Amarnath yatra begins from Pahalgam, Baltal routes

The annual Amarnath Yatra began early morning on Friday, with the first batches of pilgrims leaving the twin base camps of Baltal and Nunwan for the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. The mountainous cave shrine houses a naturally formed ice lingam.

The pilgrimage started early in the morning along the two routes to the shrine — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam track and the 14-km Baltal track — amid intermittent rain. The 57-day yatra will continue till 28 August, with stringent security arrangements in place for its smooth conduct.

On Thursday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of over 4822 pilgrims from the yatra base camp at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu. The pilgrims reached the Kashmir Valley in the afternoon and received a rousing welcome from the administration and locals.

Stringent security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the yatra.

Thousands of security personnel from the police, Central Reserve Police Force, and other paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure security. Aerial surveillance will also be carried out.

Men of the SDRF provided oxygen to several pilgrims while crossing the high passes along the routes. They also provided first aid to those who required it.

The flag off ceremony of pilgrims from the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district was led by Rahul Yadav, Managing Director, J&K Power Development Corporation and Nodal Officer for the Baltal Axis, along with Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ganderbal, Jatin Kishore; Deputy Inspector General of Police (Armed) Kashmir, Maqsood-ul-Zaman; Senior Superintendent of Police Ganderbal, Sudhanshu Dhama, besides officers from the Civil and Police Administration.

The Baltal Base Camp resonated with chants of “Bam Bam Bhole” and “Har Har Mahadev” as devotees including men, women, elderly pilgrims and sadhus, began their onward journey to the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnath Ji.

The commencement of the Yatra marks the beginning of one of the country’s most revered spiritual pilgrimages and reflects the coordinated efforts of the administration and all stakeholder departments to facilitate a secure, seamless and memorable pilgrimage experience for every devotee.

Amid jubilance and devotional fervor, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag (Yatra Officer), Dr. Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat and Senior Superintendent of Police, Amod Ashok Nagpure, jointly flagged off the Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2026 along the Pahalgam Axis in the wee hours from the Nunwan Base Camp, Pahalgam.

Following their departure from the Nunwan Base Camp, the pilgrims were ferried in vehicles to Chandanwari via a special shuttle service provided by the Motor Vehicles (MV) Department.

To ensure a blissful and enriching spiritual experience for the Yatris, adequate arrangements have been put in place at various camps, stations and places of importance enroute the Holy Cave.