Srinagar: The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) announced on Wednesday that helicopter services won’t be available for pilgrims this year.
The announcement comes after the Jammu & Kashmir government declared the Amarnath Yatra routes as no-flying zones from July 1 to August 10 because of heightened security measures following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor to avenge the killing of 26 innocent men at Baisaran valley.
This is the first time in two decades that SASB has suspended helicopter services to facilitate pilgrim’s journey to the holy Amarnath shrine.
“The competent authority has in its order dated June 16, 2025, declared all routes of the Shri Amarnathji Yatra, including both the Pahalgam and Baltal axes, as a ‘no flying zone’ from July 1 to August 10, 2025. Consequently, helicopter services for pilgrim travel shall not be available in the yatra area during the Shri Amarnathji Yatra (SANJY,) 2025,” SASB stated on its website.
Following an order by J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, the pilgrims should reach the cave shrine from south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and north Kashmir’s Baltal routes on foot, or by using ponies and palkis (palanquins), SASB notified.
Amarnath Yatra 2025 will be conducted for a reduced duration of 38 days – from July 3 to August 9. Online and offline registrations for interested visitors started in April.
