Over 1.13 lakh pilgrims visit Amarnath cave shrine in five days; biggest batch leaves Jammu

08/07/2026

JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Jul 7: More than 1.13 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the holy Amarnath cave shrine during the first five days of the annual pilgrimage, while the largest batch of devotees so far this year left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for Kashmir on Tuesday amid elaborate security arrangements.
Officials said 28,035 pilgrims offered prayers at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas on the fifth day of the pilgrimage, taking the cumulative number of pilgrims to 1,13,800.
The 57-day pilgrimage commenced on July 3 through the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district. It will conclude on August 28, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
Meanwhile, the sixth batch comprising 8,815 pilgrims, including 31 foreign nationals, departed from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu early Tuesday, making it the largest convoy to leave the base camp since the commencement of this year's Yatra.
According to officials, the batch included 5,831 men, 2,193 women, 31 children, 598 sadhus, 131 sadhvis and 31 foreign pilgrims.
Of them, 3,989 pilgrims travelling in 181 vehicles were headed to the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district, while 4,826 pilgrims in 182 vehicles proceeded towards the traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district, taking the total convoy strength to 363 vehicles.
With Tuesday's departure, 34,829 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for Kashmir since the pilgrimage began on July 2.
The Bhagwati Nagar base camp resonated with chants of "Bam Bam Bhole," "Har Har Mahadev," and "Jai Barfani Baba Ki" as devotees embarked on the pilgrimage. Many pilgrims expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements and facilities provided by the administration.
Officials said Tuesday's convoy surpassed the previous highest daily departure of 6,721 pilgrims recorded on Sunday. Earlier, 5,794 pilgrims had left on Monday and 4,812 on July 4.
In view of the heavy rush, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has appealed to unregistered devotees to postpone their journey for a few days, as all advance registration slots have been fully booked up to July 9.
The authorities said only registered pilgrims would be allowed to proceed towards Kashmir, while unregistered devotees would be stopped at designated checkpoints until fresh registration quotas become available.

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