Nilakkal, also spelled Nilackal, is an important base camp of

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is situated atop th ...

Hindu pilgrims located in Ranni tehsil of

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

district in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Sabarimala temple is located at a distance of from Nilakkal.

Etymology

According to some historical records, the name ''Nilakkal'' is associated with ''Nilavaaya'', considered to be the presiding deity of old Shasta temple (present Sabarimala) at the forest interiors. While some other records has it that the name ''Nilakkal'' came from "Nilakkal thavalam". The place's alternate name ''Chayal'' denotes a place sloping towards

Pamba river The Pamba River (also called Pampa River) is the longest river in the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar (river), Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the longest river in the erstwhile former princely state of Travancore. The Sabarimala Temple, d ...

. But in another context, Chayal is referred to someone who is left alone.

History

The historical background of Nilakkal was based on its geographical position which date backs to the ancient times. Kerala had age-long trade relations with Pandiyas and

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

s through a trade route passed through Nilakkal. It was a well established populous trade center during the first century AD, primarily exporting spices such as

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

pepper Pepper(s) may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plants ** Black pepper ** Long pepper ** Kampot pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanacea ...

and forest products like

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

. The place at that time was commonly known as ''Nilakkal thavalam'' and it was connected to ports like

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

(present

Kodungalloor Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the M ...

) and

Purakkad Purakkad is a village in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. The literal meaning of Purakkad is "out of forest". Merchants who traveled with their trade items had a sojourn at the thavalam. In the later stages, the region came under the possession of Vel kings of

Ay kingdom Ay dynasty (transliteration: Āy, ), also known as Kupaka in medieval period, was an Indian dynasty which controlled the south-western tip of the peninsula, from the early historic period up to the medieval period. The clan traditionally held s ...

(later became

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom between the Western Ghat mountains of India with its capital at city of Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143 ...

Religion

Places of Hindu worship

Sree Mahadeva temple

The old shrine at Nilakkal is currently administered by

Travancore devaswom board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

(TDB). During Sabarimala pilgrimage, many pilgrims visit the temple to have a sojourn and worship. On this occasion, Nilakkal will be crowded by a large number of pilgrims. The temple was built in 1946. It is located just 1 km from the main highway that leads to Sabarimala. Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

is the presiding deity and he is believed to be in two moods, ''Ugramoorthy'' (fierce) and ''Mangala pradayakan'' (auspicious). A common belief is that Lord Shiva is showering his blessings to his son Lord Ayyappa to fight against all evil spirits while throwing all anger to the evils. There are only two ''Upa Prathishtas'' (sub-deities) here, Lord Kannimoola

Ganapathi Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hind ...

and

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

. Three Poojas are held here daily. Special weekly days are Sunday, Monday and Friday. The

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

held annually is one of the noted festivals of the temple.

Palliyarakkavu Devi temple

It is situated near the Shiva temple.

Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

presides here, who is considered as the Mother of Lord

Ayyappa Ayyappan, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. According to Hindu theology, he is described as the son of Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu), thus representing a bridge between Sh ...

. Pilgrims make offerings to Devi for welfare and sake. The ''Irumudi kettu nirakkal'' (a

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

related to Sabarimala pilgrimage) is performed here by the pilgrims after the ''Nayattu vili'' (a narrative song). Three poojas are held every day. ''Aravana payasam'' is the main offering to Devi.

Sabarimala

The famous Hindu pilgrim destination,

is only at a distance of 23 km from here. Nilakkal is an unavoidable place during the times of pilgrimages. All the vehicles to Sabarimala passes through Nilakkal which is on the state highway 67.

