Nine foreigners from six countries undertook the Amarnath yatra on Thursday (July 24, 2025), as around 3.5 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine so far in the annual pilgrimage.
The six foreigners who visited the cave shrine located at an altitude of around 14000 feet including pilgrims from the United States, Canada and Germany.
“Our group has been preparing for ‘darshan’ for the past four to five years. Finally, we are here. The geography, nature and the energy of the cave was a beautiful experience,” Ross Nomanleich, a pilgrim from Canada, said.
Mr. Nomanleich, who belongs to Shiva Tantra school, said he had tears in his eyes when he performed the ‘darshan’. “I felt a deep silence inside me and the redemption of consciousness. The curiosity about Hinduism is about understanding the whole world of energies and Shiva Shakti,” Mr. Nomanleich, who trekked around 14 kilometres from the Batal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal, said.
The foreigners’ group praised the administration for the arrangements. Around 3.5 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine located in south Kashmir’s Anantnag since the annual pilgrimage started on July 3 this year.
Meanwhile, the Chhari Mubarak Swami Amarnath, headed by Mahant Deependra Giri, was taken to revered Shankaracharya Temple situated on the Zabarwan Hills overlooking Srinagar. Priests performed special puja on the occasion.
This year, the pilgrimage came in the backdrop of a terror attack that left 26 civilians dead in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow. The meadow is adjacent to the yatra route in Pahalgam.