Katra is the base town at 875 metres where every yatra begins. It exists almost entirely to support the shrine: hundreds of guesthouses and pilgrim hostels, restaurants serving simple north Indian vegetarian food (no meat, eggs, or alcohol within the entire shrine board area), trekking-pole and raincoat sellers lined along the main road.
The Yatra Registration Counter at the bus stand issues the free yatra slips — you must have one to start the climb. Banihal Chowk is the start of the trek path. Katra also has the eastern terminus of the rail line — the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station — which made the pilgrimage radically more accessible after it opened in 2014. The town is overrun in season; book accommodation in advance for Navratri.