The Sabarimala Temple (Malayalam:ശബരിമല) is a temple complex located at sabarimala inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India.It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million devotees visiting every year.The temple is dedicated to a Hindu celibate deity Ayyappan also known as Dharma Shasta, who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine incarnation of Thirumal.The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Kali, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions. The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m (4,133 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. While functional and intact temples exist at many places in the surrounding areas like Nilakkal, Kalaketty, and Karimalai, remnants of old temples survive to this day on remaining hills.

he worship of Shasta forms part of the very ancient history of south India.At Sabarimala, the deity is worshiped as Ayyappan and as Dharmashasta. The shrine of Sabarimala is an ancient temple. It is believed that the prince of Pandalam dynasty, an avatar of Ayyappan, meditated at Sabarimala temple and became one with the divine. The place where the prince meditated is the Manimandapam. There are many Shasta temples in South India and across the globe.As per tradition, the Shasta temple at Sabarimala is one of the five Shasta temples founded by Lord Parasurama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. The other Shasta temples in this group of five includes the Ayyappan Temples:at Kulathupuzha, where the Shasta appears as a Balaka or child; at Aryankavu where the lord appears as a Brahmachari or young man; at Achankovil Shastha Temple, where the lord leads the Grihastha Ashrama life here and depicted along with his two wives – Purna and Pushkala at Sabarimala, where the lord is depicted in the Vanaprastha or form of renunciation; at Ponnambala Medu the lord appears as a "makaravilaku"

The Pathinettu thripadikal or the 18 sacred steps is the main stairway to the temple. As per the custom followed, no pilgrim without "Irumudikkettu" can ascend the 18 sacred steps. In 1985, the 18 steps were covered by Panchaloha. The northern gate is open for those who do not carry an "Irumudikkettu", as observed in the Kerala High Court judgment of 1991. The temples of Lord Ayyappan's trusted lieutenants Karuppu Sami and Kadutha Sami are positioned as his guards (kaval) at the foot of the holy 18 sacred steps. The temple of Maalikapurathamma, whose importance is almost in par with Lord Ayyappa,is located few yards from Sannidhanam. It is believed that the Lord Ayyapan had specific instructions that he wanted Malikappurath Amma, on his left side. Prior to the fire disaster, there was only a Peeda Prathishta (holy seat) at Malikappuram. The idol of Malikappurath Amma was installed by Brahmasree Kandararu Maheswararu Thanthri. The Devi at Malikappuram holds a Sankh, Chakram and Varada Abhya Mudra. Now the idol is covered with a gold Golaka. The temple also was reconstructed in the last decade and now the conical roof and sopanam is covered with gold. Nagarajav Shrine at Sabarimala

The shrine of the Lord of snakes, Nagarajav is placed adjacent to the malikappuram temple. Pilgrims after the Darsan of Ayyappa and Kannimoola Ganapathi, make their darsan and give offerings to Nagarajav. Manimandapam, is the place where Ayyappan Jeeva samadhi The Sabarimala temple complex include Pampa Ganapathi temple, Nilakal Mahadeva temple and Palliyara Bhagavathi temple. The Nilakal Mahadeva temple and Palliyara Bhagavathi temple is as old as the Shasta temple and the deities are worshiped as the parents of Lord Ayyappa. Ganapathi temple at Pampa has Pampa Maha Ganapathi and Athi Ganapathi (lit. old ganapathy), sreekovil where the idol from the first Ganapathy temple is worshiped. Sabari Peedam has a temple of Rama and Hanuman also.  Source : Wikipedia

Trasnport

By Road: Pampa KSRTC station is the nearest depot to Sabarimala that can be accessed by road. Sabarimala is about 5 Kms away from Pamba. Kerala State Road Transport Corporation operates buses to Pampa from all major bus stations in the State.
By Train: Kottayam (Distance to Pampa – 119 km), Chengannur (Distance to Pampa – 93 km)
By Air: The nearest Airports are the International Airports in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Pilgrims reaching Kochi by air will have to travel about 160 km by road and those flying in to Thiruvananthapuram will have to travel about 170 km by road in order to reach the temple.