Srinagar, Jul 28 (KNO): A fresh batch of 3,029 Amarnath pilgrims, including 30 foreign male devotees, reached the Baltal base camp on Tuesday after departing from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu under tight security arrangements, officials said.
According to details available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) the 21st batch left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas at 2:45 am in a convoy of 151 vehicles, comprising 57 buses, 30 medium motor vehicles (MMVs), 58 light motor vehicles (LMVs) and six two-wheelers. No convoy was dispatched for Pahalgam route.
The batch comprised 2,310 male pilgrims, 590 women, 14 children, 45 sadhus, 40 sadhvis and 30 foreign male pilgrims.
Meanwhile, 9,073 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine on Tuesday, taking the total number of devotees who have undertaken the pilgrimage since its commencement on July 3 to 4,35,412, officials said.
On Tuesday 5,526 men, 3,090 women, 162 children, 41 sadhus, 12 sadhvis, three transgender devotees and 239 security personnel completed Yatra.
The total number of pilgrims who have departed from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the annual pilgrimage this year has reached 1,30,355, officials added.
Every year, thousands of devotees from across the country undertake the pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine, situated at an altitude of 3,880 metres nestled in the Himalayas, traversing steep mountain trails, glaciers and ice-fed streams. The two main base camps for the pilgrimage are Baltal in Central Kashmir and Nunwan (Pahalgam) in South Kashmir.
With 4,35,412 pilgrims having paid obeisance so far this year, the Yatra has already surpassed last year's total of over 4.14 lakh devotees. In 2024, around 5.12 lakh pilgrims performed the pilgrimage. The highest-ever footfall was recorded in 2011 and 2012, when 6.35 lakh and 6.22 lakh pilgrims, respectively, visited the holy cave shrine—(KNO)