Amarnath Peak is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

with a peak elevation of , in the Ganderbal district of the Indian

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

of Jammu and Kashmir, in the vicinity of Sonamarg. Amarnath Peak is part of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, and is located south of Zojila and west of Machoi Glacier. It lies 117 km northeast from

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, 13 km from Baltal in the southeast. It lies 6 km south of Zojila. The melt waters form a major tributary of the Sind River at Baltal. Amarnath mountain is considered a sacred mountain. It has a cave at its south face at an elevation of known as Amarnath cave. The cave is believed to be the ancient and among most sacred places for pilgrimage in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. It is the centre for

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

pilgrims during summer.

Climbing history and routes

Due to its religious importance, Amarnath Peak is not climbed. It was first surveyed in 1912 by a British medical team headed by Ernest Neve, who surveyed most of the peaks of this Himalayan range. The Scottish Colonel N. N. L. Watts also went through the tracks of this peak and discovered an easy route to ascend the peak in 1933, which leads from Zojila down to the south and a glacial ascent to the summit of Amarnath Peak. Apart from the Zojila side, Amarnath Peak can be reached leaving the cave on the left side and climbing through the east face. The route as discovered by Watts is from the north face which is accessible from

by road NH 1D, from Sonamarg and climb to the glacier of the peak.{{cite web, url=https://archive.org/stream/charmofkashmir00oconuoft/charmofkashmir00oconuoft_djvu.txt, title=The charm of Kashmir, access-date= 2012-05-01

References

Mountains of Jammu and Kashmir Geography of Ganderbal district