The legendary river believed to have come into existence when Mata shot  an arrow in the earth. Banganga is at a distance of 500 meters from Darshani Darwaaza on the track towards the Holy Shrine.

The name of this river comes from two terms, Ban and Ganga.  Ban means arrow and Ganga stands for the sacred river Ganges.  It is believed that Mata Vaishno Devi, while on Her way to the Holy Cave, created it with an arrow, hence the name Ban Ganga.  It is also said that she had taken a dip in it and had washed her hair here.  Thus some people also prefer to call it Bal Ganga, the term Bal  meaning hair  in Hindi.

After the check post, the pilgrims reach a small bridge under which flows Banganga, the legendary river associated with the miracles and legends of Mata. Under normal circumstances, there is an acute shortfall of rain river all through the year, except when there is an acute shortfall of rain or snow during the monsoon and winter. It is considered sacred and as is normal Hindu tradition, devotees like to bathe in it before proceeding further. With the changed lifestyle few pilgrims prefer to skip the traditional system but all those having time or who are traditionally inclined and wish to follow the legends and traditions, can always have a dip in it and drink a little water before proceeding further. there are a couple of Ghats built too, for this purpose. The first one, which is before the frisking booth, is normally very crowded and the other just after the frisking booth is more spacious comparatively.