Amarnath Temple, Anantnag: History, Timings & Visitor Guide

Amarnath Temple is open every day, usually from early morning to late evening with a break in the afternoon. Darshan and aarti timings change with the season and on festival days.

• MorningOpens early morning (around 5 to 6 AM)
• AfternoonShort break around midday at many temples
• EveningEvening aarti around sunset, closes by about 8 to 9 PM

Check the exact timings on the official website before your visit.

Dress Code & Temple Rules

• DressModest, traditional clothes covering shoulders and knees
• FootwearRemove before entering; use the shoe stand
• PhotographyNot allowed inside the sanctum
• Not AllowedLeather items, tobacco, alcohol, non-veg food
• QueueFollow queue lines and staff instructions on festival days

The cave temple and pilgrimage are mentioned in several ancient Sanskrit texts, including the c. 6th–7th century Nilamata Purana and the 12th century chronicle Rajatarangini of Kalhana, which refer to them as Amareshvara and Amareshvara yatra. The Rajatarangini also mentions the Sheshnag Lake, which it describes as falling on the yatra route. It is believed that in the 11th century CE, Queen Suryamati gifted trishulas, banalingas and other sacred emblems to this temple.

The cave and the lingam find mention in Abu'l Fazl's 16th century work Ain-i-Akbari. According to him, the site attracted many pilgrims. He describes the waxing and waning of the lingam according to the seasons and the moon. Between Great Tibet [i.e. Ladakh] and the above-mentioned parganah [Dachchhinpārah, in the Lidder Valley] is a cave in which is an image in ice called Amar Nāt. ... They believe it to be the image of Mahādeva and regard it as a means (through supplication) of the fulment of their desires. ... The snows of this mountainous tract nowhere melt, and from the extreme cold, the straitness of the defiles and the rough inequalities of the road, they are surmounted with great toil.

François Bernier, a French physician, accompanied Emperor Aurangzeb during his visit to Kashmir in 1663. In his book Travels in Mughal Empire, he provides an account of the places he visited, noting that he was "pursuing journey to a grotto full of wonderful congelations, two days journey from Sangsafed" when he "received intelligence that my Nawab felt very impatient and uneasy on account of my long absence." The "grotto" referenced in this passage is the Amarnath cave — as the editor of the second edition of the English translation of the book, Vincent A. Smith, makes clear in his introduction. He writes: "The grotto full of wonderful congelations is the Amarnath cave, where blocks of ice, stalagmites formed by dripping water from the roof are worshipped by many Hindus who resort here as images of Shiva...."

Legend & Significance

According to legend, Sage Bhrigu was the first to discover Amarnath. A long time ago, it is believed that the Valley of Kashmir was underwater, and Sage Kashyapa drained it through a series of rivers and rivulets. As a result, when the waters drained, Bhrigu was the first to have a darshan (theophany) of Shiva at Amarnath. Thereafter, when people heard of the lingam, it became an abode of Shiva for all believers and the site of an annual pilgrimage, traditionally performed by lakhs of people in July and August during the Hindu holy month of Savan.

According to regional legend, Shiva renounced his worldly attributes along the route to the Amarnath Cave: his bull-mount Nandi at Pahalgam, his crescent at Chandanwari, his serpent Vasuki at Lake Sheshnag, his son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat, and the panchabhuta (five elements) at Panjtarni. After performing the tandava dance to mark his detachment from the world, Shiva entered the cave with Parvati, where they manifested as the ice lingam.