Amarnath Sightseeing, Quick Facts, History, Packages, Tours & Excursions

Amarnath is one of the most acclaimed of Hindu temples, dedicated to Lord Shiva, about 140 km from Srinagar in J&K. Estimated to be around 5000 years old, the Amarnath temple is visited by close to 400,000 Hindu devotees every year.

Legend has it that Goddess Parvati asked her husband Shiv the reason behind his immortality. Thus God Shiv told her about the immortal secret of life and eternity or the Amar Katha at Amarnath. However, a solitary egg of a pigeon was hidden under his deerskin mat during this narration and the pair of pigeons born out of that egg became immortal having listened to the secret of immortality. To this day, many pilgrims report seeing the pair of pigeons when they trek the arduous route to the holy spot.

A natural ice stalagmite in the form of a Shiv Linga is found inside the Amarnath Cave, along with two other ice formations representing Ganesh and Parvati. This lingam is observed to expand and contract with the phases of the moon, and it reaches it's height during the summer festival. Of late it has been observed that the size of the lingam has decreased considerably, probably due to global warming.

Devotees undertake an arduous 45km trek over 4 to 5 days to reach Amarnath from the town of Pahalgam. The maximum traffic is during the 45-day festival of Shravani Mela in July-August, coinciding with the Hindu month of Shravan. There is a shorter route to Amarnath as well from the town of Baltal, from where the trek is only 12km. The infirm and elderly can make the journey on horse back. Of late, there are helicopters that ply to the Amarnath shrine as well.

Apart from the difficult terrain, the route to Amarnath also faces security risks due to terrorism in the area. The entire route is thus controlled by the Indian Army.

Tourism Info:

Deputy Director, Tourism,

J&K Govt,

Tourist Reception Centre,

Veer Marg

Jammu

Phone: 0191-520432