Sabarimala

Sabarimala ( Malayalam: ശബരിമല Sabarimala [ ɕabəɾimala ] ) is a Hindu shrine in the Indian state of Kerala. The Ayyappan temple dedicated to the God of Sabarimala, despite its remote location in the mountains of the Western Ghats, one of the greatest pilgrimage destinations in India and attracts millions of pilgrims.

The Hindu pilgrimage center Sabarimala is located in a wooded hilly area in the Western Ghats in Pathanamthitta district, 64 kilometers east of the district capital of Pathanamthitta. The temple is open only around 120 days a year. The main pilgrimage season is between mid-November and the second half of January. Sabarimala is a very important pilgrimage destination for followers of Ayyappan cult from the south Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Women of childbearing age are excluded from the pilgrimage. Although few girls who have not yet reached puberty, and women participate beyond the menopause, the pilgrims are almost exclusively men. During the pilgrimage season 2009/2010 a total of more than 40 million pilgrims visited Sabarimala, the temple recorded revenue of more than 1.4 billion rupees ( 23 million euros ).

In a crowd in January 2011 died around 100 pilgrims.