Over a thousand pilgrims for the Amarnath Yatra have already set out from Jammu to reach Kashmir

999 pilgrims from Jammu set off on Thursday for Pahalgam and Baltal, the last stops before the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas.

Under strict security measures, the group of 33 cars departed the Bhagwati Nagar base camp early this morning. The official count was 999 yatris, with 422 choosing the Baltal route and 577 choosing the Pahalgam route.

The beginning of the yatra was on July 1, and it will end on August 31.

After a major landslip blocked the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Wednesday, no batches were permitted to depart from the Jammu base camp.

On Thursday morning, the route was reopened to traffic in both directions.