Over 6,900 Pilgrims Depart for Amarnath Cave Amid Heavy Rain

Pilgrimage to Amarnath Cave Temple

In the early hours of Saturday, more than 6,900 devotees set off from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu to visit the Amarnath cave temple, located in the southern Himalayas of Kashmir, despite heavy rainfall, as reported by officials.

Since the commencement of the 38-day annual pilgrimage on July 2, approximately 30,000 pilgrims have already visited the cave temple, which stands at an elevation of 3,880 meters.

The fourth group of pilgrims consists of 6,979 individuals, including 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 saints, and one transgender person. They departed in two convoys between 3:30 AM and 4:05 AM under strict security measures.

According to officials, 4,226 pilgrims took the traditional 48-kilometer Pahalgam route to the Nunwan base camp in 161 vehicles, while 2,753 pilgrims opted for the shorter yet challenging 14-kilometer Baltal route using 151 vehicles.

Since Wednesday, a total of 24,528 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the valley. The formal inauguration of the pilgrimage was conducted by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at this location. Despite a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that claimed 26 lives, the Amarnath pilgrimage continues smoothly under tight security.

The Bhagwati Nagar base camp is secured with multiple layers of protection. So far, over 350,000 pilgrims have registered online. The city has established 34 residential centers, and pilgrims are being issued Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Additionally, 12 counters for on-site registration have been set up.