Christianity

St. Thomas ecumenical church

Saint Thomas, who was an apostle of Jesus Christ established Seven and Half Churches in Kerala which was famed as ''Ezharappallikal''. St. Thomas Ecumenical Church near Angamoozhy is one of them. It is referred as 'Arappally' or half-church. The church is an example of the unity of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

churches and also of the communal harmony. The church trust proved that unity among the churches can be maintained and at the same time give respect to the sentiments of the faiths of other religions. The main message which the church provides is of 'love, peace and fraternity'. This church has the importance that it is the first

Ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

church in the world and has been dedicated by all the denominations as an example of heritage by St. Thomas. The church is located in the interior part of the Sabarimala hills, while all the other churches built by St. Thomas are near to the coastal areas viz. Kokkamangalam, Paravoor,

Palayoor Palayūr, also called Palayoor and historically as Palur, is a town near Chavakkad, Thrissur district, India. It is famous for its ancient church, St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Palayur, Palayur Mar Thoma Church, which is believed to be ...

, Thiruvithamkode. Even though there is no historical evidence of the missionary work of St. Thomas in Nilakkal, some assumptions of his establishment of a church in this place ore written on old metal plates and other historical writings. Since the old church is in a dilapidated stage, a new church has been constructed in a site not far from it.

Catholic titular see

The Nazrani diocese was nominally restored in 1977 as

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church that employs the West Syriac Rite and is in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church posse ...

(Eastern Catholic, an

Antiochian Rite The Antiochene or Antiochian Rite refers to the family of liturgies originally used by the patriarch of Antioch. It includes the Liturgy of St James in Greek and Syriac, as well as other West Syriac Anaphoras. Liturgy of the Apostolic Consti ...

)

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Chayal (Italian) / Chaialum / Chaialen(sis) (Latin), of the lowest (Episcopal) rank. It had the following incumbents : * Paulos Philoxinos Ayyamkulangara (1977.10.11 – death 1998.11.03), as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Metropolitanate Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars (India) (1977.10.11 – 1998.11.03) * Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal (2001.06.18 – 2003.09.11) as Auxiliary Bishop of above Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars (India) (2001.06.18 – 2003.09.11), Apostolic Visitator in North America of the Syro-Malankars (2001.06.18 – 2003.09.11) and Apostolic Visitator in Europe of the Syro-Malankars (2001.06.18 – 2003.09.11); later last

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

Eparch (Bishop) of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankars (India) (2003.09.11 – 2006.05.15), (see) promoted Metropolitan Archbishop of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankars (India) (2006.05.15 – 2007.02.10), Major Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars (India) ( 007.02.082007.02.10 – ...), President of Synod of the Syro-Malankarese Church (2007.02.10 – ...), Second Vice-President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (2008.02.19 – 2010.03.01), Vice-President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (2010.03.01 – 2014.02.12),

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of S. Gregorio VII (2012.11.24 013.05.19– ...), President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (2014.02.12 – ...) * Gheevarghese Mar Aphrem Kurismoottil ( 1961- ...) as Auxiliary Bishop for the Syro -Antiochene faithful of the Archeparchy of Kottayam (29-08-2020 - ...) . * *

The Orthodox diocese of Nilakkal

Nilakkal

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

was formed on 15 August 2010, by the order issued by H.H Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I, the Catholicos cum

Malankara Malankara may refer to: * Malankara Church, a collection of Indian apostolic churches ** Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, an autonomous division of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India ** Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, an Oriental Orth ...

Metropolitan. The first metropolitan of the diocese is H.G.Dr Joshua Mar Nicodimos. This newly formed diocese, comprising

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

and

districts, has 39 parishes including almost 2953 families. These parishes are organised into five ecclesiastical districts : Ayroor, Vayalathala, Ranni, Nilakkal and Kanakappaalam. The diocese has its headquarters at Ranni, named ''St. Thomas aramana'', and also engages in charitable activities such as helping the poor and needy in and around the diocese.

Places of interest

Attathodu Tribal Colony: A remote tribal settlement is situated near Nilakkal named ''Attathodu'', on the banks of river Pamba. Majority of the tribals here belongs to ''Malapandaram'' (hill pandaram) community, commonly seen in the sacred forests of

. People here engages in small scale agriculture and relays on the forest products.

