Char Dham
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The Four Dhams
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A trip expert will help you pick dates, route and package.
+91 86799 97767Plan My TripShri Amarnath Yatra
The cave sits at about 12,750 ft and the helicopter lands 6 km short of it. This page explains both routes, who is allowed to travel, and what the flight really covers.
Get the dates first
Leave your number and a trip expert calls you the moment the next season is announced.
The next season has not been announced
The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has not announced the next season yet. Dates, registration and helicopter booking all open together, usually a few months before the yatra begins. The 2026 yatra ran from 3 July to 28 August 2026. Dates come from the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board at jksasb.nic.in, and registration, the health certificate window and helicopter booking all open together.
What you are walking to
The shrine sits at roughly about 12,750 ft. Whichever way you arrive, the final stretch is on the ground: 6 km on foot, by pony or by palki.
Helicopters land at Panjtarni, not at the cave. The last stretch is always covered on the ground, and people are regularly surprised by it.
The two ways up
The longer route is the easier one. That is the whole decision, and most people get it backwards.
The traditional southern route
Chandanwari, Pissu Top, Sheshnag, Mahagunas Pass, Panjtarni
Suits: Families, first timers and anyone who wants time to acclimatise.
The longer route is the easier one. Climbing over several days is what keeps altitude sickness away.
The short northern route
Domel, Barari Marg, Sangam
Suits: Fit pilgrims, and anyone travelling by helicopter.
Short does not mean easy. The same height is gained in a fraction of the time, which is exactly what makes it hard.
Before you count on going
None of these are negotiable at the gate, and every one of them turns someone back every season.
Registration, fees and the current helicopter fares are set by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board and change every season. Confirm them at jksasb.nic.in before you rely on any figure, including ours.
How the journey runs
Both our journeys follow this plan. The nights either side of the darshan are deliberate: they are what absorbs a weather delay.
Met at Srinagar airport or your hotel and driven to Sonmarg, about three hours. Check in and take the rest of the day at your own pace. No vehicle is allowed from Srinagar towards Sonmarg or Pahalgam after 1 pm, so this drive starts early.
An early transfer to the Baltal helipad and the flight to Panjtarni. From there it is about 6 km to the cave on foot, by pony or by palki, roughly three to four hours each way depending on the queue. After darshan and puja, the helicopter back to Baltal and the drive to Sonmarg.
Down to Srinagar and a full day in the city: the Mughal gardens at Nishat, Shalimar and Chashme Shahi, then Shankaracharya temple, Hazratbal and Pari Mahal. An hour on Dal Lake by shikara in the evening.
Transfer to Srinagar airport after breakfast.
Our journeys
The flight and the walk are identical. What changes is where you sleep on the other three nights.
From Srinagar
Four days from Srinagar with the darshan flown from Baltal, so the climb is replaced by a short helicopter leg and a walk of about 6 km from Panjtarni. The two remaining days cover Sonmarg and Srinagar.
From Srinagar
The same four day plan and the same helicopter legs, with 4 star hotels at Sonmarg and Srinagar. Everything that decides the darshan itself, the flight and the walk from Panjtarni, is identical.
Before you go
Questions pilgrims ask
The Shrine Board announces the dates, and they were not out at the time of writing. The 2026 season ran from 3 July to 28 August. Registration, helicopter booking and the health certificate window all open before the yatra starts, so the announcement is the moment to act rather than the start date.
Pahalgam is 48 km and takes three to five days, Baltal is 14 km and can be done in one. The longer route is the easier one, because climbing gradually is what prevents altitude sickness. Baltal suits fit pilgrims and everyone flying, since the helicopter works off that axis.
No. It lands at Panjtarni, about 6 km short of the cave. That last stretch is covered on foot, by pony or by palki, and takes roughly three to four hours each way depending on the queue. People are regularly caught out by this, so plan for it.
Anyone under 13 or over 70, and women more than six weeks pregnant. Everyone else needs a compulsory health certificate from a doctor the Shrine Board has authorised; your family doctor cannot issue it.
Only if it is postpaid. Prepaid SIMs issued outside Jammu and Kashmir do not work in the region at all. A local prepaid SIM can be bought on arrival against your permit and ID.
The itinerary is planned with nights either side of the darshan day for exactly this reason. If a flight cannot run, the plan shifts, and the cost of an extra night or a changed arrangement is not part of the package price.
Plan your yatra
Registration, the health certificate and the helicopter seats all open at once and all run out. Being told the day it happens is most of the battle.
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