Malayalam is the main language spoken by locals. The town's proximity to Tamil Nadu, has brought several Tamil laborers and migrants here, due to which Tamil is widely spoken and understood here. As the town has one of the largest number of convent schools and colleges in Kerala, English is widely understood and spoken. Due to presence of Sabarimala which attracts large crowds from all over India, many locals are trained to understand and speak elementary Kannada, Telugu and Hindi. Most of the signages in the town are written in all 4 languages of South India, apart from English and Hindi for the same purpose.
The town is located in laps of Western ghats range, thereby receives one of the heaviest rainfall in Kerala. It rains almost 9 months in a year. Summers are comparatively mild.and nights are colder. Fogs are common in early mornings during months of December and January.
The tourist season starts from September to April. The Sabarimala Mandala Pilgrimage starts from November 16th onwards, which lasts till mid of January, creating a massive influx of pilgrims all over India and from other parts of world. Special arrangements such as additional buses, trains and tourist centers are opened by various agencies to cater the pilgrimage tourists. Its better to check with Kerala Tourism Office or District Tourist Office to plan your trip.
* District Tourist Office : +91-(0)468-232-2657
* KTDC Tourist Reception : +91-(0)468-232-6409
* DTPC Tourism Cell : +91-(0)468-222-9952
Kerala Police maintains special tourist offices, during Mandalam Pilgrimage season. The Police Tourist Office[http://www.sabarimala.keralapolice.gov.in/] maintains a dedicated website and mobile support assistance.
Cochin International Airport [url=http://www.cochin-airport.in/]]142 km, or [[Thiruvananthapuram[/url]] International airport at 113 km. Direct flights there from the [wiki=158b06e50632e27d494593ba389ef918]Middle East[/wiki], [wiki=458e4cbc78201c1aec5fc53a31c59378]Singapore[/wiki], [wiki=62235142f3fca96e1f2cd0ed4a7de48d]Maldives[/wiki], [wiki=912d59cdf1d3f551fae21f6f0062258f]Europe[/wiki] and [wiki=ef547e2d9750443f6d203233dfa38e39]Sri Lanka[/wiki]. An airport is planned at Aranmula, 55 kms from Sabarimala shrine, to connect temple town with other parts of India and seasonal international flight, expected to complete by 2014.
Alternatively reach major international gateway airports at [wiki=361961d900d8171b305cb8f79b1aabc2]Chennai[/wiki] (Madras), [wiki=8ebaad59980c95ade797c903761fa815]Mumbai[/wiki] (Bombay), [wiki=44d20cf7ad66cac40bd6fc87d4eab2e2]New Delhi[/wiki], or other Indian cities and then by train.
Cochin Airport has started scheduled copter services from the Airport Helipad to Nilakkal Helipad, operated by Bharat Airways Helicopters.
Pathanamthitta do not have any railway station inside the town. The nearest railway stations are Thiruvalla railway station is 30 km away and Chengannur railway station is 26 km away. During Sabarimala pilgrimage season, special trains ply connecting Chengannur and Thiruvalla from other parts of India. Special trains will carry images of Lord Ayyappa and marked as Sabarimala Special (SS). A major Sabari-Rail line project is under construction, planned to create a Sabarimala temple railway station. Chengannur and Thiruvalla Rail stations are well connected with regular buses to Pathanamthitta, right from the arrival gate at every 2 minutes.
Both the state run KSRTC and private luxury bus operators connect Pathanamthitta from other cities. There are daily direct bus services from Mumbai, Chennai & Bangalore. Frequent buses are available from cities like Kottayam, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Coimbatore, Mangalore & Madurai. KSRTC operates chain services during Mandala pilgrimage time and on every 1st and 2nd day of Malayalam Months to cater pilgrim crowds to Sabarimala. Karnataka STC and Tamil Nadu SETC also operates special services during pilgrimage season. But expect heavy congestion during pilgrimage season. Luxury buses also operate, though its not as common other non-A/c services.
To reach Pathanamthitta by road:
* Kochi - Alappuzha - Changanassery - Tiruvalla - Pathanamthitta
* Thiruvananthapuram - Kottarakkara - Adoor - Kaipattoor - Pathanamthitta
* Munnar / Thekkadi - Kanjirappally - Erumeli - Ranni - Pathanamthitta
* Thenkasi - Punalur - Konni - Pathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta is well connected to other cities Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore through Kochi (NH-17), Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore through Thrissur (NH-47).
The prime attraction of Pathanamthitta is the Great Temple of Lord Ayyappa. The temple is dedicated Lord Dharmashastha or popularly known as Ayyappan.