The Amarnath Temple is one of the most sacred Hindu shrines located at an altitude of 3,888 m in the Pir Panjal Ranges of the mighty Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. It is mentioned in the ancient Hindu texts of Mahabharata and Puranas.

According to legend, Sage Bhrigu was the first to have discovered the Amarnath cave. It is the place where Lord Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his divine consort – Goddess Parvati.

One of the 51 Shakti Peethas — the holy cave – in Lidder Valley is located in an area with glaciers, and snow-caped mountains that are virtually impossible to climb almost 6-8 months in a year except for a short period in summer. As a result, the annual pilgrimage to the Holy shrine is allowed for a brief period of about 42 days from the last week of June to mid-August during the Hindu holy month of Savan.

The Amarnath cave can be approached from two sides. The northern approach originates from Baltal Village – located between Sonamarg and Zojila Pass on National Highway 1 connecting Srinagar to Leh. This approach is much shorter – just 14 kms long but has a very steep gradient and is quite difficult to climb. Pilgrims have to climb this path from Baltal on foot and can climb all the way up and return the same day.

The Southern approach, the traditional 46 kms long route starts from Pahalgaum town in Anant Nag District. This journey on foot from Pahalgam usually takes about five days.

According to Hindu mythology the legend of Amarnath yatra can be traced to Shiv Puran in the Vedic Era. Sage Narad instigated Goddess Parvati to ask Lord Shiva, the secret of immortality. So she asked Lord Shiva why he was eternal and she was mortal? Also why did he always wear Rudraksha garland around his neck? Lord Shiva kept quiet and smilingly told her that this was a secret that could not be disclosed. But Goddess Parvati insisted time and again.

Finally, Lord Shiva agreed to disclose the secret and asked her to undertake the journey to Amarnath cave. As soon as Lord Shiva’s entourage reached Bailgaum (now called Pahalgaum) he asked Nandi, the bull to stay there. At Chandan wari he released the crescent Moon from his hair (Jata). As they proceeded further, he released Sheshnag on the banks of Lake Sheshnag and his son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Mountain). Soon Lord Shiva and Parvati reached Panch Tarani, the confluence of five rivers where he detached the five elements — Earth, Water, Sky, Air, and Fire as a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world and performed the Tandav Dance.

Finally, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati reached the Amarnath Cave where Lord Shiva went into deep meditation and related the secret of immortality to Goddess Parvati, who was so tired of the long journey that she dozed off. Two white Pigeons who were present in the cave listened to the whole story and become immortal.

Another folklore is that Sage Bhirgu, the Manasa Putra of Brahma, one of Saptarshis or the seven great sages and the author of Bhrigu Samhita stumbled upon the cave in Himalayas while searching for the trinity Gods.

Yet another story is that a shepherd named Buta Malik led the local Kashmiri Pundits to the holy cave in 1850.

Whatever the legend, the journey to Amarnath cave is a lifetime experience passing through beautiful snow covered peaks and blue water streams gurgling along the valley in the lap of nature.

I along with my brother, visited Amarnath dham in July 2017. The experience is still vivid in my mind. We registered at the J&K Bank and obtained the entry permit duly certified by the bank’s medical officer. We started the journey from Jaipur and left Hanumangarh, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Pathankot behind, before crossing River Ravi at the Lakhanpur Check Post and reached Jammu.

From here we proceeded on NH 44 from Jammu to Srinagar under army escort in a convoy of about 25 vehicles. The convoy was well protected by security forces. The army trucks in the convoy were mounted with LMGs and manned by alert soldiers in helmets and bullet-proof jackets all along the route. We crossed Udhampur on the way before stopping for lunch at Bhatote. We crossed the 9 km long Nashni- Chanani tunnel bypassing Patni top and reached Ramban which reduced the distance by two hours.

Our next halt was Banihal town from where we proceeded towards the heavily guarded Jawahar Tunnel at Bainhal Pass on Pir Punjal Range. Finally we crossed Anantnag and headed towards Pahalgaum which was 40 kms away.

The Bus finally arrived at the well organised Base camp spread over 1×1 km and manned by CRPF personnel at Nunwan in Pahalgaum. We collected our rucksacks and entered the camp after security check. There were 5 rows of 20 Tents with 10 beds each. We hired on the tents and kept our luggage.

It was like a carnival with devotional music playing on speakers mounted on poles. There were several shops selling woollen jackets, rain capes, monkey caps, gloves, mobiles/ SIMs and local handicrafts.  There were also langars operated by religious trusts providing free food. I purchased a temporary SIM valid for 15 days as all pre-paid services were not available in Jammu and Kashmir. Soon we heard an announcement made by the control room that our group would be released at 6 am the next day provided metrological department clears the move. So we had a wash, some hot food and dozed off.

