Towards divinity

Head to the holy land of Amarnath

Every year, as the summer wanes and monsoon sets in, the time is right for one of the most beautiful pilgrimages in the Himalayan surroundings. Tucked away in the high mountains in a serene location is a natural cave that transforms itself as the most visited pilgrim destination during this time. The place we are talking about is the well-known holy Amarnath cave shrine.

Situated at a height of 13,000 ft in the Lidderwat valley in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, the cave is an important pilgrimage for the devotees of Lord Shiva that’s in the form of a shivling formed by ice. Every year, lakhs of devotees undertake an arduous trek up the mountains in order to have a glimpse of the beautiful shivling inside a huge cave formed naturally by the dripping drops of ice water from a crevice in the roof of the cave. For nearly two months, during July-August, the place comes alive with thousands of pilgrims making a beeline for the cave shrine each day.

As the routes and location are in the midst of high mountains, deep valleys, green meadows with lakes and glaciers, the journey to the cave is not only a holy pilgrimage but an excitingly beautiful and memorable experience. However, the inhospitable terrain and the uncomfortable climatic conditions make the journey fraught with difficulties and dangers too. With the number of visitors rising year after year, it is very essential that the whole pilgrimage is carefully organised and all kinds of measures ensuring the safety of the pilgrims are in place. Keeping this in mind, the Government of J&K has taken the initiative to conduct the whole process efficiently through a specially appointed board, viz., Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), and for the last many years the Amarnath pilgrimage has been going on.

The Amarnath Yatra is generally organised in the months of July-August when the icy shivling builds up in the cave. As such, the journey to the cave begins with the Jyeshta Poornima by the end of June and culminates on Shravan Poornima in August.

This year’s yatra has already started on June 28 and would end by August 26, which also happens to be the day of Raksha Bandhan, giving visitors a fairly long time slot of two months.

The trek routes

There are two approaches to Amarnath Cave. One route is from Pahalgam passing through camps at Chandanvari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni. The trail going up high slopes and meadows traverses around 45 km, and it would take about five days to visit the cave and back. Tented accommodation, free food at langars and medical care units are available all along the route. The other route starts from Baltal and leads to the cave 14 km away over a very steep and narrow trail. Generally, it can be done in two days. For those who cannot undertake the hard trek, the facility of going by pony or palki carried by porters is available.

How to participate

In order to take part in the yatra, you have to register with the SASB, mentioning when and by which route you would go. This is facilitated through nearly 400 branches of Punjab National Bank, J&K Bank and Yes Bank spread all over the country. The intending participant has to apply for the yatra permit at any of these branches submitting an application form, a compulsory medical certificate from one of the doctors designated by the board, and four passport photographs specifying the route and dates preferred. Once the permit is issued, the travelling can be planned.

As the number of pilgrims wishing to undertake the yatra is ever increasing, the number of permits are restricted to 7,500 per day for each route. If the permit cannot be obtained in the native state, one can also try for an on spot registration at Jammu where tokens are issued for immediate registration subject to availability of permits. However, as getting a permit is a matter of chance, it is not favoured.

Helicopter service

If you are short of time or unable to do the hard trek, there is an option to visit the cave by helicopter. For each route, the Board has tied up with private heli-service operators who enable the pilgrims to visit Amarnath. This would be fast and comfortable at a reasonable price. And the advantage of taking the service is there is no need to register for the yatra separately. But the joy of trekking in the scenic surroundings and camping in nature will be missed.

So, if you have wondered how and when to do this divine trek now is the time.

Trek details

Jammu is well connected by air, road & rail with major cities. One can fly directly to Srinagar also. From Jammu, Pahalgam is 315 km by road via Srinagar. Chandanvari 16 km further along the Lidderwat river can also be reached by vehicle. The 11-km trek which begins here goes over Pissu top to Sheshnag with a holy lake for camping overnight. The seven peaks here are said to represent Sheshnag, the mythical serpent. The following day’s trail involves the crossing of 14000-ft-high Mahagunas Pass to Panchtarni at 12,000 ft for camping overnight. From here, Amarnath Cave is 6 km passing by the sangam of Amarnath & Panchtarni rivers. After the darshan, one can come back to Panchtarni or go to Baltal the same day. This route involves 4-5 days.

For Baltal route, the base camp at Baltal is 90 km from Srinagar by road. The trek from here to the cave is an arduous 14-km climb. As such this route is for the very fit. This can be done in one or two days.