The trek to Baba Barfani (A natural Shivlinga made of snow) is visible to general public for worship & darshan only for few weeks in the month of Sharavan ( July–August). This year the duration for darshan was scheduled from June 29, 2011 to August 13, 2011.
The legend of this great sacred place is about the Lord Shiva who chose a place for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe- Amar Katha to Maa Parvati ji. After prolonged postponing, Lord Shiva ultimately made up his mind to tell the immortal secret and chose this place where no living being could listen to it.
Other important places linked to Amarnath Care are known for:
· Pahalgam was named after Baail gaon, because Lord Shiva left His Nandi (Baail) at this place.
· Chandanwari is a another place where He released Moon from His hair.
· Lake Sheshnag is a place where He released & put off the snakes.
· Mahaganesh Hill- He decided to leave his Son Ganesha at this place.
· Panjtarni is known where Lord Shiva left the Five Elements behind- Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Either.
It is believed that as a symbol of sacrificing the worldly bondages, Shivaji and Maa Parvati had Tandav Dance.
In Amarnath Gufa Lord Shiva took His Samadhi along with Maa Parvati after ensuring the protection of the Holy Cave by the fire created by Rudra, so that every living thing in and around is unable to hear the Immortal Katha and started narrating the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati.
It is believed that one egg lying beneath the Deer skin remained protected and the pair of pigeons were born out of this egg became immortal having listened the secret of immortality-Amar Katha and this pair of pigeons is still seen by many fortunate pilgrims there in the cave.
I am among those fortunate and lucky pilgrims to see those pigeons at the cave when I visited the holy care.
In fact after making lot of attempts to contact my friends & relatives to make a group and plan for the trip to Amarnath, in the month of May,2011, I was finally called to finalise the program by one of my close family friends & Reiki Grand Master (Ms Prem Kumari) who has been visiting Amarnath every year for more than a decade.
How to reach Amarnath
Many people have been regularly going in larger groups to visit holy cave every year and many package tours are also available, but they charge quite heavily. Since we were six persons decided to make a visit to Amarnath, we had to schedule according to our convenience.
By Rail- From all parts of the country, we can reach by rail atleast upto Jammu, for which we have to book tickets 2 months in advance.
By Road- Srinagar is only connected by road from Jammu to onward journey to Base Camps from where we have to trek.
By Air- Srinagar is connected to many parts of the country by air conveniently through Delhi. Many budget flights are available through www.makemytrip.com or many other websites.
Trekking- There are two Base Camps to onward travel to Amarnath Cave viz. Pahalgaon and Baltal from where we have many alternatives to reach to the Gufa. We can start trekking if health and age factor allows us, another means to reach is by Ponies and Palkies. The bargaining for ponies and palkies is very much common demanding different amounts from different places. If you are a good bargainer, you can cut the expenses by 40-45%.
Alternatively if we can afford to, we can book helicopter tickets, which are also to be booked immediately in the month of June itself when reservation for journey starts. But helicopter from both Base Camps viz. Pahalgaon and Baltal too takes you to Panjtarni- 6 Kms away from the Gufa, from where you have either trek or reach by ponies or palkies. This is very hard and dangerous trekking route many places 3-4 ft narrow and needs courage to pass through.
Strengthening all the courage I started to plan and checking out all means of transport & accommodation bookings etc. After doing lot of exercise I booked air tickets from Delhi- Srinagar-Delhi which cost me INR 5,000 per head and also booked helicopter tickets for INR 5,000/- each (to & fro) from Baltal-Panjtarni-Baltal from Pawan Hans through their website- www.pawanhans.co.in. Another helicopter service is also available over there namely Himalayan Heli www.himalayanheli.com (all their ticketings are done through web booking only).
When the Amarnath Shrine Board announces the registration of journey, you have to get Registration Permit which is mandatory ( check periodically their website- www.shriamarnathjishrine.com ) for details. The registration can also be done through web through J&K Bank on their website www.jkbank.net by paying INR 15/- per person for Registration Slip and take a print out and carry it fixing 3 stamp size photo.
Accommodation & Fooding
Absolutely not to bother about eating drinking etc. from the Base Camps onwards, since there are many Langars are established at many places who offer all time food to everyone free of cost. There are no hotels, only tented accommodation is available which is costing at INR 250-300 per person per night (appx) at all places from Base Camps onwards (do bargain).
19th July, 2011 was the day to start from Delhi at 9.15 am by taking flight reaching Srinagar at 10.30 am. It took appx 4-5 hours from airport to reach the Base Camp ( Baltal) by taxi which cost us INR 3,000/-, whereas the another Base Camp Pahalgaon also has the same distance approximately. Stayed overnight in a tented accommodation paying INR 200/- per person.
20th July, 2011- Fully packed & protected with woolen clothings and inners, we started helicopter journey at 11.30 am to Panjtarni consuming only 7 minutes to reach. We took ponies from Panjtarni to Gufa @ 1200/- per person (to & fro) and reached there at the base of Gufa at 4.00 pm leaving another 1.5 Kms distance to trek exclusively further to Gufa. There is also a Palky service available which cost us INR 400/- each (to & fro) for 1.5 Kms to Cave, since it was mandatory for us seeing the height of stairs and loss of volume of oxygen there.
A naturally built Shivlinga was maintaining its height of 6 ft. appx from its original height of 18 ft. when Darshan started. Those were the great movements of our life to witness the holy Shivalinga. Fortunate enough to see the pair of pigeons inside the Cave also, because only few moments are allowed to stay over there.
On the way back from Darshan it was heavily raining and we had to stay back at Panjtarni for overnight stay.
21st July, 2011 was the return journey to Baltal by helicopter taking only 7 minutes. Coming back to Baltal and thereafter travelled to Srinagar same day, since we had booked the return journey 2 days later, taking into the margin for weather & other conditions.
22nd July, 2011- was a good enough to see the valley of flowers and natural beauty- Srinagar for a day. We hired a Tavera for INR 1300/- for full day and covered all important gardens etc. The Dal Lake Shikara also cost us INR 300/- per hour to travel around in the water.
23rd July, 2011 flown back to Delhi at 3.30 pm taking the gloriest memories of the holy trip.
Few tips which are necessary to remember when you ever visit Amarnath:
1. Always book air tickets atleast 2 months in advance.
2. Schedule Helicopter tickets accordingly as per your Yatra Visit Date Pass
3. Invariably get print out of Yatra Permit through J&K Bank website.
4. Take sufficient woolen clothings, inners monkey cap, water proof sports shoes with rough sole to trek on snow pathway.
5. Keep all necessary routine medicines alongwith pain killers, pain lotions etc.
6. Take care of oxygen intake- keep Peppermint tablets etc.
7. Keep as many water bottles as can be carried out conveniently during the journey from Base Camps, since all mineral water bottles costing more than INR 50/- each.
8. Windcheater set, Umrella, Waterproof Shoes, Waterproof small bag, Dry Fruits, Torch, Roasted Gram, Boroplus Cream, and Glucose Packet etc.
All the best
Welcome any inquiry at any time
Being an spiritual healers, we are committed to train people in Reiki upto Grand Mastership and treating needy individuals through Clinical Hypnotherapy
Contact details
Dr. Ramesh Kaushal
Reiki Grand Master, Clinical Psychologist
98106 83291, 98101 30291
Welcome any inquiry at any time
Being an spiritual healers, we are committed to train people in Reiki upto Grand Mastership and treating needy individuals through Clinical Hypnotherapy
Contact details
Dr. Ramesh Kaushal
Reiki Grand Master, Clinical Psychologist
98106 83291, 98101 30291
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