Sabarimala (Kerala) | Hundreds of devotees thronged the famed Lord Ayyappa Temple here early on Monday, the auspicious first day of the Malayalam month of 'Vrichikam', which marks the beginning of the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

Dressed in the customary black attire and carrying the 'irumudikkettu' (sacred bundle) on their heads, pilgrims from inside and outside the state queued for hours to offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa.

As the newly appointed 'melsanthi' (chief priest) E D Prasad Namboothiri, opened the temple portals, devotees chanted the hymns of Lord Ayyappa in unison.

The temple was opened in the presence of 'tantri' (head priest) Kantararu Mahesh Mohanaru, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) said in a statement.

From early morning itself, there was a heavy flow of pilgrims arriving for darshan, TDB officials said.

Devaswom Board Secretary P N Ganeswaran Potti, Sabarimala Executive Officer O.G. Biju, and others were present when the shrine was opened, it said.

When the temple opened at 3 am, long queues of devotees seeking darshan stretched across the 'nadapandal' (walkway) and 'sopanam' (sacred steps).

After the opening of the sanctum sanctorum, rituals such as Nirmalya Abhishekam, Ganapathi Homam, and Neyyabhishekam were performed.

The temple will close at 1 pm, reopen again at 3 pm, and finally close for the day at 11 pm with the chanting of "harivarasanam", the lullaby of Lord Ayyappa, the TDB authorities added.

The Lord Ayyappa temple was opened on Sunday evening ahead of the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

The over two-month-long pilgrimage season is expected to attract devotees from across the world.

The installation ceremony of newly appointed melshanthis of the Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples was also held the previous evening.

To manage overcrowding, the TDB said that the daily number of pilgrims has been limited to 90,000, with 70,000 spots available through the virtual queue system and 20,000 via spot booking.