Waatsupptoday:

Machail Mata is a Goddess Durga shrine popularly known as Machail Mata being located in the village Machail, from where it derives its name, in Kishtwar district of Jammu region in India. It may be noted that Goddess Durga is also known by the name Kaali or Chandi.

The Temple history is entwined with the conquests of Zorawar Singh Kahluria, who in 1834 sought blessings of Machail mata, before crossing the mountains and Suru River (Indus), with 5,000 men for vanquishing an army of local Botis of Ladakh. He became a faithful devotee after the successful mission.

Machail mata Sthan as the shrine is popularly known, has a landscape of unblemished beauty with hills, glaciers and tributaries of the Chenab River (Chadrabhaga). 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 bhot community and the Thakur community who are serpent worshipers, and was merged with Kishtwar tehsil, by Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Thousands of people visit the shrine every year mainly from Jammu region.The pilgrimage happens in the month of August only every year.