Amarnath Yatra

Our members Ms R. Ghosh and Mr A. K Ghosh, had a long-cherished interest to visit Amarnath. This wish of theirs’ was fulfilled in the year 2008. They provide a vivid description of their Amarnath Yatra.

On 2nd July, we started early in the morning and reached Chandanwari in a shared jeep. There at a bhandara (community kitchen for devotees), we had our breakfast of aloo parathas, sweets and coffee. With our heart full of indomitable enthusiasm, we started on our padyatra to Amarnath. We had to walk for 12 km to reach the last point Sheshnag. Army soldiers congratulated all the passengers and wished them good luck. A huge procession of horses, dandis and padyatris started. Almost all the hikers had sticks in their hands. Ahead was the excruciating ascent of Pisutape. We started climbing up with sticks. Following the footsteps of many saints, after walking for 3 km we reached the top of the mountain Pisutape (11,200 ft), where we witnessed extreme cold wind. We started our descent almost immediately.

There were bhandaras at different levels. We were astounded at the wonderful food offered at the bhandara. Food comprised of laddu, halwa, balusai, shingara, tea, coffee, milk etc. One cannot stop oneself from responding to the call of the selfless service of the bhandara workers. At that height the mesmerising beauty around was profound. Except for these few months, for most of the year round, the route to Amarnath is covered with snow. After walking for another 4km, we reached Jojibal, a place at a height of 11,300 feet. The path sometimes went uphill and sometimes downhill. Suddenly, we saw a lake surrounded by mountains. The water was a clear, sparkling, emerald green in colour. At a height of 12,500 feet, we saw on one side of the lake, glaciers and the towering mountain Sheshnag. It looked like the mythological snake Sheshnag with its huge hood spread out. This mountain is also the source of river Lider. The enchanting beauty of the nature around was spellbinding. We moved on for some more distance and at Sheshnag retired for the night in a tent.

On 3rd July, we woke up early in the morning. That day we had to travel 14 km to reach Panchtarani. We got ready but before we began on our journey, we had hot luchi-curry and tea from the bhandara. Hailing the name of Baba Amarnath, we began our walk. After a km we reached Warbal. From there we had to go to Mahagunas Pass. It was a steep walk uphill. Along with the rest of the pedestrians, we too reached the Mahagunas Pass which was at a height of 14,800 feet while chanting ‘Om Namoh Shivay’. We didn’t realise the distance we had travelled. We rested there for a while. Now we had to only walk downhill. We came down to Poshpatri which was at a height of 12,500 feet. We wouldn’t have realised the opulence of nature, had we not come here. At a distance, the snow-capped peaks glistened due to the sun rays. We went on walking – the road meandered, sometime going uphill sometimes downhill. At last, we reached Panchtarani, at a height of 11,500 feet – confluence of the five rivers Bhima, Bhagwati, Saraswati, Dhaka and Bargshikha. It was pretty cold there. We had rice, dal and curry at the bhandara and retired for the night in a tent thinking about my Amarnath darshan.

4th July that year was Rath Yatra. On that auspicious occasion we resumed our journey with the wish to reach Baba Amarnath. After walking for 3 km, we reached the snow peaked mountain beneath which the river Ganga was flowing. Here it was freezing cold, yet we had a bath in the waters of AmarGanga. After walking for another 2 km, we reached the entrance of Amarnath caves. We had yet to walk up 200 freezing stairs barefoot to have a glimpse of Baba Amarnath.

We bought flowers and necessary things for the puja, and ultimately fulfilled our wish of Amarnath darshan. We salute the Indian Army and thank the numerous philanthropic organisations for assisting pilgrims during their Amarnath yatra.