On Friday, July 18, the Amarnath Yatra sprang back to life after a day-long suspension due to heavy rains and landslides, as 7,908 pilgrims set out from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the revered 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir. Escorted by CRPF and police, the 16th batch, comprising 5,957 men, 1,613 women, 26 children, and 310 sadhus and sadhvis, left in 261 vehicles between 3:30 am and 4:25 am.

The convoy split into two routes: 2,879 pilgrims headed for the 14-km Baltal track, while 5,029 took the 48-km Pahalgam route. Since July 2, over 1.09 lakh pilgrims have embarked from Jammu, with 2.5 lakh already having visited the shrine, which houses a naturally formed ice lingam.

Jammu buzzes with devotion as over 4,000 new pilgrims register, pushing the total registrations past 4 lakh for the 38-day pilgrimage ending August 9.

Also Read: Amarnath Yatra Halted: Heavy Rains Force Suspension After Deadly Landslide