Machail chandi Mata temple is a Goddess Durga shrine popularly known as Machail Mata. It is in the village Machail of Sub Division Paddar, from where it derives its name, in Kishtwar District of Jammu region in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It may be noted that Goddess Durga is also known by the name Kaali or Chandi. Machail mata Sthan, as the shrine is popularly known, has a landscape of unblemished beauty with hills, glaciers and tributaries of the Chenab River.[citation needed] Paddar valley nearby is famous for its world-famous sapphire mines, and is a cool place for hiking, cannoning, and holy hot springs. The area is home to a Buddhist community and the Thakur community who are serpent worshipers, and was merged with Kishtwar tehsil, by Maharaja Ranbir Singh.[citation needed] Thousands of people visit the shrine every year mainly from Jammu region. The pilgrimage happens in August only, every year. The idols and pindi form of Chandika are famous for shaking their jewellery of their own without any wind force or any shock and also flickering their closed eyes. There are a lot of supernatural happenings that the pilgrims experience and report.[1]
Suggested trips for Machail
Handcrafted tours by experts.
Ladakh & Zanskar to Kishtwar over the Umasi La Pass Trek
16 Days
Trek Grade: Difficult
A fairly demanding high altitude trek, starting with first arriving into Leh in Ladakh, driving to Zanskar, then over the Umasi La pass (5,300 meters), this trek takes you into the lesser known Sumchan valley. End the trek in the Kishtwar region located between Jammu and Kashmir after crossing the Great Himalayan Divide Ranges which separate the Himalayas from the Zanskar and further, Karakorams.