SRINAGAR: The annual Amarnath yatra will start from July 3 this year and will conclude on August 26. The pilgrimage is 57 days long.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha announced the dates for the Amarnath yatra on Sunday in a post on X.
The yatra will simultaneously start from both the traditional Pahalgam route in south Kashmir and the shorter Baltal route in central Kashmir.
"The Pratham Puja will be held on Jyeshtha Purnima (June 29)," Sinha said.
According to LG, the advance registration for the yatra will begin on April 15 via both offline and online modes. This facility, he said, will be available at 554 branches of J&K Bank, PNB, SBI, and Yes Bank across the country.
The Lt Governor said Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) will be issued to every registered pilgrim and service provider.
"Registered pilgrims will receive group accident insurance with the sum assured enhanced to Rs 10 lakh per person. Coverage for both accidental and natural deaths of ponies--Rs 50,000 per animal--will be provided through the National Livestock Mission," he said.
"Grid power supply will be available along the Baltal Axis up to the cave and from the cave to Panjtarni. Yatra tracks will be adequately illuminated. Various e-services and a pre-paid system for hiring ponies, pithoos, palkis etc will be available to pilgrims for ease of Yatra. Yatri Niwas facilities will be available at Baltal, Pantha Chowk (Srinagar), Nunwan, and Chanderkote," Sinha said.
The Amarnath cave shrine is situated at 3888 metres above sea level in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
A record number of 5.12 lakh pilgrims had participated in the Amarnath yatra in 2024. Last year, over 4 lakh yatris had visited the cave shrine, marking a 10 per cent drop in registrations following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 25 tourists and a local ponywala were killed.