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Pilgrimage Travel Amarnath Cave - Most Popular Pilgrimage Trek India

About Location of Amarnath Pilgrimage

The most important event during July/August, is Amarnath Yatra to the Holy Pilgrimage. This is an annual event when thousands of Hindus from different corners of the Globe visit Amarnath caves. The pilgrims trek from Pahalgam to these caves and worship the great ice Lingam. Amarnath is 145 km east of Srinagar in Kashmir. There is an ice Shiva-linga here that changes size with the seasons, and also as the moon waxes and wanes it becomes bigger and smaller. On the full moon day the linga is about 6 ft high. Each year on the full moon day of July-August (Sravana) when the Siva-linga attains its maximum height there is a festival at this cave temple.

It is said that Lord Siva first appeared on this day. The site, India Travel Destinations accounts for tours to Amaranth Yatra, which is an isolated height yet, one of the most sought after centers of religious penance in India. It is located in a glacial valley at 4,175m (13,700 ft.). The cave is about 150 feet high and 90 feet long. Within the cave there are four or five ice formations that resemble the figures of different gods.

Myths About Amarnath Yatra

A prominent fair and festival in India, such as the Amaranth Yatra in India is one religious journey, which does not involve humans in its myth. Lord Shiva has been known to be the most perplexing of all deities, as knowledge concerning his origin is a nature kept secret. It is here that the significance of this fair and festival in Kashmir, India arises.

The story narrated by people about the discovery of this Holy Cave is of a Gujjar ( shepherd) Buta Malik. He is given the credit of discovering this Holy Cave . Story goes like this , that a saint gave Buta Malik a bag full of Coal. On reaching his home when he opened the bag , to his utter surprise the bag was full of gold coins . This made him overwhelmed with joy. He ran to thank the Saint . But, what he found was that the Saint had disappeared . Instead , he found The Holy Cave and Shiv Lingam there in . He announced the discovery of this to the Villagers. Then onwards this has become the sacred place of Pilgrimage.

It is understood to be the recollections of Lord Shiva as told to Goddess Parvati, which were overheard by a divine pair of pigeons, which forms the rationale behind the Amaranth Yatra in Kashmir, India. A traveling person called Mailk spotted the same divine pair of pigeons, which led to the initiation of these religious odysseys being undertaken every year to the far end of the Fidder valley. The chorus of the devotees and the accompanying fun and regalia of the climb reach a deafening crescendo as the trek progresses.

Visiting Season

The Amarnath Yatra is organised every year by the J &K Govt. during the month of Shravan ( July and August); the dates however , vary every year looking at the weather conditions and according to Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) in the month of Sharavan (Vikrama Samwat).

This year Yatra will be taken up from between the month of July to August. Surrounded by beautiful valleys, mountains , one will always feel His presence on the paradise of the earth, the memory of which hardly vanishes with time A journey which will rediscover the nature and its love which is always inside but one has never felt.

How to Reach Amarnath Cave

By Air
Indian Airlines had daily flights to Delhi and Srinagar. To reach there (Holy Cave Amarnath) 145 km from Srinagar, and after this 90 km trekking  There are also flights to Bombay, Calcutta, Chandigarh, and Leh.

By Train
The Shalimar Express departs from Delhi at 4.10 pm and arrives in Jammu at 7 am. There are other trains to and from Delhi. From Jammu there are direct trains to Bombay, Calcutta (Jammu Tawi Exp # 3152, daily, 6.15 pm, 46 ½ hr). Most buses leave between 6 and 7 am, in order to arrive before night.

A ticket to Srinagar should be booked in advance. There are buses to Delhi (14 hr), Amritsar (5hr), and Pathankot (3 hr). From Pathankot you can get a bus to Dharamshala and Dalhousie.