The 45-day pilgrimage to one of Hinduism's holiest shrines closed peacefully in Indian Kashmir, with officials expressing relief the trek has been unharmed by Muslim rebels for two straight years.
A record 300,000 Hindus made the physically gruelling pilgrimage this year through the Himalayas to the Amarnath cave, which is considered an abode of the god Shiva.
The trek used to face regular attacks, but Muslim rebels fighting Indian rule have not threatened the procession for the past two years amid a peace process over Kashmir.
"Like last year the yatra (pilgrimage) this year has been free of any militant attacks," said Governor S.K. Sinha, India's top representative in Kashmir on Monday.
Sinha flew to the shrine Monday with state Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh to supervise arrangements on the last day of worship inside the 3,800-meter (12,800-foot) high cave.
The cave, which was discovered by a Muslim shepherd in the 16th century, is revered by Hindus for a naturally formed ice stalagmite said to represent Shiva.
Kashmir's leading Hindu cleric Mahant Devinder Giri led other ash-smeared religious men at a prayer ceremony early Monday. Under tight security, Giri brought with him a trident believed to come from Shiva.
"All of us are very happy that the pilgrimage has passed off peacefully," said a senior Muslim police officer involved in security for the trek.
Eleven pilgrims were killed in 2002 when rebels raided a camp as pilgrims slept, hurling grenades and firing weapons. Some 10 pilgrims died in a militant ambush in 2001 while 32 were killed in 2000.
But none of the dozen rebel groups active in Kashmir have threatened the procession for the past two years amid a drive for reconciliation between India and Pakistan, which both control parts of the Himalayan territory and claim it in full.
India charges that the rebels receive material support from Pakistani intelligence, a claim denied by Islamabad.
The Amarnath pilgrimage is one of the most elaborate functions for security forces in Kashmir, with an extra 12,000 troops and police deployed this year to guard the routes.
The paramilitary Border Security Force secured roads and trekking routes, the army guarded the mountain-tops and police kept vigil by pilgrims' camps and the shrine itself.
It will take troops eight to 10 days to report back to their usual posts after the pilgrimage.
The government had cited the burden on security forces when refusing demands by Hindu hardliners who wanted the pilgrimage to start at the beginning of July, when there was a full moon.
But the government twice extended the pilgrimage due to pressure, including the resignation of four Hindus from the Muslim-led cabinet.
The pilgrimage began on July 15 when the first batch of 3,500 Hindus reached the Nunwan base camp, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the summer capital Srinagar, for the icy trudge to the cave.
The end of the trek coincides with the annual holiday of Raksha Bandan, when Hindu women tie threads to the wrists of their brothers to symbolically reinforce their relationships.