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Project Beacon of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been working on restoring and improving the road to the Amarnath cave shrine, located in the snow-clad Himalayas of Kashmir’s Lidder Valley.
On November 2, the BRO posted on X (formerly Twitter) that after upgradation of the Baltal road to the shrine, motor vehicles drove all the way to the holy cave for the first time ever. This came after Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, announced a new road to the shrine earlier this year.
The Amarnath shrine, with its revered ice lingam, is located at an altitude of 13,000 feet. Pilgrims can reach the shrine through either Pahalgam or Sonamarg, in the Lidder Valley.
The cave is 48 km north of Pahalgam. While the initial 16 km — from Pahalgam to Chandanwari — is motorable, pilgrims either trek or ride a pony the rest of the way, through extremely demanding terrain. It takes 3 to 5 days to reach the shrine by this route.
From Sonamarg, via Baltal, the route is much shorter. The 14 km distance between Baltal and the shrine is usually covered in eight hours on foot, or in less than six hours on a pony. Most pilgrims stay the night at Amarnath, although it is possible to complete a round trip in a single day.
Pilgrims can also reach the shrine on choppers, which ply from Baltal to Panchtarni — 6 km away from the shrine. Services that carried pilgrims all the way to the shrine were stopped due to ecological concerns, with choppers blamed for the lingam’s rapid melting.
In April this year, Union Minister Gadkari announced a plan which would significantly improve access to the Amarnath shrine.
This plan, with a budget of Rs 5,300 crore, comprises developing a 34 km two-lane motorable road from Chandanwari (on the Pahalgam side), to Baltal (on the Sonamarg side). This includes a 10.8 km tunnel from Sheshnag to Panchtarni, the most arduous part of the trek on the Pahalgam route, that passes through Mahagunus Top at an altitude of 14,500 feet. A 5 km concrete pedestrian track will take the pilgrims from Panchtarni to the shrine. Alternatively, pilgrims will be able to take a 9 km ropeway from Baltal to the shrine, which will be built at a cost of Rs 750 crore.
Gadkari said that tenders for the project would be issued by the end of the year.
Pedestrian tracks, both from Baltal and Chandanwari to the shrine were maintained by the J&K government’s Roads & Buildings (R&B) department. In September 2022, both were handed over to the BRO for maintenance and improvement.
BRO officials said that the existing tracks on the Baltal route have been widened to up to 15 feet. This is enough for trucks and pick-up vehicles to drive all the way to the cave shrine. Officials however said that tourist vehicles will not be allowed to make the trip as of now, with the widening meant to ease congestion of trekking pilgrims.
