The Amarnath Yatra, which commenced on 29 June has seen a remarkable turnout with approximately 3.75 lakh devotees having completed the pilgrimage so far.
On Saturday, a fresh group of 3,471 pilgrims embarked on their journey to the sacred cave shrine in the Kashmir Valley.
Since the Yatra’s start, it has been a period of steady pilgrimage with a substantial number of devotees participating each day.
Despite intermittent rain and thunderstorms, over 11,000 pilgrims had ‘Darshan’ of the ice stalagmite structure inside the cave shrine on Friday.
The latest batch of pilgrims departed from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu on Saturday, with two escorted convoys setting off in the early hours.
The first convoy, comprising 35 vehicles, left at 3 AM with 1,073 Yatris heading towards the Baltal base camp.
The second convoy, which departed at 3:45 AM, carried 2,398 pilgrims in 79 vehicles towards the south Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp.
The Amarnath cave shrine, perched at an altitude of 3,888 metres in the Kashmir Himalayas, features a renowned ice stalagmite structure that devotees believe symbolizes the divine presence of Lord Shiva.
The shrine is accessible via two primary routes: the traditional 48 km Pahalgam route, which typically takes four to five days to traverse, and the shorter 14 km Baltal route, which allows pilgrims to complete their visit in a single day.
This year’s Amarnath Yatra is likely to continue for 52 days, concluding on 29 August.
The final day of the pilgrimage coincides with the festivals of Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan, marking a significant cultural and religious occasion.
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