More than 400,000 Hindus participated in a month-long pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Indian-held Kashmir, even as the region remained tense following a deadly attack and a brief military conflict with Pakistan. The annual pilgrimage, which began on July 3 and was scheduled to end on August 9, was cut short due to heavy rains that damaged the narrow mountain paths leading to the cave.
According to a statement released late Saturday by Indian official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, approximately 415,000 pilgrims undertook the spiritual journey this year. Most trekked from the Pahalgam base, where tragedy struck on April 22 when an attack killed 26 tourists—mostly Hindus. India blamed Pakistan for backing the attackers, a claim Islamabad strongly denied. The diplomatic fallout escalated into a four-day military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, resulting in over 70 casualties before a ceasefire was declared on May 10.
Indian authorities later claimed that three Pakistani nationals responsible for the Pahalgam attack were killed during a gunfight on July 28 in nearby forested areas close to the shrine route. The claim has not been independently verified.
Although the number of pilgrims fell short of the estimated half a million who took part in 2024, officials had urged Hindu devotees to proceed with the journey. In response to security concerns, 45,000 troops were deployed, equipped with advanced surveillance technology to monitor the difficult terrain leading to the Shiva-dedicated shrine.
Meanwhile, violence continued elsewhere in the region. Indian forces engaged in a third consecutive day of clashes with gunmen in Kulgam, far from the pilgrimage route. According to a senior police officer, two militants were killed in the exchange. Despite the unrest, a few determined devotees are expected to continue visiting the shrine in the days ahead.