Forest Department restricts timings for devotees climbing Parvathamalai hillock in Tiruvannamalai

Parvathamalai hillock. File

The Forest Department has restricted the timings for devotees climbing the Parvathamalai hillock, where the Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy (Lord Shiva) temple is located, near Kalasapakkam town in Tiruvannamalai district, in view of the rains.

Forest officials said that devotees would be allowed to climb the steep hillock, which is 4,560 feet high, between 5.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. every day. Only devotees aged between 18 years and 60 years would be permitted to climb the hillock. Children, persons with illnesses, and those with disabilities are prohibited from climbing the hillock.

“As the hillock will be slippery after the rains, devotees will take time to climb it. On average, it will take at least four hours to reach the temple from the foothills,” a forest official told The Hindu.

Forest officials said that a committee headed by Collector Vandhana Garg would decide whether to permit devotees to visit the temple based on the rain forecast. The committee comprises Superintendent of Police R. Uthayakumar, District Forest Officer (DFO) K. Sudhagar, and representatives of the HR&CE Department.

At present, the Parvathamalai hillock, which is under the jurisdiction of the Pudupalayam Range of the Tiruvannamalai Forest Division, has more than 30 tribal hamlets, including Kanamalai, Ezhuthampattu, Neepathurai, and Arasanoor. The existing mud pathway, laid in the 1920s during British rule, is the only route connecting tribal communities to towns in the plains.

For pilgrims, a three-foot-wide mud pathway, near Then Mathimangalam and Then Kadaladi villages, provides access to the hillock temple. They climb the hillock through the forest. They must cover a distance of 4.5 km through the forest to reach the temple at the summit.

On average, the hill temple gets around 1,000 visitors every day. To prevent overcrowding and stampede-like situations, the Forest Department allows only 100 devotees an hour to climb the hillock. Plastic items and water bottles are banned to prevent littering in the forest.