Kakki Reservoir Kakki Reservoir is a reservoir, located in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India. The lake, which was created when Kakki Dam () and Anathode dam () were built, is on one of the tributaries of Pamba, the Kakki tributary. The dams were built ...

: Kakki reservoir is located 45 km east to Nilakkal. This dam was built as a part of Sabarigiri hydro-electric project, the second largest hydro-electric project in Kerala. This dam is situated very close to the western ghats and also it is a tourist spot.

Periyar Tiger Reserve Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki district, Idukki and Pathanamthitta district, Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is a renowned Project Elephant, elephant and Project Tige ...

: Periyar tiger reserve lies in northern part of Nilakkal. It spreads over an area of about 925 km² and is one of the 48 tiger reserves in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Agriculture

Rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

is cultivated in the gentle undulating lands and in plains with favorable geographical settings making its cultivation easier. As part of improving the parking facilities, a number of years tapped rubber trees were cut out. Sabari estate of Farming corporation is an important estate here. The land available for cultivation around Nilakkal is comparatively less hence most parts are covered by dense reserve forests. But the historical records points out that Nilakkal in ancient times was an important commercial center exporting several

spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

and forest products like timber and ivory. Later, it was covered by thick forests.

Geography

Nilakkal giant wood spider by Joseph Lazer

Predominately it is a remote hilly area classified as ''

Malanad Malnad (or Malenadu) is a region in the state of Karnataka, India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats mountain range and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. It includes the districts of Uttara Kannada,Shivamo ...

'' (geographic division of Kerala) totally surrounded by dense reserve forests and small scale rubber plantations. Geographic coordinates of the place is 9°22′49.43″N 76°59′52.6″E. The region has an altitude ranging from above

mean sea level A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

. A sizeable portion is covered by thick reserve forests of Western Ghats mountain ranges and rubber plantations. The

holy river Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleri ...

Pamba, flows westward through the northern part of Nilakkal and finally merges with

Vembanadu Lake Vembanad () is the longest lake in India, and the largest in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 2,033 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning three districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanad L ...

Location

Nilakkal lies in the eastern part of Pathanamthitta district and west to Sabarimala near the Western Ghats forests. It is located on the main trunk road leading to Sabarimala temple. Pathanamthitta town is about and

about . Chittar (27 km) and

Angamoozhy Angamoozhy is a small village in the Pathanamthitta district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located near the Kakkad Hydro Electric Project, Kakkad power station and the Sabarimala temple. Geographically, Angamoozhy is located in the West ...

(7 km) are the nearby townships.

Nearby places

* Angamoozhy * Plappally * Attathodu * Chalakkayam * Elavumkal * Aryattukavala * Rajampara * Seethathodu * Chittar * Thulappally * Naranamthodu

Climate

Nilakkal's climate is classified under

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

. It is also one of the five upstream

rain gauge A rain gauge (also known as udometer, ombrometer, pluviometer and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and Hydrology, hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation in a predefined area, over a set period of t ...

stations of

basin which receives a significant rainfall of over during the

South-West Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

of last few years. But the amount of precipitation is comparatively low during the North-East Monsoon, Pre-Monsoon and Non-Monsoon period, with only of precipitation. The minimum annual rainfall recorded here is and a maximum of , which is about 30% above the state average. Sufficient amount of rainfall is received during the months of June, July, August and September. Although

Humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

increases during the months of March and April, a pleasant climate is normally experienced. The best weather is normally from October to February. Winter begins from the month of December to mid-February. Since Nilakkal and its surroundings are in the middle of thick forests, locally developed

thundershower A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

s are common here.

