Agasthyarkoodam  alias Agasthyakoodam or Agasthyamalai Trekking route

Agasthyarkoodam alias Agasthyamalai is considered a sacred hill. It is known as Pothigai Malai or Pothigai Hills in Tamilnadu. (Malai means hills).

Despite the remoteness of these hills, determined devotees come here. Trekking to Agasthyamalai and back takes two or three days (depending on your health condition). The entry permits are issued every year in January.

Entry passes to Agasthyarkoodam Trekking or Agasthyamalai

Option 1 – Individual Agasthyakoodam Online Passes

Online entry permits are typically issued during the first week of January for a few days. 100 passes are issued in advance, for each day. Be sure to apply on the first day itself, as permits run out very fast.

Option 2 – Agasthyakoodam Group Passes

Another option to trek Agastyamala is to form a group of 10 people and apply for entry passes at the Thiruvananthapuram district forest department office. These group permits are issued except during the Monsoon season. During Monsoon season, it is highly risky to trek to Agasthyamalai as the rivers get flooded (at times Flash floods, too).

Ladies Trekking to Agasthyarkoodam

From 2019, ladies are also allowed to trek to Agastyamala. Dhanya Sanal became the first lady to trek to Agasthyamalai, officially. Dhanya trekked to Agasthyamalai in the middle of January 2019. There were reports of female devotees and tribal ladies, who used to go to Agastyamala earlier.

Agasthiyamalai alias Agasthyarkoodam or Agasthyakoodam Trekking Iternery

There are buses from the KSRTC bus station at Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram. The first bus to the trekking entry gate at Bonakad starts at 5 a.m. It reaches Bonakad picket station, where the forest office is situated in around two and a half hours. The distance is about 55 kilometers. The next bus from Thampanoor is at 5.30 am.

Those coming by bus must get down at the old tea factory bus top at Bonacaud. Then walk for around three kilometers or so, to reach the Bonacaud Picket Station.

You may also take your vehicle (two or four-wheeler). Private vehicles can go to the forest department office, i.e., Bonacaud Picket Station. Parking charges of rupees 40 and 100 are applicable for two-wheelers and four-wheelers, respectively.

Bonacaud Picket Station (Bonakad forest office) is the starting point for trekking to Agasthyarkoodam or Agasthya Malai. You are required to report here at 7 a.m.

Day One – The base camp is at Athirumala, around 15 kilometers from  Bonacaud Picket Station. It is relatively easy to trek this distance. Around 10 kilometers out of the 15 kilometers or so,  is plain country roads through forests. There are five camps (small sheds with one or two guides to give local information) between Bonacaud Picket Station and Athirumala base camp, around two kilometers apart.

You need to stay at the base camp here, on day one. There are two halls where you can put your mattress on and sleep overnight. There is a  separate area for ladies.

On the second day of Agasthyakoodam trekking, you need to start early in the morning. The trekking route passes through steep mountains and streams covering a distance of around six kilometers (one way). You must return to the base camp on the same day. i.e., on the second day.

After walking around two kilometers, you reach Lathimottai. From here, the path on the right side goes to Bonafalls, which is closed to trekkers as there are a lot of wild animals there. Also, elephants killed two people a few years back. You need to go on the left side path, to reach the Agasthyamalai peak. If you walk for around four kilometers from the base camp, you need to cross the Karamana River. Then comes the Vazhappainthi (വാഴപ്പൈന്തി in Malayalam). There are ropes tied across these two streams to cross them.

If you start early in the morning return early, and are in good spirits to trek back to the Bonacaud Picket Station, you can do so. In that case, trekking is completed on day two.

Otherwise, you can stay at the base camp on the second day night. You can trek back to the Bonacaud Picket Station on the third day.

The last bus from Bonakad towards the city is at 5.45 pm. This bus goes to Vithura. Vithura is at a distance of around 22 kilometers from Bonakad picket station. From Vithura, you need to change the bus to go to Thiruvananthapuram, which is around 34 kilometers distance from Vithura.

Trekking Permit Issue Details

2024 Trekking to Agasthyarkoodam Hills

2024 trekking to Agasthyarkoodam is planned from January 24th to March 2nd. The trekking fee is Rs 2500 per person, without food charges. A maximum of 70 online permits and 30 offline permits are issued each day. All trekkers need to produce a fitness certificate obtained within seven days of the actual trekking starting date. Children aged between 14 and 18 need authorization letters from their parents or trek only with any one of the parents. Those below 14 years old are not issued trekking permits. A maximum of 5 persons are allowed in one ticket.

Please contact the Wildlife Warden Thiruvananthapuram at +91-471-2360762 for further details. Terms of trekking are given here in Malayalam.

