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Pilgrim guide for the 2026–27 season
What to book, what to carry, and how to keep yourself, your group and the forest safe on the way to the Sannidhanam.
There is no spot booking at Pampa this season
Every pilgrim needs a darshan slot in the Travancore Devaswom Board's Virtual Queue before leaving home. A devotee who arrives without one can ask for a spot booking only at Nilakkal, and only a very small number are issued each day. On the forest routes a Virtual Queue booking is compulsory.
Book before you travel
Carry the printed or mobile pass together with the same photo identity card you used while booking. Both are checked where the queue begins. If you plan to travel by long-distance KSRTC bus, seats can be reserved ahead on onlineksrtcswift.com.
The journey, step by step
Take the mala and keep the vratham
The pilgrimage begins weeks before the climb, with the mala received from a Guruswamy or temple priest and forty-one days of simple living, prayer and restraint. Read about the vows and rituals.
Fill the irumudi without plastic
Wrap offerings in cloth, paper or leaves. Sabarimala, Pampa and Nilakkal are plastic-free by order of the High Court of Kerala, and nobody may climb the eighteen steps without the irumudi.
Reach Nilakkal and park there
During the season private vehicles stop at the Nilakkal base camp, 22 km before Pampa. Park only in the zone you are allotted. Routes by road, rail and air.
Take the KSRTC chain bus to Pampa
Buses leave one after another, day and night. Senior citizens, women and differently-abled devotees have a priority boarding counter at Stand 1. Keep your ticket for the check at the Chalakkayam forest checkpost.
Bathe at Pampa, then climb
Bathe only at the marked Triveni ghats and only while they are open. The climb to the Sannidhanam is about 5 km and takes most pilgrims two and a half to three and a half hours.
Darshan, then carry everything back down
Follow the police and volunteers in the queue. Take your used clothes and every piece of waste back with you, or leave it only in the bins provided.
Health on the climb
Climb at your own pace
Rest every few minutes, above all on the steep Neelimala stretch. If you have a heart or breathing condition, see your doctor before the trip, carry your medicines, and use the oxygen parlours and medical centres along the path.
Drink safe water
Use only boiled or purified water from the kiosks and the free hot herbal water (chukku vellam) served on the route. A steel bottle can be refilled all the way up.
Dress for the hill
Nights at the Sannidhanam are cold and rain arrives without warning. Carry a raincoat and one warm layer.
Stay safe at the river
When a weather or water-level alert is issued, stay out of the Pampa. The ghats are closed for a reason.
Do and don't
Do
- Keep your Virtual Queue pass and photo ID where you can reach them
- Carry only the cash you need and keep valuables close to your body
- Agree on a meeting point with your group before the climb
- Put a card with a phone number in the pocket of every child and elderly pilgrim
- Keep a recent photo of each member of the group on your phone
- Call 112 or 1077 in any emergency
Don't
- Climb the eighteen holy steps without the irumudi
- Carry firecrackers, fuel or anything that burns easily
- Bring alcohol or tobacco
- Push, run or jump the queue
- Light fires or camp outside the marked areas
- Feed or go near wild animals
If you walk the forest routes
The traditional paths through Sathram, Azhuthakkadavu and Mukkuzhy run deep inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve. They are narrow, steep, often slippery, and far from any road. Mobile signal comes and goes, and help takes time to arrive. The High Court of Kerala has limited how many devotees each path may carry in a day.
| Point | Open |
|---|---|
| Entry at Sathram | 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM |
| Entry at Azhuthakkadavu | 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM |
| Entry at Mukkuzhy | 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM |
| Exit from Sabarimala (Urakkuzhi) towards Sathram | 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM |
- Overnight stay is not allowed on the Sathram–Pullumedu trek. After dark, rest only at the Thavalams and Viris set up for pilgrims.
- Stay on the marked trail. A shortcut saves ten or twenty metres and can cost far more.
- Walk in a group, keep your companions in sight, and take your earphones off so you can hear the forest.
- Use the bio-toilets rather than leaving the trail.
- Carry no plastic, no crackers, nothing that can start a fire.
- If you feel unwell, stop at the nearest aid post. Forest, Police and Health staff are posted along the way; follow what they tell you.
A clean Poomkavanam
Please do not leave your clothes in the Pampa
Leaving clothes in the river is not a ritual and it washes away nothing. Each season volunteers of the Vishuddhi Sena wade in and lift out heaps of wet cloth by hand. It chokes the river and harms the animals that drink from it. Take your dip, then carry your clothes home or use the collection points on the bank.
Pack without plastic
Cloth bags in place of covers, a steel bottle in place of a plastic one, and no plastic sheets, cups, plates or packaged items into the forest.
Carry it back out
If any plastic has come with you, take it back down. Never leave it on the path, at the Sannidhanam or in the river.
Leave the animals alone
The forest around the shrine is the Lord's own garden. Do not feed, tease or approach any animal, including snakes.
SASS volunteers join the cleaning of the pilgrim route every year. See the Samajam's activities.
If someone in your group is lost
A missing child cannot wait for a form
Tell the nearest police officer or volunteer immediately, then call 112.
Missing persons, separated pilgrims and lost or found items can also be reported to the police control room at Pampa through the District Administration's Lost & Found service, which works from Sabarimala, Pampa and Nilakkal and gives you a token to track the report. If you find a child or an elderly devotee who is alone, stay with them, speak kindly, and hand them to the nearest police aid post.
Booking rules, forest route timings and safety advice follow the notices published by the District Administration, Pathanamthitta on its Sabari Portal, as read on 14 November 2026. Rules change during the season. The Travancore Devaswom Board and the District Administration are the authorities; check their latest announcements before you set out.