{"id":58942,"date":"2016-07-04T16:53:02","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T11:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/?p=58942"},"modified":"2017-03-31T17:03:24","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T11:33:24","slug":"amarnath-yatra-2016-heeding-the-call-of-the-divine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/travel\/amarnath-yatra-2016-heeding-the-call-of-the-divine","title":{"rendered":"Amarnath Yatra 2017: Heeding the Call of the Divine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/travel\/amarnath-yatra-2016-heeding-the-call-of-the-divine\/attachment\/amarnath-yatra-2016\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-59078\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-59078 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/ci-moi-images\/my-india\/2016\/07\/amarnath-yatra-2016.jpg\" alt=\"Amarnath Yatra 2016\" width=\"669\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/ci-moi-images\/my-india\/2016\/07\/amarnath-yatra-2016.jpg 669w, https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/ci-moi-images\/my-india\/2016\/07\/amarnath-yatra-2016-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/ci-moi-images\/my-india\/2016\/07\/amarnath-yatra-2016-665x347.jpg 665w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Amarnath yatra is India\u2019s most popular pilgrimage trip. It is conducted for a fixed period of time in the summers and usually starts in the month of Shravan (July &#8211; August). Every year, thousands of pilgrims from across the country flock to this holy cave and shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas. This year, the much awaited Yatra started on 29 June 2017, which also happened to be\u00a0an\u00a0auspicious day of Skandshasthi\u00a0for Hindus and shall conclude on Shravan Purnima\u00a0. The 45-day Yatra ends on 7\u00a0August 2017. Registration for the Amarnath Yatra for this year begins from 1 March 2017.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Lord Amarnath Cave and Shrine<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some\u00a0140 km from Srinagar, 46 km from Pahalgam and at an altitude of 3,888 metres above\u00a0sea level, \u00a0lies the most popular Hindu pilgrimage centre and the holiest shrine of the Hindus: the Amarnath Cave, which houses Lord Amarnath\u2019s shrine. Surrounded with\u00a0snowy mountains, the cave remains fully covered in\u00a0snow almost throughout the year. It is open to the public only\u00a0during the summers for a short time. Inside the cave, you find the shrine of Lord Shiva, in the form of a\u00a0naturally created ice lingam. It is said that the lingam grows and shrinks with the moon cycle. There are two more Ice Lingams, near the main shrine, that of Maa Parvati and of their son, Lord Ganesha.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Read: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/travel\/amarnath-cave-story\">Amarnath Cave Story<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Amarnath Yatra Trip 2017<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 2017 Amarnath Yatra began on 29 June this year. However, entrance to the cave is highly regulated. A person has to register themselves first to undertake this pilgrimage tour. Registration for this year had\u00a0started in\u00a0March itself. It\u00a0is done on &#8216;First-Come-First-Serve Basis&#8217;. The annual Amarnath Yatra is managed by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) which was constituted by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/maps\/jammuandkashmir\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jammu &amp; Kashmir<\/a> State Legislature Act in 2000.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The number of pilgrims entering the shrine is fixed on the basis of a pre-defined quota per day per route. Interested pilgrims can fill in and submit the online registration form on\u00a0SASB&#8217;s website. The forms are also available in the branches of\u00a0Punjab National Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank and Yes Bank. A\u00a0system of &#8216;Group Registration&#8217; was\u00a0introduced by the SASB last year to facilitate registration of pilgrims wishing\u00a0to travel in a group. The yatra is entirely managed by the SASB; it provides various services including\u00a0power supply, telecommunication, firewood, food, medical camps etc.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-size: 17px;\">How to Reach Amarnath?<\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Air:<\/strong> The nearest airport is Srinagar. Helicopter services are also available<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rail:<\/strong> The nearest Railway Station is Jammu.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Road:<\/strong> Jammu and Srinagar are also connected through road.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are two routes to reach the holy Amarnath cave. One is the ancient and traditional Pahalgam route. It takes five days to reach the cave through this route by trekking. The total distance from Pahalgam to the cave is 46 km. Another preferred route for trekking in recent years is the 14 km Baltal-Holy cave route. It takes one day to complete this trek. Though the trekking is short, it is steep. This route is less crowded as only those pilgrims who can walk are allowed and no ponies are allowed here. But the Pahalgam route, which is wider, is more crowded as it gives access to yatris who walk\u00a0as well as\u00a0those\u00a0riding\u00a0on ponies. This year, the Board has kept the maximum limit to only 7,500 pilgrims everyday on each route daily. This number does not include the pilgrims who would travel by helicopter.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Insurance by SASB<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A pilgrim who is duly registered by the SASB for the yatra is issued a \u201cYatra Permit\u201d and the person\u00a0is entitled to an insurance cover of Rs.1 lakh.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Do\u2019s and Dont\u2019s for the Trek<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Keep yourself fit to undertake the yatra. You need to start preparing\u00a0your body and mind one\u00a0or two\u00a0months before starting\u00a0the journey. Go for regular walks\u00a0and try to make your body\u00a0flexible to enable it to undertake the arduous journey.<\/li>\n<li>You should do deep breathing exercises\u00a0because as\u00a0you climb higher and higher for the trek, the oxygen level goes down.<\/li>\n<li>All pilgrims have\u00a0to obtain a compulsory health certificate (CHC) from doctors\/hospitals listed\u00a0by the states and UTs before applying for a yatra permit.<\/li>\n<li>For the\u00a0trek, you should wear comfortable woollen clothes and jackets, along with proper shoes, to keep yourself covered properly from head to toe.<\/li>\n<li>Carry a small umbrella, raincoat, torch, gloves etc.<\/li>\n<li>Keep an ID card handy.<\/li>\n<li>Carry a\u00a0water bottle\u00a0and\u00a0some dry snacks with you during the course of the journey.<\/li>\n<li>It is better to keep a moisturising lotion to protect your skin from the harsh cold winds.<\/li>\n<li>Take short rests in between while trekking. Don\u2019t exert too much. Walk at a slow pace.<\/li>\n<li>Follow the instructions issued by the Administration.<\/li>\n<li>Carry some common medicines for immediate relief.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Don\u2019ts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is advisable not to stop at places which have danger signs or at places where there are less number of people.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Don\u2019t take any kind of drugs during the journey.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Do not take oily or fried food.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is advisable for aged people and children not to undertake the journey.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/maps\/jammuandkashmir\/amarnath-yatra-map.html\">Amarnath Yatra Map<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/india\/amarnath-yatra-and-operation-shiva\">Amarnath Yatra and Operation Shiva<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/jammu-kashmir\/travel-to-amarnath.html\">Travel to Amarnath<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Amarnath yatra is India\u2019s most popular pilgrimage trip. It is conducted for a fixed period of time in the summers and usually starts in the month of Shravan (July &#8211; August). Every year, thousands of pilgrims from across the country flock to this holy cave and shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas. This year, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1813,"featured_media":59078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[833],"class_list":{"0":"post-58942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel","8":"tag-jammu-and-kashmir"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1813"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58942"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69077,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58942\/revisions\/69077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}