Srinagar: The focus of the annual Amarnath Yatra has now shifted to the ritualistic journey of Charri Mubarak, the holy mace of Lord Shiva, to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas beginning Thursday, officials said here.
The Chhari-Mubarak will be taken to the historic Shankracharya Temple here on August 12 and the Sharika Bhawani Temple on August 13 before rituals are performed for Chhari-Sthapana at the Shri Amareshwar Temple Dashnami Akhara Srinagar on August 15.
“Traditional Chhari-Pujan shall be performed at Dashnami Akhara Srinagar on 17th of August on the auspicious occasion of ‘Nag-Panchami’. Embarking on the main course of pilgrimage on 22nd of August, the holy mace will be taken to the shrine of Swami Amarnath Ji to perform pujan and have ‘Darshan’ on the auspicious occasion of ‘Shravan-Purnima’ on the 28th of August,” Mahant Deependri Giri said.
There will be night halts at Pahalgam on August 22 and 23, Chandanwari on 24th, Sheshnag on 25th and at Panchtarni on 26th and 27th of August, respectively.
He said a letter has been sent to the Union Territory government for making all the necessary arrangements to preserve the age-old traditions and ensure the movement of Chhari-Mubarak as per the schedule and take all the preventive measures for the safety and security of the sadhus and pilgrims accompanying the Holy Mace.
The authorities on Saturday announced that both tracks leading to the cave shrine have been closed for pilgrimage for carrying out necessary track repairs.
Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Anshul Garg said, “The Yatra shall remain suspended from both routes with effect from August 9, 2026. Chadi Mubarak shall proceed via traditional Pahalgam route and shall mark the culmination of Yatra 2026 on August 28.”
The 57-day-long Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra commenced on July 3 this year and will culminate with the Chadi Mubarak event on August 28 (the last day of the Hindu month of Sravan), he said.
The yatra commenced simultaneously from both routes — the Chandanwari track in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district, he added.
“More than 4.8 lakh pilgrims have performed darshan at the holy shrine so far. However, due to the recent rains, a necessity for repair and maintenance of the yatra tracks at vulnerable stretches has been felt, which is being undertaken by Border Roads Organisation (BRO). In addition, adverse weather conditions have been predicted by IMD over the next few days,” Garg said.
He appealed to all the pilgrims to adhere to the advisories issued by the competent authority from time to time in the interest of their safety and the smooth conduct of the yatra.
With the announcement, the langars (community kitchens) set up along the Baltal route have been dismantled and the service providers are leaving the base camp along the shorter route to the cave shrine, the officials said.
