Amarnath Yatra 2025: Amarnath Yatra begins amid heavy security cover, pilgrims leave from base camps

The batches of pilgrims left from the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, and Baltal base camp in Sonamarg area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal at the first light of the day, the officials said.

On Wednesday, the first batch of 5,892 yatris was flagged off from the yatra base camp in Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The pilgrims reached the Kashmir Valley in the afternoon and received a rousing welcome from the administration and locals.

The first batch of the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims being welcomed by officials in Srinagar. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi) The first batch of the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Srinagar. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi)

They will pay obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses the naturally occurring ice-lingam formation.

This year’s Amarnath pilgrimage comes about two months after a terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists. As such, a stringent multi-tier security cover was in place on Wednesday as the convoy moved on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

The Amarnath Yatra pilgrims rejoice ahead of the pilgrimage.
(Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi)

“The yatra is being monitored 24×7 from the Integrated Command and Control Centre at Raj Bhawan and the Police Control Room, while an RFID-based tracking system has also been put in place to monitor movement of yatris and their convoy on a real time basis,” officials had told The Indian Express.

Last year, the yatra had recorded the highest footfall in 12 years, with over five lakh devotees visiting the holy cave.