Sabarimala is a famous temple in Kerala, which is also a well-known pilgrimage centre. It is situated high at the Sahyadri Mountains in Western Ghat and is in the midst of 18 hills. The location of the Sabarimala temple is the Sahya hilly regions of Kerala in Pathanamthitta District. It is situated on a hilltop at an altitude of 1260 m/4135 ft. above mean sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests.

Ayyappa or Manikanta is the presiding deity of Sabarimala temple, which is believed to be derived from a deity called Sastha of ancient Kerala and Aiyanar in Tamil Nadu. The Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala is regarded to be the most important among all the temples in Kerala dedicated to Dharma Sasta.

There is a beautiful story related to the ancient Ayyappa deity. It is believed that Lord Siva got attracted to `Mohini`, the form that Vishnu assumed during `Samudra Manthan`. Siva surrendered to the beauty of Mohini and the child born out of the both was known as `Sasta`. He is also known as `Hariharaputra` as he was the son of Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Siva). He was later adopted by the ruler of Pandalam as he had no child and was named `Manikanta`. But later when his queen became pregnant, she tried to get rid of him. She pretended to be ill and sent her to the forest to bring the milk of a tigress as the only cure. There he went with a coconut and some food in a bundle and killed the demoness named Mahisha. In return Indra`s followers took the form of tigers and tigresses with cubs and followed Manikanta to the palace. The queen then realised her fault and asked forgiveness. Later, as per the request of the king, Manikanta took up his permanent shelter in Sabarimala, where the king built a temple for him.

There is a belief that Lord Rama`s devotee Sabari was an ideal devotee and Lord Ayyappa wanted his pilgrims to honour the same attributes as that of Sabri. Therefore, the name of the hill, on which the temple is situated, became Sabari.

The pilgrimage to Sabarimala takes place once in a year and it is very unique one. The pilgrims undergo several mental and physical cleansing through severe reparation. The journey to this temple is believed to symbolise the journey of Manikanta to bring the milk of a tigress for the queen. The pilgrims need to take a cloth bag named `Irumdi` with them (which is divided into two compartments), which is believed to signify the bundle, which Manikanta carried. A coconut filled with ghee is kept in the front part. This is the chief offering along with others like camphor and rice all tied together. The other part contains the articles, which the pilgrim will need on the trek. All of them are then tied together and each of the pilgrims carries it of his or here own without any assistance.

There are many routes to reach Sabarimala. But the route via Erumeli is the longest and the most difficult one. This is said to be the route which Manikanta himself had taken. There are eighteen steps, which lead to the hallowed sanctum sanctorum of the shrine at Sabarimala. These steps are highly respected by all the pilgrims and are known as `Padhinettampadi`. Every year almost 4.5 to 5 crores pilgrims come to Sabarimala from all over the world. It is regarded as the world`s second largest annual pilgrimage centre after Haj in Mecca.

For the visitors from outside the state and the country, there is an international airport in Thiruvananthapuram. This is the nearest airport and is situated 175 km from Sabarimala. The other mode of transportation like car or bus is also available. These go via Chalakayam town or more intensively through the mountain trails commencing from Erumeli Township and climbing over the Karimala Mountains bare foot (close to 50 km). But the pilgrims can take their vehicles up to Pampa. After that, the pilgrims need to go on a path about 4 km up a steep hill. But porter carried chairs are available for aged and handicapped pilgrims. The nearest railway stations are Kottayam and Chengannur. The path of Sabarimala is now fully cemented and there are many shops of food and medical aids available on the side of the path. This is not like earlier one, which passed through a dense forest. A place can be found near the temple dedicated to `Vavar`, a Muslim associate of Ayappan. The temple remains open only on few special days like at the time of `Mandalapooja` (November 15 to December 15), `Makaravilakku` (January 15), Vishnu (April 15) and on the beginning of every month in the Malayalam calendar.

There are various options to reach Sabarimala. These are-