The annual Amarnath shrine pilgrimmage began on Saturday with the first batch of pilgrims departing from the Baltal base camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district for the holy cave.
Amid the loud chants of “Bum Bum Bhole,” “Jai Baba Burfani,” and “Har Har Mahadev,” the first group of over 4,600 pilgrims set off for the shrine, situated at an altitude of 12,756 feet above sea level.
The pilgrims arrived in the Kashmir valley on Friday amid stringent security measures. This yearтАЩs 52-day-long pilgrimage will conclude on August 19. Online registrations for the yatra started on April 15 on the Shri Amarnath Shrine BoardтАЩs (SASB) website and portal.
Comprehensive arrangements have been made to ensure a smooth journey, including three-tier security, area dominations, elaborate route deployment, and checkpoints. Reports indicate that over 3.50 lakh people have registered for this year’s yatra. Around 125 community kitchens (langars), supported by over 6,000 volunteers, have been set up along the two routes to the cave shrine.
The Amarnath Yatra, conducted annually amid tight security, takes place via two routes: the traditional 48-km-long Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km-long Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
