Etymology
Geography
Jammu is located at 32.73°N 74.87°E. It has an average elevation of 300 m (980 ft). Jammu city lies at uneven ridges of low heights at the Shivalik hills. It is surrounded by the Shivalik range to the north, east, and southeast while the Trikuta Range surrounds it in the northwest. It is approximately 600 kilometres (370 mi) from the national capital, New Delhi. The city spreads around the Tawi river with the old city overlooking it from the north (right bank) while the new neighbourhoods spread around the southern side (left bank) of the river. There are five bridges on the river. The city is built on a series of ridges.
Climate
Jammu, like the rest of north-western India, features a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with extreme summer highs reaching 46 °C (115 °F), and temperatures in the winter months occasionally falling below 4 °C (39 °F). June is the hottest month with average highs of 40.6 °C (105.1 °F), while January is the coldest month with average lows reaching 7 °C (45 °F). Average yearly precipitation is about 42 inches (1,100 mm) with the bulk of the rainfall in the months from June to September, although the winters can also be rather wet. In winter dense smog causes much inconvenience and temperature even drops to 2 °C (36 °F). In summer, particularly in May and June, extremely intense sunlight or hot winds can raise the temperature to 46 °C (115 °F). Following the hot season, the monsoon lashes the city with heavy downpours along with thunderstorms; rainfall may total up to 669 mm (26.3 in) in the wettest months.
Transport
Rail
Jammu city has a railway station called Jammu Tawi (station code JAT) that is connected with major cities of India. The old railway link to Sialkot was suspended by Pakistan in September 1947, and Jammu had no rail services until 1971, when the Indian Railways laid the Pathankot-Jammu Tawi Broad Gauge line. The new Jammu Tawi station opened in October 1972 and is an origination point for express trains. With the commencement of the Jammu–Baramulla line, all trains to the Kashmir Valley will pass through Jammu Tawi. A part of the Jammu–Baramulla project has been executed and the track has been extended to Katra. Jalandhar - Pathankot-Jammu Tawi section has been doubled and electrified.
Road
National Highway 44 which passes through Jammu connects it to the Kashmir valley. National Highway 1B connects Jammu with Poonch town. Jammu is 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Kathua town, while it is 68 kilometres (42 mi) from Udhampur city. The famous pilgrimage town of Katra is 49 kilometres (30 mi) from Jammu.
Air
Jammu Airport is in the middle of Jammu. It has direct flights to Srinagar, Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Leh, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Jammu Airport operates daily 30 arrival and departure of flights which are served by Go First, Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo and Vistara. The city has JKSRTC city buses and mini busses for local transport which run on some defined routes. These mini busses are called "Matadors". Besides this auto-rickshaw and cycle-rickshaw service is also available. Local taxis are also available.
Economy
Jammu city is the main cultural and economic centre of the administrative division of Jammu. A famous local basmati rice is produced in the RS Pura area near Jammu, and processed in rice mills in Jammu. The industrial estate at Bari Brahamna has a large presence of industrial units manufacturing a variety of products including carpets and electronic goods.
Tourism
Tourism is the largest industry in Jammu city. It is also a focal point for the pilgrims going to Vaishno Devi and Kashmir valley as it is second last railway terminal in North India. All the routes leading to Kashmir, Poonch, Doda and Laddakh start from Jammu city. So throughout the year, the city remains full of people from all the parts of India. Places of interest include old historic palaces like Mubarak Mandi Palace, Purani Mandi, Rani Park, Amar Mahal, Bahu Fort, Raghunath Temple, Ranbireshwar Temple, Karbala, Peer Meetha, Old city.
