Known as the “Spiritual Capital” of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati is famous and popular for the Tirupati Balaji Temple. The temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, another form of Lord Vishnu, and is believed to be where the Lord turned into an idol and stayed forever. Hence, the Tirupati temple is highly revered and an important pilgrimage place for the Hindus. Moreover, Tirupati is an ancient city and has been mentioned in the religious books of Vedas and Puranas.

Quick Facts:

• Address: S Mada St, Tirumala, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh 517504, India
• Opening hours: 18 hours every day for Sarvadarshanam and 20 hours during peak days.
• Deity: Lord Venkateswara (Vishnu)
• Festival celebrated: Brahmotsavam

Tirupati Devasthanam

The famous Tirupati Mandir is situated on top of the Tirumala Hills in the district of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. Abode of Lord Balaji, also referred to as Govinda or Venkateshwara, the Tirupati Temple is where Lord Vishnu is believed to have appeared to take away all of humanity’s Vaikuntam and the presiding deity Lord Venkateshwara is referred to as the Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam. The Tirupati Temple is also known as the “Temple of Seven Hills”, as it is situated on the seventh peak of the seven Hills in the Seshachalam Hills range known as Venkatdri.

The construction of the Tirupati Balaji Temple started in 300 AD with contributions from numerous rulers. However, in the 18th century, Raghoji I Bhosale, the Maratha General planned out a ruling body that would look after and carry out the daily proceedings of the temple; this led to the development of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in 1933, a Trust which manages and maintains the Tirupati Mandir and many other temples in the area.

Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the Tirupati Temple has a Garbhagriha, also known as the Ananda Nilayam, where Lord Venkateshwara is in the standing posture and facing east. One of the eight Vishnu Swayambhi Kshetras is said to be the last Vaishnava Divya Desham (one of the 108 Vishnu Shrines mentioned in the works of the Alvars.

Facilities

Every year Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam receives millions of devotees from India and abroad to make their pilgrimage comfortable. Therefore, the temple management has come up with accessible accommodation halls, numerous lodges with affordable rooms on rent, free meals around the clock, hair tonsuring outlets, and a queue complex with volunteers to facilitate an easy flow of pilgrims for the Lord Venkateswara Tirupati darshan. There are also accessible bus services for the devotees within the TTD premises.

Tirupati Darshan Booking

Owing to the rush of pilgrims every day for Tirupati darshan, the temple management has come up with an official portal tirumala.org through which devotees from anywhere in the world can make the Tirupati Darshan booking online.

The official website can be used to book the Special Entry Tirupati Darshan ticket, also known as the Seeghra Darshanam, through which devotees can enter the temple through a particular queue and get a darshan of the Lord quickly. The special entry Tirupati Darshan ticket comes for Rs. 300/pilgrim with a free laddu prasadam.

Apart from the Tirupati Darshan booking, devotees can book accommodations at any of the choultries within the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam premises. Other than these, devotees can also book sevas, and marriage halls and buy prasadam.

Dos and Don'ts within the Temple Premises

Listed below are some rules devotees should follow while visiting the Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati-Tirumala Hills.

• Take a dip at the Swami Pushkarini Tank and pay a darshan to Sri Bhu Varaha Swamy at his temple before Lord Venkateshwara.
• Take a bath and wear clean clothes before entering the temple sanctum.
• Both men and women have to wear Indian attire during the time of darshan.
• No eating non-vegetarian food or alcohol while you are in the Tirumala Hills.
• Avoid wearing headgear like a helmet, turban, hat, or cap inside the temple premises.
• Do not prostrate or do the sashtang dandavat pranam inside the temple.
• Throwing away the prasadam given to you in the temple is considered a sin and disrespect to Lord Venkateswara.
• Tonsuring of hair should be done before the darshan.
• Book accommodation and special darshan entry in advance.

How to reach Tirupati by bus:

Tirupati is the spiritual capital of Andhra Pradesh, known for the Tirupati Balaji Temple. Every year, millions of people make pilgrimage trips. The best way of visiting here is by bus which is available from most of the nearby cities within the state and from the neighbouring states as well. Let us see how you can reach here from a few of the top cities in India.

How to reach Tirupati from Bangalore

There are plenty of options for a bus from Bangalore to Tirupati. The cheapest buses are available from APSRTC with a basic bus fare of INR 269. There are more than 90 daily buses. These buses mainly start from Ulsoor, Vidyaranyapura bus stand, Indira Nagar, BTM Layout, etc. Most of these buses have a live tracking system and have varying amenities, including beds. The first is available at 3.50 am, and the last bus is at 11.50 pm. The travel time varies with each bus and ranges between 4 hr 50 min and 7 hr 20 min.

How to reach Tirupati from Chennai

The distance from Chennai to Tirupati is 133 km. The journey takes 2 hr 30 min to 4 hrs, depending on your chosen bus. There are up to 45 buses per day on this route. The buses are available from 4.55 am till 8.55 pm. Each Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation bus starts from different parts of Chenna I and reaches the common destination of the RTC bus stand at Tirupati. The private buses have their sets of boarding and drop-off points. The average bus fare on this route is INR 200.

How to reach Tirupati from Rameswaram

You can reach Tirupati from Rameshwaram by a direct bus that usually takes more than 14 hrs to take an indirect route via Bangalore. You can find buses to reach Bangalore and then from there to Tirupati. The entire distance would be around 670 km. Both private buses and RTC buses operate on this route. But only the APSRTC buses reach Tirupati, as the others will get only a specific point. The buses have different amenities, from basic to luxurious. You can also find sleeper buses for a more comfortable journey.

How to reach Tirupati from Tirumala

From Tirupati to Tirumala, you will get plenty of APSRTC buses. These buses are available at regular timings and cost anywhere between INR 55-200 depending upon the type of bus. You can book the tickets for these buses online. The total distance between Tirupati and Tirumala is 21 km.

Bus Routes

There are numerous bus services from a few major towns and cities to Tirupati through redBus. Other than the Tirupati bus stand, there are several other boarding and drop-off points all over the city. To get to the Tirumala Hills, devotees should alight at the Tirupati bus stand since there are buses to the temple at frequent intervals.

To avail heavy discounts on package tours and online bus tickets, visit redbus.in and have a hassle-free spiritual journey to the holy town of Tirupati-Tirumala Hills.