Pithoragarh, Oct. 19 -- The Adi Kailash Yatra, which leads to the sacred abode of Lord Shiva situated in the high Himalayan region of Vyans Valley in Dharchula subdivision of Pithoragarh district, has this year broken all previous records with 31,187 pilgrims visiting till October 18. The number surpasses last year's record of 29,352 pilgrims, according to Jitendra Verma, nodal officer for the yatra and sub divisional magistrate (SDM) of Dharchula. "The yatra received a significant boost after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Adi Kailash in October 2023. Immediately after the PM's visit, 10,025 pilgrims arrived, pushing the total count to 29,352 in 2024. This year, the pilgrimage has reached its highest-ever mark," said Verma. Before the PM's visit in 2023, the number of pilgrims to the holy site had never crossed the 2,500 mark, with only 1,757 visitors recorded in 2022. "Despite brief disruptions caused by landslides along the Dharchula-Jolingkong route during the monsoon months, the enthusiasm of devotees has remained high," the SDM said. The Adi Kailash Yatra began in 1981, alongside the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, to offer devotees a less expensive yet spiritually significant Shaivite pilgrimage. "While over 10,000 pilgrims used to visit Kailash Mansarovar annually, only about 2,000 devotees would come to Adi Kailash before 2023," said Dinesh Gururani, a retired Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) employee who managed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after 1985....