The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, sits on a hilltop (Sabarimala) at about 3,000 ft above sea level in Ranni-Perunad village of Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. Pamba is the temple’s base station.
Lord Ayyappan is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu).
The temple, located within the Periyar Tiger Reserve, is surrounded by 18 hills. While the site itself dates back further, the temple was constructed in the 11th century.
The main stairway to the temple are the 18 sacred steps known as Pathinettam Padi.
The temple is open to people belonging to all religions. As per the custom followed, no pilgrim without "Irumudikkettu" (a two-compartment bag made of handwoven cotton for the offerings for Sabarimala Temple carried on their heads) can ascend the 18 sacred steps.
The temple practices prohibit women between the ages of 10 and 50 years (of menstruating age) from accessing the temple premises. This is based on the tradition of the temple to respect the celibate nature of the deity. Similar restrictions are present against the entry of men on certain days or the inner sanctum in other Hindu temples such as the Pushkar Brahma Temple in Rajasthan and the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.
In 2018, after Supreme Court struck down the practice of barring women of menstrual age from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF govt. of that time implemented the order, calling it a step towards “promoting progressive values”.
The temple is not open throughout the year, but only during the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival season, Vishu, and during the first five days of each month of the Malayalam calendar. The main pilgrimage season runs from roughly Nov to Jan.
Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makara Sankranti in Kerala, India at the shrine of Sabarimala. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of the deity Ayyappan) procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. An estimated half a million devotees flow to Sabarimala every year to have a darshan (glimpse) of this ritual this day.
Makara Jyothi is the name given to the celestial star Sirius. It appears at the moment of Makar Sankranti, after which the holy arti is performed
Pilgrims observe vratham (celibacy, teetotalism, not using any profanity, controlling anger, and allow the hair and nails to grow without trimming for a 41-day period) before going on pilgrimage to Sabarimala. They are expected to bathe twice a day and visit the local temples regularly and only wear plain black or blue coloured traditional attire. As the pilgrimage is symbolic for the journey to self-realization that all living beings possess the part and parcel of parabrahman (lord), pilgrims refer to each other as Swami, acknowledging their divinity with lord seated in everyone's heart as bramhan.
Pilgrims take the traditional forest routes (the approximately 61 km path believed to be taken by Ayyappa himself) as well as the one from Pamba which is less physically challenging to reach the temple.
Many of these Hindu pilgrims also visit a mosque in Erumely dedicated to Vavar, a Muslim saint who according to tradition was a devotee of Ayyappan.
Administration and legal binding is managed by Travancore Devasvom Board, an affiliate authority of Government of Kerala. Thazhamon Madom is the traditional priest family who has powers over the religious matters to be decided in Sabarimala Temple. Tantri is the highest priest and is the head of the temple.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has announced an increase in the daily number of devotees permitted to visit the temple, allowing 2,000 on weekdays and 3,000 on weekends and holidays.
The nearest railway station, Chengannur railway station, is known as the Gateway of Sabarimala.