Hindus trek up the glacier at Chandanwari, 115km southeast of Srinagar, during the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath yesterday. A three-tier security arrangement has been put in place for the pilgrimage. Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims trek through treacherous mountains in Kashmir, along icy streams, glacier-fed lakes and frozen passes, to reach the Amarnath cave, located at an altitude of 12,729ft, to worship an ice stalagmite symbolising Shiva.
