Srinagar, April 16 -- The registration for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began on Monday with a large number of people turning up at designated bank branches here to secure a permit. The 52-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-meter-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on June 29 and conclude on August 19, according to the announcement made by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

The journey can be undertaken through two routes - the traditional 48-km route through Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.

"The advance registration has started today at bank branches here. The exercise is being conducted at 540 branches of PNB (Punjab National ...