Thousands of pilgrims reached the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon, where special prayers were held, an official said.
“Thousands of pilgrims have reached the cave shrine where special prayers are being organised by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB),” said an official here. The prayers are being attended by state governor N.N. Vohra, the chairman of SASB that conducts the pilgrimage.
The prayers will coincide with the “darshan” of the “Shivling” inside the cave, he said. In its advisory for the pilgrims on Wednesday, the local weather office said: “The sky would be generally cloudy with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers along both the north Kashmir Baltal and the south Kashmir Pahalgam treks.” Helicopter sorties for the pilgrims were started on Wednesday by Pawan Hans and Himalayan Airlines from Baltal and Panjtarni. The authorities have erected shelters all along the treks routes for use by the pilgrims during inclement weather.
There are two mountain routes to the shrine — via Nungwan (Pahalgam) in south Kashmir and via Baltal in North Kashmir. Although only 5,000 registered pilgrims started their mountain trek from Baltal to the cave shrine, eye-witnesses said some 13,900 pilgrims left the Baltal base camp towards the cave. "The disparity in numbers is because of the huge rush of unregistered pilgrims who had already reached Baltal during the last few days to start the yatra on Wednesday,” said a paramilitary officer who requested not to be named. Similarly, over 12,000 pilgrims, including unregistered pilgrims, started their journey towards the cave shrine from the Nunwan base camp.
The 13,500-foot high Himalayan cave houses a stalagmite which is believed to represent the mythical powers of Lord Shiva. The 14-km long mountain trek from Baltal to the cave shrine passes through glaciers, mountain streams and tricky narrow paths where pilgrims have to move very carefully. During rain or thunder, the dangers faced by the pilgrims often multiply as the path becomes slippery and treacherous. The 42-km-long mountain trek from Pahalgam to the cave shrine passes through Panjtarni, Chandanwari and Sheshnag, where pilgrims halt for the night halts before reaching the cave shrine.
The Pahalgam route is the traditional one. It is considered to be safer than the Baltal route although it takes three days for pilgrims to reach the cave shrine while pilgrims return via the Baltal route the same day. The pilgrimage will last until Aug 13, when Hindus celebrate Raksha Bandhan.