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Sabarimala 2026–27: Season Dates, Virtual Queue Booking and How to Reach

The Mandala–Makaravilakku season opens in mid-November. Darshan needs a Virtual Queue booking, the High Court has capped pilgrims at 75,000 a day, and the opening slots go fast. Here is what is confirmed for 2026–27, what is still last year's, and how to get there from Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Photo: Challiyan (Dr. Vipin Challiyil), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Text added by Trip Under.

Sabarimala is one of the busiest pilgrimages in the world for a few weeks a year, packed into a forest shrine you can only reach on foot. Most of the trouble pilgrims have is avoidable: arriving without a Virtual Queue slot, picking the wrong station, or turning up on a peak day. This guide puts what is confirmed for 2026–27 in one place.

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) runs the temple. Its booking site was not showing the 2026–27 calendar when we checked, so the dates here come from the Railways Minister's statement and from last season's official dates, reported by Onmanorama, All India Radio, Kerala Kaumudi and ETV Bharat. We say which is which. This is a travel guide, not a religious authority: follow the board's notices and the staff at the temple.

Season dates: 2026–27, and last season for reference

How Virtual Queue booking works

• Book on sabarimalaonline.org, the board's official site. Last season booking opened at 5 pm on 1 November, and slots up to 26 November were gone by 9 November. Book the day it opens if you want the first fortnight.
• A cap of 75,000 a day for the 2026–27 season, set by the Kerala High Court in April 2026. It also told the board to upgrade the booking platform with real-time updates and cancellation.
• ₹5 per booking goes to a pilgrim insurance and welfare fund. Last season that meant ₹5 lakh accident cover, with the booking ID as the claim document. The court also suggested a small refundable deposit per slot; we could not confirm whether it has been introduced.
• You choose a route and a time slot: last season, Pamba–Marakkoottam (about 4 km), the Vandiperiyar–Sathram–Pulmedu route (16 km) or the traditional Erumeli–Kalaketti path (46 km), with six slots a day. Arrive about three hours before your slot.
• Carry the booking and a photo ID (Aadhaar is the one pilgrims usually show). We found no official 2026–27 statement listing accepted IDs.

Getting there

Every route ends the same way: road to Nilakkal or Pamba, then the walk up. Private vehicles usually park at Nilakkal, and KSRTC runs a chain service down to Pamba.

Photo: Shantham11, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Chennai

Last season Southern Railway ran weekly specials from Chennai to Kollam: 06111 from Chennai Egmore (Fridays, 23:55), 06113 from Chennai Central (Sundays, 23:50) and 06119 from Chennai Central (Wednesdays, 15:10, all AC 3-tier economy). From Kollam, go on to a KSRTC Pamba boarding point: Chengannur, Kottarakkara, Punalur or Pathanamthitta. The 2026–27 numbers are not out yet. Otherwise take a regular train straight to Chengannur or Kottayam.

From Hyderabad

Last season there was a weekly special, 07113 Cherlapally–Kollam (Tuesdays), stopping at Ernakulam Town, Kottayam and Kayamkulam, plus 07109/07110 Kakinada–Kottayam. Get off at Kottayam for the KSRTC Pamba buses.

From Bengaluru

We found no Bengaluru Sabarimala special last season. Take a regular overnight train to Kottayam or Chengannur, or a bus into Kerala, and change at Chengannur, Kottayam or Pathanamthitta for the KSRTC Pamba buses.

What it costs

Most Sabarimala costs are small and fixed; the travel to Kerala is the big number, and it depends on your city and class. What we could confirm:

Room tariffs at Sannidhanam, and the dormitory prices at Pamba and Nilakkal, were not published on any page we could open. The board opened 400 rooms a day for online booking from 7 October 2026.

Rules to know

• No plastic, including inside the irumudi (Kerala High Court). Only the biodegradable items prescribed by the Tantri.
• Only pilgrims carrying the irumudi climb the 18 holy steps (Pathinettampadi).
• Prohibited: alcohol, drugs, weapons and explosives; smoking anywhere on the route; phones in the temple premises; breaking coconuts outside the marked places; leaving clothes in the Pamba river; jumping queues.
• Pace the climb. Police advise resting five minutes after every ten minutes of climbing. Children and older pilgrims should wear ID cards around the neck.
• Medical help on the path: emergency medical centres and oxygen parlours along Pamba–Sannidhanam, with hospitals at both ends; 22 units are planned for 2026–27. Ambulance: 108.
• Women's entry: the Supreme Court's nine-judge bench reserved its verdict on the Sabarimala reference in May 2026. Follow the board's current notice before planning.

Avoiding the worst crowds

Last season averaged about 80,000 pilgrims a day, with peaks above one lakh on 24 November and 8 December. The opening fortnight and the days around Makaravilakku are the hardest to book; on Makaravilakku day itself, movement from Nilakkal and Pamba was stopped from late morning, and the Erumeli forest route closed the evening before. If your dates are flexible, aim for a weekday in early December or the first days of January, and book your slot first, travel second.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and how we priced this

• Season and trains: Onmanorama, Railways Minister on Sabarimala specials (21 Oct 2026); Onmanorama, Virtual Queue and darshan (9 Nov 2025); Onmanorama, Makaravilakku arrangements (30 Dec 2025, 10 Jan 2026); All India Radio, Mandala Pooja (27 Dec 2025); All India Radio, Thulam monthly pooja (17 Oct 2026).
• Booking: ETV Bharat, Virtual Queue opens 1 November (31 Oct 2025); ETV Bharat, High Court caps spot booking at 5,000 (19 Nov 2025); Verdictum, Kerala High Court WP(C) 8529/2026 (8 Apr 2026); Telangana Today and Gulf News, TDB reforms (10 Jul 2026); Kerala Kaumudi (1 Nov 2025, 17 Oct 2026); NewKerala, 400 rooms online (6 Oct 2026).
• Trains 2025–26: Siasat/PTI, 16 special trains (10 Nov 2025); Native Planet, Chennai specials (5 Nov 2025); Siasat, Cherlapally–Kollam special (9 Nov 2025).
• Getting there and rules: Kerala Tourism, Sabarimala and how to reach (accessed Oct 2026); Onmanorama, KSRTC arrangements (15 Nov 2025, 14 Aug 2026, 18 Sep 2026); LiveLaw, plastic ban order (25 Jul 2018) and Supreme Court reference (May 2026); The Week/PTI, aravana price (27 Nov 2025); Onmanorama, chain service fare (7 Dec 2021), medical facilities (19 Nov 2024), crowd figures (14 Dec 2025).

Keep reading

Costs come from Trip Under's place data and our cost model (see methodology). They are indicative ballparks for budget travel and move with season and demand. Check live bus, train and room prices before you book. Trip Under is reader-planned, not an agency, and takes no commission on any booking.