Jammu, July 27: Early Saturday, over 1,700 pilgrims departed from the base camp in Jammu for the Amarnath shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas amid tight security, officials reported. To date, more than 4.45 lakh pilgrims have visited the naturally-formed ice lingam at the 3,880-metre high cave shrine.

Officials anticipate that today’s pilgrim count will surpass last year’s total of 4.5 lakh visitors.

The 30th batch of pilgrims left Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 3:25 am in a convoy of 63 vehicles under tight security. Among the pilgrims, 999 will travel to Pahalgam to begin the traditional 48-kilometre route in Anantnag district, while 772 have chosen the shorter but steeper 14-kilometre Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

The 52-day annual yatra, which began on June 29, will conclude on August 19.