To book Sabarimala darshan, register on the official Travancore Devaswom Board site, sabarimalaonline.org, with your mobile number and email, add each pilgrim with an Aadhaar or Voter ID and a photo, and pick your darshan date. Virtual-Q booking is free and mandatory for all pilgrims. Book as early as you can; do not rely on spot booking.
If you last went years ago, things have changed. The TDB homepage now says plainly that online booking of Virtual-Q is mandatory for all pilgrims visiting Sabarimala. The good news is that the process is simple once you have the documents ready, and it costs nothing.
Before you start: what you need
- A mobile number and an email address for OTP verification
- The account holder must be 18 or older
- An Aadhaar card or Voter ID for each pilgrim (for pilgrims aged 5 to 18, a school or college ID is accepted as ID and age proof)
- A recent photo of each pilgrim in JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF format, under 1 MB
Collect these for the whole group in one evening. The photo size limit catches people out more than anything else, so resize the pictures on your phone before you sit down to book.
Step-by-step Virtual-Q booking
- Open sabarimalaonline.org. Use only this official site; there is no authorised agent or middleman.
- Register with your mobile number and email, and verify with the OTP you receive.
- Add the pilgrims to your account. One account can hold many pilgrims, each with their own ID details and photo.
- Create a booking group. A group can have at most five pilgrims and must include at least one adult aged 18 or above.
- Choose your darshan date. You can book up to one day before the date, subject to the quota available.
- If you want aravana or appam, add the prasadam booking now along with the Virtual-Q.
- Confirm and save the coupon. Keep a printout, or have it ready on your phone.
Rules worth knowing before you book
Each pilgrim can have only one active booking at a time, and one account can hold at most 10 active coupons. So if you are the family member who books for everybody, plan the dates in order rather than booking several trips at once.
Children below five years do not need a Virtual-Q booking. For pilgrims between 5 and 18, the school or college ID works as proof.
As per TDB's booking rules, female and other-gender pilgrims aged 10 to 50 are not allowed for darshan. Please keep this in mind while adding pilgrims to the group so the booking is not rejected at verification.
A booking does not guarantee darshan. TDB says so in its own guidelines, and on heavy days the police and the Board may regulate movement. Keep a little flexibility in your plan.
Cancellation and changes
You can cancel up to one day before your darshan date. There is no rescheduling, so if your plans change you will need to cancel and book again for a new date, subject to quota. Paid add-ons such as prasadam are not refunded on cancellation.
Prasadam and vazhipadu
Aravana and appam can be booked online along with your Virtual-Q. You collect them at the counters on showing the receipt, and there is a grace of one day after your darshan date if the temple is open. For vazhipadu and pooja bookings, TDB uses a separate site, onlinetdb.com.
Spot booking: what happened last season
Many swamis still plan to "book on the spot". Last season shows why that is risky. In 2025–26, Virtual-Q was allowed up to 70,000 a day, with booking opening on 1 November 2025. Spot booking was planned at 20,000 a day, but after overcrowding the Kerala High Court capped it at 5,000 a day on 20 November 2025. Spot booking then ran only at Nilakkal and Vandiperiyar; the counters at Pamba, Erumeli and Chengannur were closed. Around Makaravilakku the caps were lower still.
The 2026–27 quota and spot counters will be announced fresh by TDB and the High Court. Until then, the safe advice is simple: book your Virtual-Q as early as possible. If you are going on Makaravilakku day, read our Makaravilakku 2027 guide for how tight the caps were last time.
Beware of touts
Virtual-Q coupons are free. Anyone who asks for money to "confirm" a slot is not working for the temple. Report such people to grievance.virtualqtdb@gmail.com. TDB has also warned that it will never ask for your card details or OTP, so ignore messages and calls that do.
At verification: what to carry
Carry the original ID you used for booking, not a photocopy, along with the coupon on paper or on your phone. Verification happens at the counters at Pamba or Nilakkal, after which you are guided into the queue to Sannidhanam. Keep these papers in a small plastic-free pouch near the irumudi so you are not digging through bags at the counter. Our irumudi and pilgrim rules guide has the full checklist.
A simple order of planning
Pick your date first using the Sabarimala opening dates for 2026–27, then book, then buy train or bus tickets. Doing it the other way round is how groups end up with confirmed berths and no darshan slot. For the journey itself, see how to reach Sabarimala.
In 2024 KSRTC allowed groups of 40 or more to pre-book buses, and offered a ticket link alongside Virtual-Q booking; check this season's announcement.
And once the paperwork is done, return to the real preparation, the vratham. Our notes on Ayyappa deeksha rules are a good place to start. Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa.
Sources
- Travancore Devaswom Board – sabarimalaonline.org (Virtual-Q guidelines & FAQ)
- Travancore Devaswom Board – travancoredevaswomboard.org
- Onmanorama (Malayala Manorama) news reports 2024–2026
Dates and rules are announced by the Travancore Devaswom Board; please confirm on sabarimalaonline.org before you travel.