The annual Amarnath Yatra began as the first batches of pilgrims left the twin base camps in Baltal and Nunwan to start their journey to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas that houses a naturally formed ice lingam, officials said.
The yatra started early morning from the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route and the 14-km Baltal route.
The batches of pilgrims, including men, women and sadhus, left from the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, and Baltal base camp in Sonamarg area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal, at the first light of the day, they said.
On Thursday, the first batch of over 4,809 pilgrims was flagged off from the yatra base camp in Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
They will pay obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses the naturally formed ice lingam formation.
The 57-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 28.
Security measures
From Lakhanpur to the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, every Amarnath pilgrim will travel within a protective security shield. The Jammu & Kashmir administration and security forces have completely overhauled the pilgrimage’s operational plan.
“Only pilgrims arriving at Lakhanpur between 6 AM and 8 AM will be escorted to Jammu within the security ring,” said IGP (Jammu Zone) Bhim Sen Tuti. “Those arriving after 8 AM will have to halt at Lakhanpur,” a senior official added.
Upon crossing Lakhanpur-the gateway to J&K-only the National Highway is open to Amarnath pilgrims; the Udhampur-Dhar Road and Mughal Road remain completely closed.
Mini-convoys will operate between Udhampur and Banihal at scheduled intervals to disperse the crowd and manage traffic flow.
For the first time, travelers arriving in private vehicles must also join the designated security convoy from Jammu. Traveling alone to Pahalgam or Baltal is banned. The new rule is clear: “Travel in the convoy, or wait.”
