Devotees barred from climbing Arunachala Hills in Tiruvannamalai for Maha Deepam festival

Devotees will not be allowed to climb the Arunachala Hills near Arunachaleswara temple in Tiruvannamalai town on the occasion of Maha Deepam on December 3, 2025, Revenue and forest officials said.

 As the Northeast monsoon commenced, the intensity of rain is expected to gain momentum in the coming weeks, bringing heavy downpour in the temple town.

Revenue officials said that this will be the second year to ban devotees from climbing the hills on Maha Deepam day. In 2024, the ban came into force after seven persons, including children, died in a landslip that was triggered by cyclone Fengal in the hills.

Following the landslip incident, an eight-member expert team of the State government, led by Professor K. Premalatha, Head, Centre for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, climbed the 2,668 feet-high hillock with a team of police, forest and revenue officials to assess the condition of the hills. A report was submitted to the State government.

Officials said that safety of climbers was taken into consideration as the terrain on the hills was still wet and loose. In October, the State Highways Department demolished a huge boulder, around 20 tonnes, in the hillock as officials feared that the rock could fall due to rain.

Eviction notice

Tiruvannamalai Corporation has issued eviction notices to 143 families at the foothills to ensure their safety. “The soil in the hills is still unstable. Any movement of a large number of people will further loosen soil. Allowing devotees to climb the hills on Maha Deepam day has been ruled out,” said a senior forest official on condition of anonymity.

However, the officials further said that a group of local fishermen who traditionally light the lamp atop the hills on the Maha Deepam day, as part of the Karthigai Deepam festivities, would be allowed to climb. “The ritual of lighting the lamp atop the hills will continue as per tradition. We will check special passes issued to them by the Collector to climb the hills on that day,” said a forest official.

The fishermen will carry a cauldron weighing 175 kg; 750 kg of ghee; 10 kg of camphor; and around 300 metres of cotton cloth (as the wick) to light the ‘Kopparai’. The fishermen will be allowed on the traditional route they have been trekking during Maha Deepam day for generations.

Earlier, the district administration used to issue special passes to around 2,500 persons to climb the hills on the Maha Deepam day. However, the State Forest Department was against the move in the light of the 2024 landslip. At present, the hills are divided into eastern and western parts, spanning over 698.03 hectares. The landslip had occurred on the eastern side of the hills near the pathway where devotees climb the hills.