Overview
- The Harmukh–Gangbal pilgrimage, which Lieutenant‑Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off on Friday, September 18, 2026, has begun from Naranag with devotees setting out for Gangbal Lake.
- Local administration, police, the Rashtriya Rifles and the SDRF are providing security, medical aid, drinking water and sanitation along the roughly 15 km one‑way mountain route.
- Pilgrims undertake a strenuous trek to about 14,500 feet to perform rites such as Pind Daan, Shraad, Vedic Yagna and ash immersion at a lake revered like the Ganga.
- Mr Sinha used the flag‑off to link cultural revival with conservation and urged the Harmukh Ganga Gangbal Trust and citizens to run cleanliness drives, health camps, blood donation and tree‑planting programmes.
- The yatra was revived in 2009 after more than a century of dormancy and is organised by the Harmukh Ganga Gangbal Trust, making this season part of an ongoing effort to restore religious practice and community ties in Kashmir.