| Jammu City |
| Population 2,718,113 Altitude 305 m Area 20.36 square km Languages Urdu, Kashmiri, Hindi, Dogri, Pahari, Ladakhi, Gujari |
| It is believed that the city was originally founded by Raja Jambu Lochan who lived in the fourteenth century BC. The Raja had gone out one day hunting when he happened to witness a tiger and a goat drinking water from the same pond. His ministers explained that this meant that the soil of the place was so virtuous that no living creature bore enmity against another. This extraordinary phenomenon set him thinking and he decided to build a city at this site so that the strong and weak could live together in peace and mutual tolerance. Eventually, he founded the city which came to be known as "Jambu" after his own name. Jammu is the second largest city of the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The winter capital of the state shifts to Jammu between November and April. Divided into two separate cities, the old town of Jammu is located on a hilltop overlooking the river Tawi while the new town is situated across the river, several kilometers away. The city is known as the "city of temples" and their fame tends to overshadow its palaces, forts, forests and powerful ziarats. The city has numerous shrines for Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and also serves as the base for the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi. Jammu is the epicentre of all socio-economic activities in the Jammu region. It is also the base for visiting various tourist and pilgrimage centres in which the region abounds. The most important pilgrimage centre is the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi situated in the Trikuta hills at a distance of 60 kms from Jammu. Over 4 million pilgrims trek to this holy cave shrine to pay obeisance to this most revered of Hindu deities every year. |
| Banks and Internet Several banks in town will change money and travelers cheques. The HFDC bank ATM near the bus stand accepts foreign cards. There are several internet cafes in town, all charge around Rs 30 an hour. |