What is the need for Registration and where it can be done?

The annual Yatra to Holy Amarnath Cave, situated at 14000 ft. above sea level, is organized by the State Government during the month of July and August. The exact dates vary depending upon the weather and the Hindu calendar since the yatra is conducted in the Hindu months of Ashadh and Shravan between the Full Moon days of both the months.

The Government of Jammu & Kashmir State organizes the Yatra and makes all the arrangements for thousands of devotees who visit during this time. It is important for the Government agencies involved in the actual arrangements of the yatra to know exactly how many pilgrims are going to visit and when. The traffic from both routes culminating at Panchtarni has to be regulated and controlled so that too many pilgrims do not land up at the place beyond the capacity of the place and adequate arrangements are made. The maximum number of devotees that can go up to the shrine on a particular day is also decided. All the arrangements for food, shelter, medical facilities etc. are also made depending on the number of devotees registered for the pilgrimage.

This is the reason why registration of all the pilgrims is important and can be done from any of the J&K Tourism Offices located in different parts of the country. Registration of the Yatris is done on a first-come-first-served basis and in the registration, there is a stipulated time mentioned during which the yatris have to commence the pilgrimage.