Mumbai: The increasing militant attacks during the Amarnath Yatra notwithstanding, over the last few years there has been a tremendous increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the holy cave for a "darshan" of the ice Shiv lingam.

The Amarnath Yatra has been etched on the Indian psyche as one of the important pilgrimages to be undertaken in one's life and deeply religious people make it a point to have a "darshan" at least once in their lifetime.

Situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of Lidder Valley, Amarnath stands at 3,888 m. Long considered a yatra to be undertaken during the twilight years of one's life, pilgrims invariably have queries about the weather and an individual's physical ability.

However, these days, people of every age group embark on the yatra with a substantial number of people being below 45.

And the number of pilgrims - registered and unregistered, going through packaged tours or individually - has increased manifold during the last five years, a period marked by militants attacks aimed at spreading terror during the yatra, tour operators say.

"We find more and more people wanting to go to Amarnath every year. The awareness is growing and the threat aspect figures nowhere in people's minds," say Arun Manerikar, from a travel agency which has been arranging trips to Jammu and Kashmir for the last 15 years.

The reasons attributed to the trend are many. Media coverage, particularly by the electronic media, has played an important role even as it is this media, which has been telecasting coverage of terrorist attacks, travel experts say.

PTI