Tirupati

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is one of Indias important pilgrimage sites. It is by 30 to 40 million people annually. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Venkateswara.
This Temple of seven hills lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. The Tirumala Hill comprises seven peaks, representing the seven heads of Adishesha (the king of Nagas). The temple is atop Venkatadri, the seventh hill. The temple complex comprises a traditional temple building, with a magnificent golden roof.
The entrance is through the Vaikuntam queue complex. These are a number of interconnected halls that lead to the main temple. Long queues are a hallmark of this temple and pilgrims need to wait for, anywhere between two to twelve hours for Darshan. There are various categories of tokens available for purchase, if one wishes to reduce waiting time. Its all worth it, for a glimpse of the awe-inspiring idol of the Lord, bedecked in gold, diamonds and emeralds. A large number of devotees have their head tonsured as an offering. Many pilgrims walk up the hill all the way to the temple.
Tirupati can be reached by air, rail or road. The nearest railway station is Renigunta(10 km) from where buses ferry people to Tirupati. Gudur is also a convenient spot to alight (100 km from Tirupati). For air travel, there are direct flights from Hyderabad and Chennai.

Best time to visit: The temple is open all through the year, but the best season to visit Tirupati is June to March.
Languages Spoken: Telugu
Climate: Tirupati has hot summers and pleasant winters. In October and November though, it would be best to keep a watch out for heavy rains and thunderstorms.
Holy places: Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

Nostalgic Chronicle of Tirumala-Tirupati (Lord Balaji Darshan)

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It is maintained as one of the safest and tidiest Hindu temples in the world. Tirumala is under control of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam i.e. TTD trust formed by AP government.
Many devotees go to Tirumala from Tirupati by Footpath way through steps.
We reached Tirumala and as we were feeling hungry we spotted the counter where free Upma prasad was given to devotees. We relished the hot Upma and felt satiated.

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Chennai – Tirumala Tour

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When I first went to Tirupati from Bangalore, we went directly without any darshan booking. I was informed by many that it might take your even 2 days to get a darshan. One of my colleagues has suggested me to go to Vijaya Bank at Tirumala and you can buy a seva ticket. This seva ticket is good if you are too many in numbers. First time we had purchased Sahastra Deepalankarana Seva and it cost us Rs 2000/-. But we were 6 persons therefore somewhere around approx. 300/- per person (in a way quite reasonable) .

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