Pilgrims enroute to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath.
Credit: PTI Photo
Jammu: A fresh batch of pilgrims left for the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas from here on Monday, officials said.
Over 28,000 pilgrims have paid their obeisance at the 3,880-metre high cave shrine till Sunday night.
The fourth batch of 6,461 pilgrims left in 265 vehicles for the twin base camps of Baltal and Palagam at 3:15 am and were escorted by security vehicles, they said.
While 4,140 pilgrims took the 48-km traditional Pahalgam route for their yatra, 2,321 pilgrims took the shorter but steep 14-km Baltal route, they said.
With this, a total of 19,564 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the valley since June 28 when Lt Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch.
The 52-day-long yatra began from June 29 and will conclude on August 19.