Although the pilgrimage season is around December-January, pujas are conducted every month for a day or two. The two main auspicious dates/festivals during the pilgrimage season are Mandala Pooja by December end and Makara Jyothi or Makara Vilakku by the middle of January. Several lakhs converge on the hills around the place on Makar Sankranti (January 14) to watch what is called Makarajyothi, a mysterious light that appears on another forest hilltop far away at a particular time ( around 7 pm), just across, facing the deity, Sri Dharmasastha, every year.

(Contd ... )

The pilgrims keep chanting 'Swamiye Saranamayyappa, Dharmasasthave Saranamayyappa' in praise of the Sastha deity

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Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) , Kovalm Beach, Kumarakom Backwaters, Kochi (Cochin), Periyar-Thekkady Wildlife Sanctuary, Munnar, Malabar, Bekal Fort