43-day annual Amarnath yatra in J&K to begin on June 30

The annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Amarnath located at a height of 3,880 metres in south Kashmir Himalayas has been scheduled to commence on June 30, an official said on Sunday.

The decision to schedule the 43-day pilgrimage was taken at a meeting of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board chaired by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.

"Today chaired Board meeting of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The 43-day holy pilgrimage will commence on 30th June with all covid protocols in place & culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raksha Bandhan. We had in-depth discussion on various issues also on upcoming Yatra," Sinha wrote on twitter.

The Amarnath yatra was cancelled midway in 2019 ahead of abrogation of Article 370 in August that year, while only a symbolic yatra was observed the past two years due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.