Amarnath Yatra begins as pilgrims set out from Baltal, Nunwan base camps

The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday with the first batches of pilgrims setting off from the twin base camps in Baltal and Nunwan towards the 3880-metre-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, which houses a naturally formed ice-lingam, officials said.

The yatra started early morning from the twin tracks -- the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route and the 14-km Baltal route.

The batches of pilgrims, including men, women and sadhus, 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.

The chants of 'bum bum bole' filled the air as the batches were flagged off by senior officials from the respective base camps, they added.

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.

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

Stringent security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the yatra.

Thousands of security personnel from the police, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and other paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure security. Aerial surveillance will also be carried out.

The 38-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 9.