2022 Agasthyarkoodam Trekking Details

Trekking is from January 14th to February 29th, 2022.  Booking starts on January 6th, 2022. Charges are INR 1331 per person. Online booking is available through www.forest.kerala.gov.in or service online.gov.in/trekking. 100 passes are issued for each day. In previous years, permits for the season get over on the first day itself.

Anybody above 14 years of age can apply for Agasthiyamalai trekking permits. Ladies too are allowed from 2019 onwards.

You need to take two doses of the vaccine and also a negative RCPTR test result taken within 72 hours of trekking to go for the trekking. Trekkers need to take a photocopy of the entry ticket and original ID proof with a photo. Trekking starts at 7 am. You must report on or before the time mentioned above at the Bonacaud Picket Station.

Due to the fast spread of the Omicron Corona Virus, all trekking permits to Agasthyakoodam that were valid from 18th January to 26th February were canceled by the District Collector, Thiruvananthapuram. The amount collected will be refunded online.

Latest update- 2022 Agasthyarkoodam trekking permits canceled from 18th Jan to 26th Feb

There will not be any offline bookings until further notice.

2021 Agasthyakoodam Trekking Details

Agasthyakoodam Trekking 2021 Details are given as follows. Due to Covid 19, the online booking facility will not be available for 2021 trekking.

Kerala Forest Department’s office at PTP Nagar in Thiruvananthapuram issues group passes for five and ten people. i.e. A group can consist of either 5 or 10 people. You have to go there in person and apply for the group pass. The fee is Rs 16000/- for five people and Rs 32000/- for ten people. i.e. Rs 3200 per person. You must inform them a few days in advance if you need food. Food charges are separate. Three people will normally accompany you as a guide and for carrying the cooking materials. Alternatively, you can bring food for a group of five or ten people.

All group members should submit a copy of their Aadhar cards. The submitted names can not be changed. Hence, only those who are serious about trekking should apply. Otherwise, you will lose that amount of Rs. 3200 for each person who has not turned up.

Unlike previous years, this year only a maximum of 30 people are allowed to go trekking in a day. Until they return on the third day evening, nobody is allowed. i.e., After a group of a maximum of 30 people are allowed entry for trekking, the next trekking is allowed only on the fourth day.

Covid 19 special notes:

1.  You may be asked to produce a COVID-19 negative certificate (taken within 24 hours or so) when you arrive for the trekking. Please confirm this with the forest department office when you apply for the group passes.
2. Some of the information in other parts of this post may not be relevant in 2021.

Agasthyarkoodam Trekking 2020 Details

Entry permits to Agasthyakoodam are issued from January 8th, 11 a.m. onwards, for a few days. 100 passes are issued in advance, for each day. Trekking is allowed from January 14th, 2020 to February 18th, 2020. The identification document number is needed to book the entry permits. Entry permit costs Rupees 1100 per person. One ticket can have a maximum of 10 people. All the participant’s ID numbers are required for online Agasthyarkoodam booking. The minimum age should be above 14 years. A group of 10 people (either on a single ticket or individual tickets) will get the services of a separate guide. The contact number of the wildlife warden is +91-471-236-0762.

There are canteens at Bonakad (the starting point of the trekking) and Athirumalai (base camp for the night’s stay). The Eco-Development Committee runs these.

You have to report at 7 am on the trekking date with the entry pass and Identity documents in original along with a copy of the same. At least one member of each ticket needs to give a declaration that the trekking is done at their own risk. The forest department is not responsible in any manner. This is required as wild animals are on the route and safety is a concern. The guides can help you to a certain extent only by advising you when wild animals are spotted or their presence is felt.

Agasthyamalai Trekking 2019 Charges

The following were the charges for the year 2019 Agasthiyamalai trekking. It has been revised in 2020. This information is only intended for those who want to compare the rates.

Entry pass charges are rupees 1000 per person. Food is charged separately. It costs around rupees 40 for breakfast if it’s idly and rupees 90 for Puttu (a local traditional food in the state of Kerala) and Kadala curry (another local food, generally served with puttu in the state of Kerala) as breakfast. Lunch costs rupees 70  and rupees 90 for dinner (Kanji in the local language or porridge in English). Tea is charged at 10 rupees. The camera is charged at INR 100. These rates or charges are as of January 2019  and are subject to change.

You are not allowed to carry plastic items, except for water bottles and lunch boxes. Such items are checked at the Bonacaud picket station (entry point to the trekking area), and rupees 100 or so are collected, as a caution deposit. When you return to the Bonacaud picket station, you will get this money refunded, provided you bring back those items that were taken with you. You are not allowed to carry biscuits or other similarly packed food items. You need to open such packs and wrap them in paper or put it inside your bag, to take them inside.