Amarnath Yatra 2024 Kicks Off Today, First Group Of Pilgrims Heads To The Holy Cave

Amarnath Yatra's 52-day-long pilgrimage will conclude on August 19, 2024.

The yearly pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine began on Saturday, with the initial group of pilgrims departing from the Baltal base camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district for the sacred cave.

To the sounds of conch shells and chants like "Bum Bum Bhole," "Jai Baba Burfani," and "Har Har Mahadev," the first batch of pilgrims set out from the base camp for the holy shrine, which is situated at an altitude of 12,756 feet above sea level. The first group, comprising 4,603 pilgrims, arrived in the Kashmir valley on Friday under tight security measures.

This year, the pilgrimage, lasting 52 days, will end on August 19. Online registrations for the yatra started on April 15 via the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board's (SASB) website and portal.

Extensive arrangements, including three-tier security, area dominations, detailed route deployment, and checkpoints, have been established to ensure the pilgrimage runs smoothly.

Reports indicate that over 3.50 lakh people have registered for this year's yatra. Around 125 community kitchens (langars) have been set up along the two routes to the cave shrine, supported by more than 6,000 volunteers.

The Amarnath Yatra, conducted annually under strict security and surveillance, follows two main routes – the traditional 48-km-long Nunwan-Pahalgam path in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km-long Baltal path in Ganderbal district.

The Amarnath Yatra draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year, who visit the site during the 'Shravani Mela in July-August (Shravan month in the Hindu calendar) – the only time of year when the Amarnath Cave is accessible due to its geographic conditions.

Located in Srinagar, almost 141 km from the capital, at an altitude of 12,756 feet above sea level, the sacred cave of Amarnath is situated in the Ladar Valley, which remains covered by glaciers and snow-capped mountains for most of the year.

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