Watch Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple Opens For Annual Pilgrimage Season

The portals of the Lord Ayappa temple in Sabrimala opened for devotees for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festivals, marking the beginning of the two-month-long annual pilgrimage season.

Sabarimala:  The doors of Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala’s Sabarimala opened on Saturday for devotees, marking the commencement of the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festivals and the start of the two-month-long pilgrimage season. The Chief priest opened the sanctum sanctorum of the prominent temple the presence of the thantri of the temple.

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The 41-day Mandala season commenced with the onset of the month of Vrishchikam in the Malayalam calendar and is scheduled to conclude on December 27. Subsequently, the temple will reopen on December 30, 2023, for the Makaravilakku festival. Following the Makaravilakku Darshan on January 15, 2024, the festival will conclude on January 20, 2024.

The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, stands as the most renowned and prominent among all the Sastha temples in Kerala. Positioned on a hilltop at approximately 3000 feet above sea level, the temple is accessible to people of all religions.

For the festival season, about 13,000 police personnel will be deployed, and the state-owned KSRTC will operate 500 buses daily from various locations to Pamba.