Baltal, Jammu and Kashmir

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Baltal is a camping ground for pilgrims, 75 km from Ganderbal town in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, India and 93 km from capital city Srinagar and 15 km north of Sonamarg on the Sind River at the base of Zojila pass. This little valley is only a day's journey away from Srinagar and provides a shorter high-altitude alternate route to the sacred cave of Amarnath. [1]

Overview

Perched at an elevation of 2,743 m (8,999 ft), the highland pastures, Baltal serves as the base camp for pilgrims on their onward journey to Amarnath Caves, 14 km away. The site is seen with pitched tents meant for the pilgrims to spend the night. Baltal is one hour away from Sonmarg on a taxi or a bus. It can also be reached from Pahalgam, 24 km away, in about 1 day by foot. For hikers, it takes around one day to reach Baltal from Pahalgam. [2]

Renowned for its scenic beauty, Baltal meadows offers tent accommodation for the pilgrims and tourists alike at reasonable prices. Both pony rides or, for those who can afford, helicopter services are available to the holy Amarnath Caves. Helicopter passengers have to disembark at Panjtarni and foot it, or take a pony ride, to the cave, 5 km away. For the hikers, the 14 km distance from Baltal to Amarnath takes about 8 hours on a winding steep trail. Basic teashops are available on route. [2]

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The Ganderbal (گاندربل) district, or more formally District Ganderdal, is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. Ganderbal town is administrative headquarters of district. It was formed in 2007 and has 6 subdistricts (tehsils): Kangan, Ganderbal, Tullamulla, Wakura, Lar, and Gund.

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Lar is a town and council district in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is a relatively newly established tehsil, carved out of the Ganderbal tehsil. It is situated 25 km from the heart of the summer capital, Srinagar, on National Highway between the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in the north and the picturesque Zabarwan Hills in the south. The Sind River, a major tributary to the Jehlum River flows through Lar. The famous Manasbal Lake lies a few kilometres away from the town centre.

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On 30 July and 6 August 2002, in the month of Shraavana, 11 people were killed and 30 injured in a terror attack by Islamic extremists from Lashkar-e-Taiba's front group of al-Mansuriyan, on Nunwan base camp at Pahalgam of the Amarnath Hindu pilgrimage (Yatra) to Amarnath Temple glacial cave shrine in Kashmir Valley in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the spate of attacks on Yatra in the third consecutive year, 2 pilgrims were killed and 3 injured on 30 July when terrorists threw grenades at a civilian taxi of pilgrims in Srinagar. Further, 9 people were killed and 27 injured on 6 August by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists' hail of bullets at Nunwan base camp at Pahalgam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panchtarni</span> River valley and hill camp in Jammu and Kashmir, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganderbal Assembly constituency</span> Constituency of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly

Ganderbal Assembly constituency is one of the 87 constituencies in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir a north state of India. Ganderbal is also part of Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

References

  1. "Baltal". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Baltal, Jammu & Kashmir". mustseeIndia.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.

34°15′25″N75°24′58″E / 34.257°N 75.416°E / 34.257; 75.416