The pilgrims are waiting for darshan under the Valiyanadapanthal at Sabarimala on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: LEJU KAMAL
The number of devotees reaching Sabarimala via the forest trails has seen a significant rise this season. According to official figures, 1,02,338 pilgrims have arrived the hill shrine through the different forest routes so far.
A total of 37,059 devotees have passed throgh the Azuthakadav-Pamba trail, with an average of 1,500 to 2,500 pilgrims using this path daily. The path from Sathram in Vandiperiyar, meanwhile, has recorded 64,776 arrivals, with daily footfall ranging between 4,000 and 5,000. Authorities are expecting the daily flow of devotees using forest paths to rise further in the coming days.
The overall footfall at Sannidhanam has now crossed 24 lakh, with 23,47,554 pilgrims arriving via the Pamba-Sabarimala route as of December 13.
Currently, an average of 80,000 devotees reach Sannidhanam every day. The peak single-day footfall was recorded on December 8, when 1,01,844 pilgrims arrived. Earlier, the daily footfall had crossed the 1 lakh mark on November 24 as well, with 1,00,867 devotees reaching the shrine.
Officials have urged pilgrims to follow all safety protocols while trekking through forest paths
With the rise in pilgrim arrivals, the Food Safety department has intensified inspections in and around the hill to ensure the health and safety of pilgrims. Special food safety squads have been deployed at Pamba and Sannidhanam to monitor establishments involved in food preparation and distribution.
According to officials, as man as 328 inspections have been conducted so far at Pamba, besides 302 at Sannidhanam. Deficiencies detected at Pamba led to 6 compounding notices and 21 rectification notices, while 24 establishments at Sannidhanam received rectification notices. Six complaints have been resolved, and four establishments were fined a total of ₹30,000 through compounding actions.
Taking into consideration he safety of pilgrims, awareness programmes on food handling and safety have also been organised for food business operators at both Pamba and Sannidhanam. For preliminary quality testing, 69 food samples from Pamba and 62 from Sannidhanam have been sent for laboratory analysis. All eatery units have been instructed to prominently display food safety toll-free helpline numbers.
Published – December 14, 2025 07:04 pm IST
