More than 56,000 pilgrims have offered prayers at the holy Amarnath cave shrine during the first three days of the Amarnath Yatra 2026, which began on July 3 in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
On Sunday, the third day of the annual pilgrimage, 24,648 devotees reached the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 3,880 metres, via the twin routes of Baltal and the traditional Pahalgam-Chandanwari track.
A total of 32,313 pilgrims had visited the shrine during the first two days of the yatra. With Sunday’s footfall, the cumulative number of devotees who have performed ‘darshan’ has risen to 56,961.
Officials said the weather remained partly cloudy in the shrine area on Sunday, but the pilgrimage proceeded smoothly on both routes. Pilgrims who completed the darshan returned to their respective base camps by the evening.
A heavy rush of devotees continues on both the Baltal and Nunwan base camps, with thousands of pilgrims arriving daily from across the country. The administration has reiterated its appeal to devotees not to undertake the pilgrimage before their allotted date, citing the unprecedented influx of pilgrims.
The annual pilgrimage is being conducted simultaneously through the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has advised unregistered pilgrims to postpone their journey for a few days, stating that all registration slots have been booked until July 9 due to the surge in arrivals.
Officials have also announced that, from Sunday onwards, only registered pilgrims will be allowed to proceed towards Kashmir. Unregistered devotees will be stopped at designated checkpoints until fresh registration slots become available.
Meanwhile, Jammu has witnessed a significant influx of pilgrims, with thousands arriving daily ahead of the yatra. Heavy crowds were reported at registration and token distribution centres near the Tawi riverfront, Ram Mandir, Purani Mandi and Geeta Bhawan, where long queues were seen from early morning.
According to reports, around 5,000 unregistered pilgrims were issued registration for different dates of the pilgrimage.
The 57-day Amarnath Yatra 2026 will conclude on the occasions of Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
(With inputs from IANS)