Phase 1

We had our breakfast and moved to Gate No 2 of the base camp. Suddenly, there was an announcement that there was an overcast sky and heavy rains at the top. So we returned to our tents. Soon there was another announcement that weather had cleared and the yatra will be resumed. There were loud celebrations as all everyone shouted victory to Shiva (Jai Bhole). We were released in groups of 200 with a gap of half hour. We could see beautiful town of Pahalgaum and high mountains in the North and river Lidder flowing gracefully along the way. We hired a SUVs to take us to the Check Point at Chandanwari about 12 km away. There was heavy security checking at the entry point. Our entry permits were checked, rucksacks were screened and we were asked to pass through door framed metal detectors.

The Sky was clear with few scattered clouds. So we heaved a sigh of relief and commenced our Journey. About 500 yards ahead, there was a pony shed with about 100 ponies, porters and palki  carriers waiting for people who found it difficult to undertake the arduous climb. We continued walking for about 10 Kms.

The next destination was Pissu top at 11000 feet. We were told that the gradient was quite steep and it would be a wise step to hire ponies to negotiate the steep climb from 7000 feet to 11500 feet. We hired Two Ponies for Rs 1500 each and continued towards Pissu Top. There was a CRPF medical aid and water point at Zojibal where we had warm water and rested for half an hour.

The Ponies dropped us at Nagarkoti near a cluster of thatch huts and a small tea shop. We had tea and biscuits before continuing to walk towards Sheshnag camp which 5 km away. The track had snow on both sides and there was frozen Ice under the mud which was quite slippery. There were NDRF teams in Orange Jackets to help the injured and old pilgrims. We could now see the huge mountain shaped like a cobra hood overlooking the camp site which was located near the beautiful blue lake in the bowl. We took a short cut and reached the camp. Again, there was a check point where our entry permits were rechecked before allowing us to enter the mid-way camp. We were quite happy as we had covered 26 km – almost half the journey. We paid Rs 500 to hire a tent and kept our bags in it before heading for delayed lunch at a langar. We had chole bhature and hot tea before retiring in the tent. Suddenly it started drizzling again and the temperature became quite cold. Soon there was an announcement for dinner. So we had dinner and slept like a log, totally wrapped up in mule blankets.

Phase 2

After hearty breakfast, we packed our bags and reported at the Sheshnag Camp Exit Check Point on our way to Warbal village – 8 km away. Here too we were released in small groups of 100 each. We hired ponies for Rs 1000 to take us till Mahagunush Mountain also called Ganesh Top which is at a height of 14900 feet. The entire stretch was slushy and even ponies were skidding. The entire area had frozen water streams and water channels crossing the track. We came across army patrols, security pickets and medical aid points on the way. We also came across groups of bare-bodied naga sadhus with trishuls — singing, chanting and dancing enroute. From Ganesh Top, Panch Tarani was about 5 kms downhill. We were exhausted but continued walking.

Panch Tarani was a beautiful open bowl surrounded by hills. It is the last staging camp before the holy cave. There was a transit camp of 1×1 km size with tented accommodation, langars and a medical unit.  The most important part is that there are two helipads being operated by Private Aviation Company. A number of pilgrims hire these helicopters. There was a Pony Camp at Panch Tarni where we released the ponies and proceeded on the next stretch of 6 Km.

After walking about 3 km on foot, we could see the Baltal track also merging ahead as well as the final destination the wonderful Amarnath Cave in the lap of snow covered peaks. It was a breath-taking the whole pain and fatigue vanished.

Phase 3

We could see the holy cave on the horizon 1.5 km away. The route was through a frozen glaciated patch. There were about 30 small shops on both side of the track. River Amravati with 2 feet deep cold water was flowing rapidly on right side of the track. As we approached the Temple Cave, I slipped twice but recovered. After 45 minutes’ walk, we were at the base of the semi-circular Amarnath cave – 40 feet high and 30 feet wide in the deep mountain. We removed our shoes before proceeded further. We were now bare footed and temperature was about 10 degree Celsius.  Our feet were numb but we continued walking towards the shrine.

There were two priests blessing the pilgrims. We offered silent prayers in front of Shivlings. The Main Shivling was made of frozen ice 20 feet high and 12 feet in circumference — conical in shape.  There were two more Shivlings about 12 feet and 8 feet high.

Finally the priests directed us to move on. So we climbed down carefully and after resting for half an hour at a tea shop – started the journey back. After some time, we found a medial post manned by CRPF. I had a mild headache so I met the Doctor who checked all parameters and said this was due to lack of oxygen at this height. He gave us two puffs of oxygen and a cup of tea. The light was fading fast, so we decided to stay for night in the shelter where the night temp dipped to zero degree Celsius.

The next morning we were feeling physically and psychologically fit as we resumed our downhill journey.

-The writer is an Indian Army veteran and a defence analyst. He has keen interest in Geo-strategic affairs and writes regularly on internal and external affairs issues related to India and neighbours. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda.