Pathanamthitta: The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple is gearing up to welcome a large number of devotees for the upcoming Mandala pilgrimage season, which will run from November 16 to December 27. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has announced that virtual queue booking for darshan will start on November 1.

According to the TDB, a maximum of 70,000 pilgrims per day will be allowed through the virtual queue system, while spot bookings will be restricted to 20,000 devotees daily.

During a review meeting to finalise preparations, the board decided to set up 10 nadapandals and a large German pandal at Pampa, capable of accommodating around 10,000 devotees at a time for resting purposes. To meet the high demand for Aravana offerings, the TDB will also maintain a buffer stock of 50 lakh Aravana bottles.

The temple will open for the two-month-long Mandala season on November 16 at 5 pm, closing on December 27. It will reopen on December 30 in preparation for the Makaravilakku Mahotsavam, which begins on January 14 and concludes on January 20.