Infrastructure

Nilakkal base camp

Nilakkal developed into a main base camp of Sabarimala pilgrimage and achieved huge progress by the initiation of ''Sabarimala master plan'' by

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

. In 2005, the Government gave of land to Devaswom board to improve the basic infrastructures and parking facilities for pilgrims at Nilakkal. Previously, the land was under the possession of the Government-owned State Farming Corporation since 1982. Before 1982, the area was used for cultivating

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

by the co-operative Mannam Sugar Mills,

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipality in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is known for its connection with Ayyappan and Sabarimala. It recognised ''as the cultural capital of Travancore'', Pandalam hosts educational institutions rang ...

. The land occupied from Farming corporation was mostly utilized for improving parking facilities. At times of Sabarimala pilgrimage, heavy and medium vehicles drops pilgrims at Pamba and parks at Nilakkal in order to avoid the rush at Pamba. The parking grounds at Nilakkal could accommodate more than 4000 vehicles at one time. The parking has been divided into various sectors for the convenience of pilgrims from various states. Recently, Devaswom board also improved the drinking water and sanitation facilities at the camp. A ''nadapanthal'' (shed) is constructed in front of the Mahadeva temple for the pilgrims. The base camp also have a police station, Government primary health centre, KSRTC bus stand and accommodation facilities for the pilgrims.

Health and education

The nearest medical centre to Nilakkal is the Government Primary Health Centre started on 19 January 2014, by Dr.Prasob Enose, which functions throughout the year, benefiting tribal families in Attathodu colony.

Nearby hospitals

* Govt. primary Health Centre, Angamoozhy * Govt. Ayurveda Hospital, Thulappally * Govt. Hospital, Pamba * Athura Hospital, Seethathodu

Educational institutions

* Government Tribal H.S.S, Kissumam * S.A.V.H.S, Angamoozhy * Government Tribal L.P School, Attathodu * K.R.P.M Higher Secondary School, Seethathodu * Govt. Higher Decondary School, Chittar * V. K. N. M Vocational Higher Secondary School, Vayyattupuzha

Transportation

Road

Nilakkal lies on the Mannarakkulanji - Chalakkayam state highway ( SH-67). The

Adoor Adoor is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the List of taluks of Kerala, Adoor Taluk and Adoor Revenue Division. Adoor is located southwest of the district he ...

Vandiperiyar Vandiperiyar, , is a spice village in Idukki district, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is known for tourism, tea and coffee plantations, black pepper and other spice products. It is also known as an educational city and a number of tea factori ...

highway passes through

Plappally Plappally is a settlement located in the ''Goodrical range'' of the Ranni Forest Division in the state of Kerala, India. The place is an intersection point of Mannarakulanji–Chalakkayam state highway ( NH-183) and Erumely–Thulappally–Pla ...

, west to Nilakkal. During Sabarimala pilgrimage, state-owned K.S.R.T.C buses provides chain services from Pamba to Nilakkal for the pilgrims. Private busses only operates through nearby places like

and

Thulappally Thulappally is a small village in Perunad panchayath of Ranni, Kerala, Ranni tehsil in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala state, India. Etymology It is believed that in ancient times there were many small churches in the forest regions includ ...

. Still transportation is comparatively less in the region.

Railway

The nearest railway stations are

Chengannur Chengannur () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south east of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about ...

(68 km) and

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...

(73 km).

Airport

Cochin International Airport Cochin International Airport , popularly known as Kochi International Airport or Nedumbassery Airport, is an international airport serving the city of Kochi, Kerala, in southwestern India. It is located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of th ...

(136 km) and

Thiruvananthapuram international airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is an international airport that serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and the fifth international airport of ...

(156 km) are the nearest airports to Nilakkal. There is also a heliport at

Perunad Perunad (''Ranni-Perunad'') is a scenic hilly village in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala state, India. Thiruvalla is the nearest railway station located at a distance of . It's located on the banks of Pamba River and Kakkad River. Perunad i ...

, near Nilakkal, which operates at times of

pilgrimage. A helipad is constructed at Nilakkal base camp as part of the disaster management and to deal with emergency situations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilakkal Villages in Pathanamthitta district