Everyone wants to do Amarnath Yatra once in his life. But this is also true that not everyone can go for this yatra, as the Amarnath yatra is the most difficult yatra till now. It is said that anyone who visits the Amarnath Temple once, attains salvation. That is why Amarnath Temple or Amarnath Cave has become the most famous pilgrimage site in India. The belief in the Amarnath Mandir is so much that despite having such a difficult journey, millions of devotees visit this pilgrimage site every year. This yatra runs only for 48 days a year.
The Amarnath is at the height of 3888 meters above sea level. While on another hand Amarnath’s cave length and width are 19m and 16m respectively. Although this cave is covered with snow throughout the year, but when the snow melts in July, then this cave is open for the devotees for some time. Let us tell you that the Amarnath cave is the same place where Lord Shiva narrated the ‘Amar Katha’ to Mother Parvati. If you also want to visit Amarnath Mandir, then in this article, you will get all the information that you will need to go on this journey.
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About Amarnath Shivling
The main thing about Amarnath Shivling is that this Shivling forms naturally because of the drip of water drops in this cave from different places, whose height remains around 10 feet every time. If you don’t know, let us tell you that Amarnath Shivling is also called ‘Himani Shivling’. It is also said that the size of Amarnath Shivling depends on the size of the moon. What is even more surprising is that the Amarnath Shivling is completely made of solid ice. Whereas the snow in the rest of the Amarnath cave is very soft, which starts melting as soon as you keep your hands. How surprising is this, isn’t it?
Latest Amarnath Yatra News 2022
At present, Amarnath Yatra has been banned from both Baltal and Pahalgam due to bad weather. At the same time, according to the administration, the journey will be halted till further notice.
Check the details from Amarnath Yatra’s official website:
http://www.shriamarnathjishrine.com/
To get the refund you have to approach the same branch from where you got your Yatra permit. After surrendering the permit, you can get your refund.
Amarnath Pigeons Story (Amarnath ki Katha)
According to Hindu legends, when Mata Parvati asked Lord Shiva about his immortality, then Shiv Ji decided to narrate the ‘Amar Katha’ to Mata Parvati. To narrate this story to Mata Parvati, Lord Shiva chose Amarnath cave so that no one else could listen to this story. Because whoever listened to this story would have become immortal. Mata Parvati fell asleep while listening to the story. But Shiv Ji did not come to know about that and he kept telling the story.
Apart from Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva, there were also two pigeons there who were listening to this story. While listening to the story, they were making sounds as a human does. Due to this Shiva Ji felt that the sound was being made by Mata Parvati. After the end of the story, Shiv Ji saw that Mata Parvati had fallen asleep but there were two pigeons who heard the whole story and they became immortal. Seeing this, Lord Shiva got very angry and decided to kill the pigeons.
Then the pigeons told Lord Shiva that if he kills them, then the immortal story will become false. Then Lord Shiva forgave them and gave him a boon that he would always reside in this cave. And since then, these two pigeons became famous. Now people remember them today as Amarnath Pigeons. By the way, many pigeons are seen in the ‘Amarnath Gufa’. But people still look for the same two pigeons who had heard that ‘Amar Katha’.
Compulsory Medical Test Before Amarnath Yatra
Before going on the journey, you need to get some medical tests done, in which Blood disorder, Joint pain, High blood pressure, Asthma, Pregnancy, Diabetes, Epilepsy, and Nervous breakdown are prominent. Apart from these tests, do all devotees have to tell whether they are smokers or not? Or if they have any allergies or not? If they have allergies, then they have to get tested for this also.
Ways to Reach Amarnath Temple
Let us tell you, out of two Amarnath Yatra Route one is from Pahalgam and the other is from Baltal. If you chose to go via Pahalgam, then let us tell you Pahalgam is around 255 km from Jammu and it will take you around 4 days to reach Amarnath Mandir via this route. From this route, the first stop will be Chandan Bari, which is around 9 km away from Pahalgam.
From Chandan Bari, while enjoying the amazing view along with the Lidder River, you will start climbing towards your second stop i.e., Pissu Ghati. After reaching Pissu Ghati, you will start your journey for Sheshnag, which is around 14 km from Chandan Bari. But the journey to Sheshnag doesn’t get easy for everyone, as it’s a steep climb. From here, you will reach the next stop i.e., Panchtarni, after covering almost 8 km. From Panchtarni, Amarnath cave is just 6 km away. As you go upwards, the cold and fatigue will increase. But after visiting the Amarnath temple, your all tiredness will be gone.
The second route is via Baltal, which is around 90 km from Srinagar. This route is also the shortest Amarnath Yatra Route. From this route, it will take you around 2 days to visit the Amarnath Temple. But do not make the mistake of understanding that if this route is short then it is also easy. Due to the steep climb of this route, children and old people often face problems. So, our opinion is that if you want to visit the ‘Amarnath Gufa’ with your family, then choose the route via Pahalgam. Even though that path is long, but is safer and less troublesome.
Things to Keep in Mind
- First of all, you will have to do registration to get a permit. Here first come first serve rule works. So, it’s better to register as soon as possible.
- There are many places where you can get your permit. These branches keep in mind that a fixed number of members be sent to Yatra.
- As the route to Amarnath Temple is not so easy, so you will have to submit your health certificate to get your permit.
- You will get your Amarnath yatra registration form and medical form from https://jksasb.nic.in/, which you will have to fill properly while registering.
- You should have your health certificate hard copy and 4 passport size photos during the journey to get a permit.
- Only one person can travel using one permit.
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Different Colors Permit for Different Days
- For Pahalgam or Baltal Route, you will get different color permits on different days like for Pahalgam, Lavender on Monday, Pink Lace on Tuesday, Badge on Wednesday, Peach on Thursday, Lemon Chiffon on Friday, Blue on Saturday, and Honey Dew on Sunday. While on other hand, for the Baltal route you will get Lemon Chiffon on Monday, Blue on Tuesday, Honey Dew on Wednesday, Lavender on Thursday, Pink Lace on Friday, Badge on Saturday, and Peach on Sunday.
Dos and Don’ts for Amarnath Mandir Yatra
- Children below 13, Elders above 75, and more than six months pregnant women are not allowed for this journey.
- Although, you will find free langar seva available from place to place, but still, it’s better to take some food and drink with you.
- We all know about the weather over there. So don’t forget to take warm clothes like full sleeve sweatshirt, sweater, windcheaters, raincoat, monkey cap, and warm socks.
- If it is possible, try to wear waterproof shoes during the journey. With these shoes, it will be easy for you to walk in ice and water.
- Photography is strictly not allowed inside the cave. If you will find to do so, you will have to pay a fine. So, it’s better to read instructions carefully before going for this yatra.
- Must carry lip balm, cold cream, torch, toilet paper, water bottle, first aid kit, trekking stick with you.
- Your id proof, and travel permit should always be with you.
- Maybe your prepaid sim cards will not work there. Hence you can buy new postpaid sim cards from Baltal or Nunwan.
- Women are advised to wear comfortable clothes like salwar suits, or trek suits.
- Do not try to start this journey with an empty stomach. Otherwise, you can get serious health issues.
- Polythene is banned in J&K.
- You can’t enter the Amarnath Cave with coins, chunari, and copper utensils. So, don’t keep them with you.
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