The cave of Amarnath is one of the most beautiful and unique geographical features of the natural world. The cave, which sits at an elevation of 14,000 feet, has been a Hindu temple for over five thousand years and still draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each season. Pilgrims can only enter the cave for a few months out of the year because the way is usually blocked by snow and ice. However, in those few months, people from all over the world come on foot or by horseback to see the pillars of ice that never melt, supposedly a symbols of the gods Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesh, the Hindu Holy Family, placed there by the gods themselves. 

The pillars vary in height, with the Shiva pillar standing the tallest at about 9 feet, although it grows and shrinks throughout the course of the year and by the phase of the moon. Strangely enough, it grows from May to August and shrinks throughout the winter.

The floor of the cave is a a perfect sheet of ice out of which the pillars rise as stalagmites. People remove their shoes before entering, and walk in to see the pillars, which are probably glacial leftovers indicated by the green-blue coloration that can be seen in them from certain angle. Successful pilgrims have reported life long changes in the months after completing the journey, such as an awakening of personal energy, defeat of depression, and a sense of spiritual renewal that makes obstacles that seemed insurmountable now easily solvable. However, not all pilgrims are successful. The landscape is extremely dangerous, with avalanches and rockfalls constantly threatening to wipe out sections of the road. In addition, recently Kashimiri Muslim extremists have been attacking pilgrims on the way to Amarnath in a continuation of the nearly century-long conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India.

What is truly strange is that despite the incredible dangers involved, approximately 400,000 people made the pilgrimage in the 2007 season. While ice pillars are common features of mountainous and glacial regions, the Amarnath pillars location inside a cave, stability, and accessibility make them unique. People come from all over the world to stand and marvel at this work of nature, and they'll probably continue to do so no matter the dangers involved.

Posted by Loni.

Loni also writes for Latest Greatest Gadgets And Gizmos.