Amarnath Yatra From July 3, Registration Opens April 15

JAMMU, Apr 12: The annual Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir will commence on July 3 and conclude on August 28, spanning 57 days, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced on Saturday.

Registrations for the pilgrimage will begin from April 15 and have been made mandatory. Pilgrims aged between 13 and 70 years will be eligible to undertake the yatra, Sinha told reporters at the Lok Bhavan.

The decision regarding the schedule was taken at a meeting of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) chaired by the Lieutenant Governor.

Advance registration will be available through around 556 designated bank branches across the country, while online registration can also be done via the official SASB website. Facilities will be provided through branches of Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India and Axis Bank.

The Lieutenant Governor said the first puja will be held on June 19 on the occasion of Jyeshtha Purnima.

The pilgrimage will proceed via two routes — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam track in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district.