Kamakhya Temple has a long history of Durga Puja and Navaratri Celebration and it attracts millions of devotees during the 10 days of festival. This year, the celebration is more buoyant and fervous. I have been to the temple for several days was overwhelmed to witness the unprecedented decoration efforts made by the temple authorities. The entire temple has been covered in flowers. Glitters of Om and Maa has been displayed all across the temple and outside it. The entrance and the connecting roads have neon lights displaying several Gods and Goddesses. Never before, I had seen such a beautiful arrangement at Kamakhya Temple.
Security
Due to recent nationwide security threats post-Uri Attacks, the security has been tightened across all temples across the country and therefore the administration has adopted several security measures at Kamakhya temple. Metal detectors are in place at all the gates, while all incoming baggage are fully scrutinized. Additional security check points can been see on the roads approaching the temple. The entire Temple and area outside it is under constant surveillance of CCTV Cameras. Overall, as a devotee you would find it safe
Prasad
Kamakhya temple offers free Prasad to all the devotees daily between 12:00 and 3 PM. The prasad includes Khichdi, Sabji, Kheer and Papad. There may be additional items on some days. The amount of Prasad is sufficient for a normal person’s lunch and therefore you needn’t go to any restaurant for the food.
The Prasad is offered at Shri Kameshwar temple, outside the main temple premises. Make sure you donate some amount to the donation box after having the prasad
Darshan Timings
The crowd during Navaratri is huge and therefore the waiting queue for Darshan might be long. On an average, it would take around 3 hours in queue for the Darshan inside the sanctum sanctorum (garbha griha) of the temple. During Saptami to Dashami, it would take around 5 hours on average.
People enqueue for darshan as early as 4 AM, while the inner temple doors open at 9 AM. The temple door again remains closed during 1:30 PM-3:00 PM.
There is provision of passes (costing Rs.500), which can reduce your darshan timings to less than 1 hour. These passes are however not issued on Asthami and Navami.