WildlifeKonni Elephant Training Centre
A century-old camp where orphaned and rescued elephants are cared for in vast teak-wood cages known as aanakoodu. Mornings bring the working routine of feeding and bathing along the Achankovil river.
District 03 · Kerala
Pathanamthitta
Land of forests and pilgrimage
The lie of the land
More than half forest, Pathanamthitta is Kerala's pilgrim country: each winter millions walk the hill paths to Sabarimala after bathing in the Pamba. Between pilgrimages the district settles back into deep green quiet — elephant camps, cardamom-scented ridges and the snake-boat traditions of Aranmula on the riverbank.
- Best season
- November – February
- Getting there
- Trivandrum Intl (TRV) / Cochin Intl (COK) · Chengannur rail
- Known for
- Sabarimala pilgrimage, forests, snake boats
The forest keeps its silence all year, then lends it to a million pilgrims each winter.
The essentials
Three reasons to come
Featured attractions
01Temple
Sabarimala Sree Dharmasastha Temple
Reached only on foot through the Periyar forests, the hill shrine of Ayyappa draws one of the largest annual pilgrimages on earth during the Mandalam season. Pilgrims in black climb the sacred eighteen steps after weeks of austerity.
02River
Pamba River
Kerala's third-longest river is the district's sacred artery, where Sabarimala pilgrims bathe before the final climb. Downstream it feeds the Kuttanad backwaters and carries Aranmula's snake boats.
03Wildlife
Gavi eco-tourism
A forest settlement deep inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, reached by permit through cardamom hills. Dawn boat rides on its still lake, elephant sightings and canopy-shaded treks make it Kerala's quietest wilderness address.
Go deeper
4 more places that define Pathanamthitta
More attractions
Wildlife
HeritageAranmula
A riverside heritage village with the Parthasarathy temple at its heart, famed for the Onam-season snake-boat regatta and its handmade metal mirrors. The kannadi, cast from a secret alloy, is made nowhere else on earth.
WaterfallPerunthenaruvi Waterfalls
The 'great honey stream' spreads wide over rock terraces on the Pamba near Vechoochira. Broad rather than tall, it is at its most forceful in the months after the monsoon.
ViewpointCharalkunnu hill viewpoint
A hill station in miniature above the Pamba valley, with morning mist pooling in the paddy lands below. Its camp house and ridge paths offer the district's easiest high view.
Continue the journey
Alappuzha
The Venice of the East