attack in April triggered a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan, which propelled the region to the cusp of their fifth all-out war. Last year, half a million devotees took part in the Amarnath pilgrimage to a sacred ice pillar, located in a cave in the forested Himalayan hills above the town of Pahalgam, where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists.

New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad vehemently rejected, setting off a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that then erupted into a four-day conflict on May 7. It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a ceasefire was declared on May 10.

“Pilgrims I spoke to earlier said they were worried about the security at first, but now feel safe after seeing the strong security arrangements,” said Al Jazeera’s Umar Mehraj, reporting from Pahalgam. “The April attack has made this year’s pilgrimage more cautious and technology-based, with the highest level of security ever, with around 600 additional paramilitary units having been deployed, making it the most heavily guarded pilgrimage so far,” he added.

Pilgrim Muneshwar Das Shashtri, who travelled from Uttar Pradesh state, told the AFP news agency that “there is no fear of any kind. “Our army is standing guard everywhere. No one can raise a finger towards us,” he said.India has ramped up security for the event, deploying 45,000 soldiers with high-tech surveillance tools to oversee the gruelling trek to the high-altitude cave, dedicated to the Hindu deity of destruction, Shiva. “We have multi-layered and in-depth security arrangements so that we can make the pilgrimage safe and smooth for the devotees,” said VK Birdi, police chief for the territory. Surveillance systems like security cameras and facial recognition have been set up, as well as checkpoints, added Mehraj, with paramilitary posts every 100 metres (330ft). (Al Jazeera/EPA)