June 30, 2013: It is one of the spiritual yatras that everyone hopes to do once if not more during the lifetime. With its location in mighty Himalayas and the heaven on earth-Kashmir, Amarnath is among one of the most tedious and landscaped treks to a religious site. The Amarnath Shrine is among the most visited holy place located at such great heights.

Situated in a narrow gorge at the end of Lidder Valley, Amarnath Shrine stands at 3,888 m (12,756 ft above the sea level) at trek of approximately 46 Km from Pahalgam and 14 Kms from Baltal, the distance can be covered by ponies, plakis and helicopters.

With the yatra commencing on June 28 this and culminating on August 21, the yatris are all set to go and seek the divine blessings. I too like many devotees took the decision to undertake the yatra last year and the decision came after years of thinking and convincing by devotees who have been among the regulars by now and assured that things are not that difficult as perceived to be. Whatever I might say, it was purely the divine call and blessing that I managed to be there and undergo what I can call 'a life changing experience'.

Amarnath is considered to be one of the major Hindu pilgrims and it is considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, especially during the saawan month. The naturally formed ice-lingam gets formed during the holy month and is opened for devotees for darshan during the same time.

We started our journey from Delhi and flew down to Srinagar. With availability of two options—from Srinagar to the base camps at Pahalgam (approximately 96 kms from Srinagar) and Baltal (approximately 115 kms from Srinagar)—we decided to go to Baltal via Sonamarg as the trek to the holy shrine from Baltal was much shorter as compared to the traditional Pahalgam-Chandanwari. The reaching time to Baltal or Pahalgam in almost the same it takes about 4 hours by road as there are several check points to ensure safety of the pilgrims.

As we reached the base camp late in the evening and had the yatra slips for the darshan next day, we decided to take rest at one of the camps and start our trek the very next morning. With a host of bhandaras at Baltal, everyone is offered food as if it's being served to the deity itself. From Indian to continental to Chinese-they world is served on the platter there. But we wanted to stay light and decided to go for the regular Indian food (a word of caution here the lighter you eat, the easier you are able to travel). After a light meal, a good night sleep refreshed us for our journey ahead.

As we took the shorter route to the holy cave from Baltal which is about 14-kilometres as compared to the route from Pahalgam which is about 42- kilometres. Being the shorter route the height escalation is sudden and there are several steep stretches. Regular breaks and rest, the trek took about 4-5 hours to reach Sangam where both the routes merge. The holy cave is about three-kilometres from there, which takes an addition of 2 hours as this stretch includes a major stretch over the glacier and walking on ice is surely not easy.

After a day-long of trekking, we reached the holy cave at twilight and the cave had closed for the day. After resting their overnight in tents erected over snow, we got in to the queue to the cave early morning thinking that the thought part was already over-but each step that took us to the cave was a tedious one. But, still pulling ourselves, we reached the cave and the darshan of the ice lingam and the holy pigeons, we were all elated and rejuvenated for our trek back to the base camp.

If, you too plan to undertake the yatra this year, do ensure that you are in best of your health, ready to sustain physical strain and fatigue.

Source: The Times of India, DT. June 30, 2013.