More than 11,000 pilgrims had 'darshan' inside the holy cave on the 26th day of the Amarnath Yatra, as another batch of 3,111 devotees left Jammu for the Kashmir Valley on Thursday.
Of the 3,111 yatris who left Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in an escorted convoy for the valley, "2,303 are male, 750 are female, 11 children, and 47 sadhus," officials said.
Despite heavy rain along the two routes of Baltal and Pahalgam, the pilgrimage is continuing safely.
Authorities said the incessant downpour had damaged a bridge at Kelnar on the trek to the holy cave, but it was quickly repaired and restored by the Shrine Board authorities.
Yatris approach the Himalayan cave shrine either from the traditional south Kashmir Pahalgam route which involves an uphill trek of 43 km for from the north Kashmir Baltal base camp which involves a 13 km uphill trek.
Those using the Pahalgam route take 3-4 days to reach the cave shrine, while those using the Baltal route return to the base camp the same day after darshan.
Helicopter services are also available for yatris on both routes.
The cave shrine situated 3,888 metres above the sea-level, houses an ice stalagmite structure that devotees believe symbolises mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
The istructure wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon.
This year's 62-day long Amarnath Yatra which commenced on July 1, will end on August 31 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival.
To protect the pilgrims from high altitude sickness, authorities have banned all junk food at the free community kitchens set up along the two routes.
The banned items include all bottled drinks, halwai items, fried food and tobacco-based products.
(With inputs from IANS)
