Baltal area in picturesque Sonamarg, which is one of the two base camps for Amarnath Yatris, is witnessing a festive atmosphere these days.
Like each year dozens of local service providers havereached the base camp at Dumail to set up their temporary shops and otherestablishments to provide different services to pilgrims. Ponywallas andlaborers are also busy making preparations for the Yatra.
The 45 days long pilgrimage will commence on July 1, fromPahalgam in South Kashmir, and Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
The pilgrims have to trek treacherous mountains route toreach the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 12700 ft. Most of the pilgrimshire ponies for the holy journey.
These days, blacksmiths are in demand to fix fresh metallichorseshoes to hooves of the animal to protect them from wear and tear on hardand mountainous track. While some pilgrims hire laborers to carry them to caveshrine others hire ponies for the journey.
“The horses have totrek difficult tracks so we have to replace their worn-out metallic shoes withnew ones,” said a Ponywala, Javeed Ahmad.