The Baba Amarnath Yatra has been stopped 20 days before the scheduled time. This decision was taken due to continuous rain and landslides that have damaged the routes.
Now only the groups that are already on the pilgrimage will be allowed to complete their journey. New groups will not be sent. So far, more than 4.8 lakh devotees have had darshan of the holy cave.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg said that the IMD has issued a forecast of bad weather for the next few days. Keeping in mind the safety of devotees, it has been decided to stop the yatra on both routes from August 9.
Although the yatra will be closed for devotees from August 9, its religious conclusion will take place with the traditional Chhadi Mubarak ceremony. The holy mace will proceed to the Amarnath cave via the traditional Pahalgam route on August 28, and with this, the formal conclusion of Amarnath Yatra-2026 will take place.
The ice lingam had disappeared a month ago
On May 23, the picture released by BSF personnel showed the Shivling was approximately 7 feet in size. On June 29, the day of the first worship, the ice lingam’s height was also more than 5 feet. In the picture that emerged on July 6, the ice lingam had almost 90% disappeared. Then on July 7, the ice lingam completely disappeared. However, despite this, the pilgrimage continued.
Amarnath’s Baba Barfani is formed naturally, not carved
This picture of the Shivling in Amarnath is from 1999, in which a Shivling more than 10 feet tall can be seen.
The ice Shivling of Amarnath is not made by carving a block of ice, but it is a natural ice stalagmite. Just as stalagmites are formed in limestone caves by minerals depositing from the ground, similarly in the Amarnath cave, water dripping from the ceiling freezes to form the ice Shivling.
Its size varies every year according to the weather, temperature and water availability. This is its most unique feature.
2 routes for the journey, one 48km long but easy, the other 14km but with difficult climb
The Amarnath Yatra is conducted via two routes. The traditional route is 48 kilometres long from Nunwan-Pahalgam. The second route is from Baltal in Ganderbal district, which is 14 kilometres long. The yatra was scheduled to end on August 28.
