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Amarnath Trivia – Amarnath Yatra in Numbers

Thousands of Hindus undertake one of the toughest pilgrimages on earth to have darshan of the naturally formed ice Shivling in the  Amarnath Cave in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Here is a trivia on the yatra mainly focusing on the numbers.
  • More than 200,000 people participate in the annual Amarnath Yatra.
  • Amarnath Cave is located around 145 kilometers from Srinagar.
  • It is a 5-day trek to reach the cave.
  • The cave is located at an altitude of 3,978 meter from sea level.
  • The cave is around 160 feet in length and 100 feet in breadth.
  • The size of the naturally formed Ice Shivling varies from 10 feet to 19 feet.
  • The cave is used for worship for more than 5000 years.
  • Apart from the naturally formed Ice Shivling, there is also a naturally formed Ganesh Peetah and Parvati Peetah in the cave. Some people believe that a Bhairav peetah is also formed naturally in the cave.
  • It is believed that having darshan of Amarnath Shivling is equal to visiting 23 teerth or sacred places.
  • There are five holy spots on the way to Amarnath Cave they are Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag Lake, Mahaganesh hill and Panchtarni.
  • A pair of pigeons is always present in the cave.
  • As Puranas darshan of Amarnath is equal to ten times the darshan at Kashi; 100 times of that of Prayag and 1000 times that of visiting Naimisharnya.
  • The Shivling is formed by hard ice but the region is surrounded usually covered only by snow.
  • It is believed that Ram Kund is located atop the Amarnath Mountain.
  • The Parvati Peetah at Amarnath is one among the 51 Shaktipeetahs.