Hyderabad: Due to lack of berths in trains and high airfares, a majority of Ayyappa devotees are travelling by road to reach Sabarimala to witness the Mandala puja and Makaravilakku on January 14.
Though there are regular Sabari Express trains from the city, the South Central Railway has announced 156 special trains for the Shabarimala season. However, train berths are all booked till January 18.
The SCR ruled out any more special trains. Similarly, the airfare has crossed '7,000 for a single trip and travel agents are expecting it to go up even further.
Mr Mihar Shah, a traveller from Hyderabad, said that those who are using personal vehicles for long-distance travel should take precautions.
“A majority of Ayyappa devotees take only one meal during the day and this reduces metabolism and it is not advisable to drive for more than five hours.”
Mr Gadapa Nagaraju, a guru swamy from Karimnagar, said that those who travel in personal vehicles can select short cuts.
“From Hyderabad, the pilgrims can go to Anatapur, Bagepally (Karnataka), Chikballapur, Devanahally, Whitefields, Tamil Nadu border through Sajjapura, Hosur (Tamil Nadu), Raikottai, Dharmapur Highway, Salem, Namakkal, Battalagundu, Kumuly (Kerala), Vandiperiyar, Erumeli and Pampa.
It is a 1,200-kilometre distance and the journey can be completed in five days along with darshans at Madurai and Palani,” he said.
Balakrishna from Saidabad who recently visited Sabarimala, said that a tour to some other temples like Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Srirangam, Kumbakonam, Tanjavur, Kanchi, Tirutthani, Tirupati etc., would take seven to eight days additionally.
