The tourism arm of the Indian Railways, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), has announced a Sabarimala tour, including destinations in south India, from December 19 to 25.
According to a press release, the train would leave slightly after midnight on December 19 and tourists would be taken to Guruvayur temple and then onwards to Chenganur. From there, they would be taken by non-AC buses to Nilakkal and then to Pamba. Tourists would have to a trek to Sabarimala from Pamba on their own and return to Nilakkal.
From Nilakkal, the IRCTC would transport them to Chenganur and then to the Kanyakumari temple for darshan of Kumari Amman and halt for the night on December 22. From there, the train would take them to Madurai for a darshan of Goddess Meenakshi. Passengers would then be taken to Tiruchirapalli on December 24 to have a darshan of Lord Ranganatha Swamy in Srirangam and then to Thanjavur to visit the Bruhadeeswara temple. The return journey would start on December 24 to reach Secunderabad on the night of December 25.
The tariff has been fixed at Rs. 5,855 per person by standard sleeper class and Rs. 8,050 by AC 3 Tier. The package include train journey, night stay/freshening up at Dharmashalas, halls and dormitories on multi-sharing basis, tea/coffee in the morning, breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Those interested may contact the IRCTC zonal office on 040-27702407, 97013-60701, 97013-60682, 97013-60729 and 97013-60647 or contact railway stations at Secunderababad, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Paryatak Bhavan here in Hyderabad. Also, they may check the website at 222.irctctourism.com for details.
