Sabarimala Sri Ayyappa Temple

The Sabarimala Sri Dharma Sastha Temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, sits at 914 metres in the Periyar Tiger Reserve forests of Pathanamthitta district. The temple is open only during the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season (mid-November to mid-January), Vishu (April), and the first five days of each Malayalam month. During Mandala season, an estimated 30–50 million pilgrims undertake the journey — by some counts the largest annual religious gathering in the world after the Hajj. Pilgrims observe a 41-day vratham (vow of celibacy, vegetarianism, and asceticism) before climbing the final 18 sacred steps (Pathinettu Padikal) to the sanctum. The deity is worshipped with the chant 'Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa'. The temple has a complex history of restrictions on female devotees aged 10–50 — the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the restriction was unconstitutional, though enforcement remains contentious. The forest-trek route from Pamba to Sannidhanam is 4.5 km uphill; carry essentials and ghee for the deity's abhishekam.