra procession starts at Bhaderwah and reaches Pul Doda at midday.

The shrine was visited in 1981 by Thakur Kulveer Singh of Bhaderwah, Jammu region. The temple reopens in April with the Baisakhi festival, and the shrine is inaccessible during December, January and February.

Festivals

  • AprilBaisakhi

    The temple reopens in April each year with the Baisakhi festival.

  • late July to early SeptemberMachail yatra

    The 43-day pilgrimage to the temple is held each year in this period.

Tips for your visit

  • Nearly 2 lakh (200,000) people went on the pilgrimage in 2023.
  • The district site has a public advisory on the yatra's resumption.

Darshan at home

Not in the app yet

Machail Mata Temple is not in the Divya Darshan 360 app yet. These Famous temples temples are, with darshan videos you can watch at home:

In the appChamundeshwari Temple, MysuruChamundi Hill, Mysuru, KarnatakaIn the appDakshineswar Kali Temple, KolkataDakshineswar, North 24 Parganas, near Kolkata, West BengalIn the appShirdi Sai Baba Temple, MaharashtraShirdi, Rahata taluka, Ahilyanagar district, Maharashtra
Get the appAndroid

The app is free, Android only. For darshan as if you are standing there, see the VR box (₹899, or ₹949 cash on delivery).

Questions people ask

Can I visit Machail Mata Temple in winter?

No. The shrine cannot be reached during December, January and February. The annual 43-day pilgrimage runs from late July to early September.

Do I need to register for the yatra?

The 2026 yatra needed online registration, with no offline option. Darshan also needs an RFID card.

Where can pilgrims stay near the yatra?

Gulabgarh, the gateway to the yatra, has accommodation. The Yatri Bhawan there can house up to 2000 pilgrims.

How we checked this page

On 22 Oct 2026 we checked every fact on this page against these sources, official ones first. Anything we could not confirm is left out.

  1. Shri Machail Mata Yatra (official site) shrimachailmatayatra.com
  2. Machail Mata Yatra, District Kishtwar (Government of Jammu and Kashmir) kishtwar.nic.in
  3. How to Reach, District Kishtwar (Government of Jammu and Kashmir) kishtwar.nic.in
  4. Machail Mata, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

More Famous temples temples

In the appBelur Math, West BengalBelur, Howrah district, West BengalIn the appBrihadeeswara Temple, ThanjavurThanjavur, Thanjavur district, Tamil NaduIn the appChamundeshwari Temple, MysuruChamundi Hill, Mysuru, KarnatakaIn the appDakshineswar Kali Temple, KolkataDakshineswar, North 24 Parganas, near Kolkata, West BengalIn the appEttumanoor Mahadeva Temple, EttumanoorEttumanoor, Kottayam district, KeralaIn the appGauri Somnath Temple, OmkareshwarOmkareshwar, Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh
All Famous temples guides

Planning this with family?