Jammu, July 25: The number of pilgrims performing the Amarnath Yatra during the last 26 days has crossed 4.25 lakh while another batch of enthusiastic 3,089 devotees left Jammu on Thursday for Kashmir.
Last year, only 3.50 lakh Yatris performed the Amarnath Yatra during the entire period while this year, in only 26 days, 4.25 lakh pilgrims have already had ‘darshan’ inside the holy cave shrine.
The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe that this ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas. Devotees approach the cave shrine either from the traditional South Kashmir Pahalgam route or the North Kashmir Baltal route.
The Pahalgam-Cave shrine axis is 48 km long and takes Yatris 4-5 days to reach the shrine. The Baltal-Cave shrine axis is 14 km long and takes one day for the pilgrims to have ‘darshan’ and return to the base camp.
This year’s Yatra will conclude after 52 days on August 19 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.
