Katra, March 30 : On the occasion of Navratri festival, the famous Vaishno Devi temple near Jammu has been decorated with special flowers brought from Norway, Sweden, Russia, and other foreign countries.

Officials related to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board say that this is for the first time that flowers that the temple has been decorated with imported flowers.

The countries from where the flowers have been imported also include Austria, United Kingdom and Australia.

"Flowers from different parts of the country have been brought here like gladiolus, carnations and also like Lilium, anthurium orchids have been brought to beautify the temple," said Rajesh Goyal, a temple official.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad visit this world famous Vaishno Devi shrine during the nine-day Navratri festival.

The special decoration with imported flowers have doubled up devotees joy and enthusiasm, as most of them find it a special visual delight after taking a sojourn of 12 kilometres up the hills.

"Navratri is a special occasion for everyone and when devotees find the temple beautified with such flowers, the charm and devotion increases. The decoration is really very appealing for all of us, "said Aashima Gupta, one of the devotees at the temple.

Nestled in Trikuta hills in the Himalayas, the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and the base camp, the temple town of Katra in the foothills, present a festive look these days.

Goddess Vaishnavi is believed to have spent some time while observing various spiritual disciplines and penances.

The culmination of this journey is at the holy cave where She merged Her Human form with the astral form of Her creators, the three supreme energies.

Over 20,000 devotees have paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine during the first day of the Navratra, which commenced on Friday (March 27). (ANI)