Amarnath Yatra Route and More: Everything you wanted to know

After a lapse of two years, Amarnath Yatra will start on June 30 (today). The journey will last for 43 days, to join this yatra, devotees from all corners of India have started pouring into the Kashmir valley.

Pilgrims to Amarnath Cave stay at two base camps in the Kashmir Valley and daily batches of pilgrims will depart for Amarnath Cave Darshan from these base camps.

Transit camps have also been set up in many areas of Kashmir for pilgrims going to Amarnath, where passengers arriving late at night will stay and can go to base camps the next day in the morning.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration says that elaborate preparations have been made in every way for the Amarnath Yatra. The administration says that in comparison to the previous years, some new facilities will be provided to the passengers this year.

Amarnath Yatra Route

Baltal Yatra to Amarnath Cave:

It is the most popular and shortest route to reach the cave. The region of Baltal is 14 km from the Cave and only allows passage on foot. Ponies are not allowed. However, one can be carried in 'Dandies'. The walk through Baltal usually takes 1-2 days to complete. This route is recommended for young, healthy people who are looking for some adventure in the middle of the religious journey.

Pahalgam Yatra to Amarnath Cave:

This is the most preferable route and is about 47 km from the main Amarnath cave site. The first pass of Yatra starts at Chandanwari which is 16km from Pahalgam base camp and is at 9500ft. Then there is the top of Pissu which is 3km away and located at 11,000ft, and Shesnag which is 9km from the top of Pissu at 11,730ft, followed by Panjtarni which is 12km away and located at 12,000ft. Pilgrims who are unable to walk here can opt for the Helicopter services readily available to them. The trek generally takes 3-5 days to complete.

Security arrangements

Kashmir Area Divisional Commissioner Pandurang K. Poll said that the preparations for the yatra start from the month of May and this time the same was done. He said that this time some separate preparations have been made, such as the Jio network and the Airtel network have been started from both sides of the cave, that is, the Nunwan and Baltal base camps.

"This time the underground electric cable service from Baltal to the cave has also been launched," Pol said.

"Due to the underground power service, the difficulties of passengers and people associated with travel will be reduced. This service will be available for the full 24 hours. Passenger accommodation in camps has increased by 30 to 50 percent."

This time strict security arrangements have been made from Lakhanpur to Amarnath cave to run the Amarnath Yatra safely. This time security has been arranged in five phases. Security forces have been deployed in several places along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

The arrangements that have been made for the safe conduct of the Yatra include surveillance technology from snipers, drones and CCTV.

Vijay Kumar, Director General of Police, Kashmir Area, visited the Amarnath cave on Tuesday and took stock of the security arrangements.

J&K Police tweeted: "Police & SSP Director-General Anantnag visited Holy Cave, Yatra Camp and Panjtirth. During this, he met with officers from CRPF, ITBP, J&K Police, NDRF and civil administration. Later, the director-general of police personally supervised the deployment of security forces on the ground and emphasized better coordination and directed the yatra to run smoothly.

The 43-day journey is scheduled to start on June 30 via Baltal in Ganderbal district and Pahalgam in Anantnag district. Through the traditional Pahalgam route in southern Kashmir, pilgrims will have to travel 48 km from Nunwan base camp to Amarnath cave, while 14 km from Baltal in central Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha invited political leaders of various parties over a high-tea meeting to discuss ways and means for making the Amarnath pilgrims a grand success. This is for the first time that LG Sinha reached out to J&K politicians seeking their support for making the annual pilgrimage of Amarnath a “grand success”

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that he held a meeting with senior political leaders to discuss the arrangements and management of Amarnath Ji Yatra, at Raj Bhavan here. "I observed that the sacred pilgrimage strengthens our faith in the goodness of humanity and its successful conduct is the responsibility of every citizen of J&K UT," he said in a statement released to KNO. "Amarnath Ji Yatra is a reflection of our composite culture and people belonging to all religions are contributing to its success."

The LG said that all the top leaders in the meeting speaking with one voice noted that Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra is like a big festival, a Kashmiriyat celebration for the common man of J&K and each and every citizen of UT will guarantee a warm hospitality and comfort of the pilgrims."

He said the top leaders appealed to the people for their continued support and assistance in performing the Yatra, which is the pride of Jammu Kashmir and the reflection of unity in diversity. “Senior leaders also noted that Yatra is a vital part of J&K's economy and a source of livelihood for a large number of local people,” LG said. The Lieutenant Governor also briefed the meeting on the arrangements put in place for Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra-2022 as well as special places identified in all Yatra camps to sell local products including famous Jammu Kashmir arts and crafts.

“All the senior leaders of the prominent J&K political parties expressed their views and suggestions for the smooth and successful conduct of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra,” he said, adding that “a similar meeting will be held after 10 days. of Yatra”.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

• The medical certificate should be prescribed by a doctor/hospital authorised in your state.

• The compulsory health certificate (CHC) should be issued after May 28, 2022.

• The photo file must be in. JPEG or. JPG only and size not more than 1MB.

• 4 passport-sized photographs should be kept, of which three for Yatra permits and one for an application form.

• The medical certificate should be scanned and uploaded in. PDF format only while registering. The size should not be more than 1MB.

• Persons with ages below 13 years and above 70 years are not allowed.

• Pregnant women with more than 6 weeks of pregnancy are not allowed.

• Carry your original Photo ID and Medical Certificate with you during the yatra.

• An Aadhaar card or bio-metrically verified government-issued I-card is needed.

Amarnath Yatra Registration Form

Visitors can also follow the following steps for registration:

• Step 1: Login by providing a username and password.

• Step 2: Register through the steps following the do's and don'ts.

• Step 3: The registration is completed by providing the yatri application number and mobile number. So, by selecting the agree button and finally downloading the permit.

• Step 4: Banks stop their registration eight days before the closure. The designated branches are Punjab National Bank (PNB), J&K Bank, and Yes Bank. The list of designated branches PNB, J&K Bank and Yes Bank, and SBI is available on SASB’s website.

• Step 5: Pilgrims can do spot registration with the pilgrims reaching Jammu and Srinagar without advance registration.

Health Certificate for Yatra

• The medical form for the Amarnath Yatra 2022 is available at your local bank branch.

• Second, you must complete this form with all of the required information.

• Get the Doctor and the Community Health Center to sign your Amarnath Yatra 2022 Medical Form now.

• You must be medically fit to fill out the Medical Form because there may be morbidities.

• Breathing might be difficult at high altitudes, so make sure you're physically strong enough to accomplish the Trek to Shri Amarnath Yatra 2022.

Health department preparations

Jammu and Kashmir Health Department has made arrangements for medical facilities in Kashmir from Jawahar tunnel to Amarnath cave.

The Kashmir Area Health Director said that 70 medical facilities have been arranged for passengers on the Pahalgam and Baltal routes. Six base hospitals for pilgrims have been established in Chandanwadi of Pahalgam.

Amarnaath Yatra is being organised this year after two years as it remained suspended due to Covid. Yatris who reached Pahalgam were seen very happy besides complimenting the security arrangements.

“I am coming for the 25th Yatra and we are very happy with the arrangements made by the government,” said a Yatri from Maharashtra. He said that they will visit Chandanwari and Baltal and will pray for peace and prosperity of the country

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