The annual Amarnath Yatra 2026 officially began on Friday after the first batch of pilgrims, who arrived at the base camps on Thursday, started their journey to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The Yatra began early in the morning along the twin routes—the traditional, safer but longer 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route and the 14-km Baltal route—even as intermittent rain lashed the region, officials said.
The initial batches of pilgrims, including men, women, sadhus and sadhvis, left from the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam, while another batch left the base camp in the Sonmarg area of central Kashmir's Ganderbal at first light, they said.
Pilgrims chanted “Bum Bum Bole” slogans while they started their treks to pay obeisance at the cave shrine. The batches were flagged off by the respective Deputy Commissioners and SSPs from the base camps, officials added.
Earlier, a batch of over 4,809 pilgrims was flagged off from the Yatra base camp at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in the early hours of Thursday.
The pilgrims received a grand welcome upon their arrival in the Kashmir Valley by locals and the administration. Stringent security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the Yatra. The 57-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 28.
Also read: Second batch of 3865 Amarnath pilgrims leave for Valley
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