New Delhi, July 2 -- Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday flagged off the first batch of devotees for the pilgrimage to the holy cave of Shri Amarnath Ji from Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp in Jammu. In the first batch, more than 4800 pilgrims set off for the holy yatra of Shri Amarnath Ji, in a convoy of 259 light and heavy vehicles.

The annual pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave shrine, situated at an altitude of around 3,880 metres in the Himalayas of south Kashmir, is one of the country's most significant religious pilgrimages.

Devotees undertake the yatra to pay obeisance to the naturally formed ice Shivling, which symbolises Lord Shiva. The yatra will conclude on August 28, coinciding with the festival of Raksh...