Srinagar, July 3 - The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday with the first batch of pilgrims leaving from Baltal and Nunwan base camps. The 38-day pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine, located at an altitude of 3,880 metres in south Kashmir, began early this morning via two routes in the valley - the traditional 48-km long Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter, 14-km, more uphill Baltal route in Ganderbal district, officials said.
The pilgrims, including men, women and saints, left from Nunwan and Baltal base camps at dawn, officials said. They said that as soon as senior officials flagged off the groups from the base camps, chants of 'Bam Bam Bhole' started resounding.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday flagged off the first batch of 5,892 pilgrims from the yatra's base camp in Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu. The pilgrims reached the Kashmir Valley in the afternoon where they were given a rousing welcome by the administration and locals.
The pilgrims will offer prayers at the Amarnath temple, where a Shivling made of ice appears naturally. Tight security arrangements have been made for the yatra. Thousands of personnel from the police, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and other paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure security. The yatra will conclude on August 9.