The 38-day annual Amarnath Yatra will commence on July 3, 2025, from both the Pahalgam track in Anantnag district and the Baltal route in Ganderbal district, and will conclude on August 9, 2025, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
This decision regarding the yatra’s duration and start date was made during the 48th board meeting of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB), chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan on Thursday.
In 2024, the yatra lasted for 52 days, with a record-breaking 5.12 lakh pilgrims visiting the cave shrine— the highest in the past 12 years. The pilgrimage was suspended in 2019 just before the abrogation of Article 370, and it also remained halted in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, 3.65 lakh pilgrims participated, while in 2023, the number increased to 4.45 lakh.
The meeting was attended by various SASB board members, including Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj, D. C. Raina, Kailash Mehra Sadhu, K. N. Rai, Pitambar Lal Gupta, Dr. Shailesh Raina, and Prof. Vishwamurti Shastri. They proposed several initiatives aimed at enhancing facilities and services for devotees.
With the anticipated increase in pilgrims for the 2025 yatra, the board discussed measures to improve lodgement capacity in Jammu, Srinagar, and other locations. This includes setting up Yatri facilitation centres for e-KYC, issuing RFID cards, and enabling on-spot registration at locations like Nowgam and Katra Railway Stations. Additional enhancements will also be made at Baltal, Pahalgam, Nunwan, and Pantha Chowk Srinagar.
The Lieutenant Governor emphasized the need for adequate arrangements and amenities along the yatra route and called for increased capacity at Yatri Niwas, Pantha Chowk, Srinagar. The meeting also covered ongoing projects, insurance for yatris, service providers, and ponies; extension of online services by the Shrine Board; track maintenance; decongestion efforts at the Holy Cave area; disaster preparedness; medical services; heli services; weather forecasting; security measures; and a digital pre-paid system for service hiring.
The Lieutenant Governor expressed gratitude to the board members for their continued guidance in ensuring the successful conduct of the yatra. Dr. Mandeep K. Bhandari, CEO of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, provided a detailed presentation on the arrangements for the upcoming pilgrimage.
Key officials, including Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary Shaleen Kabra, DGP Nalin Prabhat, Principal Secretary Home Chandraker Bharti, and senior officers from the UT Administration and Shrine Board, attended the meeting in person and through virtual mode.
