The history of Amarnath Shrine
Lord Shiva told the story of living for ever to the Goddess Parvati. He left his belongings on the way to Amarnath,left his Nandi bull at Pahalgam, moon at Chandawari, snakes at Sheshnag lake and his son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat. Then he enters the Amarnath cave and takes Samadhi of deerskin. Lord Shiva chooses the Amarnath cave so that no one can hear the story of living for ever but he could not see an egg that is left under the deerskin and a pair of pigeons comes up from that egg. After hearing that story they become amar(immortals) and can be seen by yatris even now.
Discovered by
This holy cave is first discovered by the Gujjar Buta Malik. The saying is that one day Buta Malik was wandering around the place and a saint gives him a bag full of coal which turns into the gold coins when he reached home. He went back to say thanks to the saint but he could not see him what he sees there is the holy ice Shivling on the mouth of the cave. After this it becomes famous as Lord Shiva temple.
Visiting Season
The Amarnath Yatra is organised every year by the J &K Govt. during the month of Shravan ( July and August); the dates however , vary every year looking at the weather conditions and according to Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) in the month of Sharavan (Vikrama Samwat).
This year Yatra will be taken up from between the month of July to August. Surrounded by beautiful valleys, mountains , one will always feel His presence on the paradise of the earth, the memory of which hardly vanishes with time A journey which will rediscover the nature and its love which is always inside but one has never felt.
How to reach
From Pahalgam – Pahalgam is located 96 kms from Srinagar and 46 kms from Amarnath. Its common practice to start the trek from Pahalgam where all the base camp is been held.
From Baltal- The second way to reach Amarnath is from Sonmarg via Baltal altitude about 3000 meters. Baltal is a charming small valley situated at the foothills of Zojila Pass.
From Air – The nearest airport is in Badgham district. It is well connected to major Indian cities.
From Rail – Nearest railway head is in Jammu, which is 300 kms away.
From Road – Convenient road service is available to reach on the NH1A highway. It will take around 10 to 12 hours to cross the dizzy mountainous path.