Shivam Tour Travel

If you find yourself at the Paharganj Bus Stand heading toward Vaishno Devi, you’ll likely see our small desk. We call it Shivam Tour Travel. It’s a hectic spot to work because the buses are always coming and going, and there’s a constant cloud of diesel smoke in the air. We mostly help pilgrims figure out their transport for the climb up to the shrine. It’s a lot of answering the same questions about timing and prices, but people are usually in a good mood because they’re on a journey. We have a few vehicles that we manage, and keeping them clean in this dust is a never-ending task. The office is just a tiny room with a bench for people to sit on while we sort out their paperwork. We don't have any fancy travel gadgets, just a big logbook and a few mobile phones that never stop ringing. Sometimes the mountain weather makes things difficult and we have to tell people to wait, which nobody likes to hear. It’s a noisy, busy way to make a living, but being right at the bus stand means we’re always in the middle of the action. We just try to keep things moving so everyone can get to where they’re going for their prayers.