Every season, a few thousand pilgrims reach Pamba with their irumudi packed, their 41-day vratham complete, and no darshan slot. Until last year, many of them could still walk up to a counter at Pamba and get one. This season that option is gone. The Kerala High Court has stopped spot booking at Pamba, which makes the Virtual Q booking on sabarimalaonline.org more important than it has ever been.
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Booking for the 2026-27 Mandala-Makaravilakku season opened at 10 AM on 29 October 2026. It is still free. Here is what changed, how much quota exists per route, and how to get your slot without getting stuck.
Facts — 2026-27 season
- Booking portal: sabarimalaonline.org (Travancore Devaswom Board)
- Booking opened: 29 October 2026, 10 AM
- Cost: free
- Daily limit: 80,000 pilgrims (online + spot booking together)
- Temple opens: 16 November 2026, 5 PM
- Spot booking: Nilakkal, Erumeli, Vandiperiyar Sathram only — not at Pamba
Sabarimala Virtual Q quota 2026-27: how the 80,000 daily slots are split
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) fixed the daily limit at 80,000 pilgrims, counting online and spot bookings together. Most of it goes to the Nilakkal–Pamba road route, which is how the majority of pilgrims travel.
| Route / centre | Online Virtual Q (per day) | Spot booking (per day) |
|---|---|---|
| Nilakkal–Pamba | 60,000 | 10,000 at Nilakkal |
| Erumeli forest route | 3,000 | 2,000 at Erumeli |
| Vandiperiyar–Sathram route | 3,000 | 2,000 at Vandiperiyar Sathram |
| Total | 66,000 | 14,000 |
What this means in practice: the forest routes have only 3,000 online slots each. If you are walking the traditional Erumeli path (Periya Padai) during peak weeks, book the moment you know your dates.
Which dates fill first
The portal calendar shows each date in green (slots available) or red (fully booked). From past seasons, the dates that turn red first are:
- The opening days, 16–20 November
- Weekends through the Mandala period
- The days around Mandala Pooja on 27 December
- The reopening on 30 December and the week leading up to Makaravilakku on 14 January 2027
Weekday dates in late November and early December are usually the easiest to get.
Documents to keep ready before you start
Peak dates go fast, so have these ready before you open the portal:
- A working mobile number and email ID (OTP comes to these)
- One photo ID: Aadhaar, Voter ID or passport — carry the same original ID to Sabarimala
- A clear passport-size photo saved on your phone or computer, under 30 KB
- Details of everyone in your group if you are booking for others
How to book Sabarimala Virtual Q online, step by step
- Open sabarimalaonline.org and register with your mobile number and email. Verify the OTP.
- Log in and choose Virtual Q from the menu.
- Add each pilgrim: name, age, ID type and number, and upload the photo.
- Pick your route: Pamba (via Nilakkal), Erumeli or Vandiperiyar.
- Open the calendar, choose a green date, then pick a morning or evening time band.
- Confirm. The donation options shown at the end are optional; booking is complete without them.
- Download and save the Virtual Q pass as a PDF and keep a printout. Mobile signal on the hill is unreliable.
Your pass carries a date and time band. Plan your travel so you reach the entry point within it, especially if you are coming from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana by road.
Spot booking 2026-27: only three centres, and no Pamba
If you could not get an online slot, spot booking is the only other route in, and it is far smaller this year.
- Nilakkal — 10,000 per day
- Erumeli — 2,000 per day
- Vandiperiyar Sathram — 2,000 per day
- Pamba — discontinued this season by Kerala High Court order
TDB has warned that pilgrims arriving without a booking may not get darshan on the day and may face long waits. Last season, after heavy crowds in the opening week, spot booking was cut sharply for a period. Treat it as a backup, not a plan.
Rules that catch people out
- Same ID, original copy. The ID shown at the checkpoint must be the one entered during booking. Photocopies are not accepted.
- Every pilgrim needs a slot, including people travelling in a group with one person who booked. Check whether young children in your group need a pass on the portal before you travel.
- Time band matters. Arriving far outside your slot can mean being held back until the crowd allows.
- One booking per date per ID. Do not book several dates “just in case” — it blocks slots others need.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sabarimala Virtual Q booking free? Yes. Booking on sabarimalaonline.org costs nothing. Donations shown during booking are optional.
When did Virtual Q booking open for 2026-27? At 10 AM on 29 October 2026, for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season that begins on 16 November.
Can I get spot booking at Pamba? No, not this season. Use Nilakkal, Erumeli or Vandiperiyar Sathram.
How many pilgrims are allowed per day? 80,000 in total: 66,000 through online Virtual Q and 14,000 through spot booking.
My date shows red. What now? Check nearby weekdays, and check the portal again over the next days, since cancellations and any extra quota show up there. TDB has added extra quota during past seasons when demand was high.
Do I also need to book a room? Virtual Q is only for darshan. Rooms at Sannidhanam and Pamba are booked separately on onlinetdb.com. See our Sabarimala room booking guide.
Related: Sabarimala Mandala season 2026-27 dates and timings · Sabarimala room booking online
