Tirupati (Telugu: తిరుపతి Tirupati, Tamil: திருபதி Tirupati) is the spiritual capital of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is most famous for its Sri Venkateswara Temple dedicated to Vishnu, also known as Balaji in Northern India and Govinda in Southern India. The temple is on top of Tirumala hills, while the town is in the foothills. The Tirumala hill has seven peaks ("Sapthagiri"), said to represent the seven hoods of Adisesha, the serpent under whose hood Vishnu resides in Vaikuntha.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Tirupati is in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, in the Eastern Ghats, a mountain range that runs along the southeastern India. The temple of Venkateswara is on the seventh peak Venkatachala. The nearby town called Tiruchanoor (also known as Alamelu-Mangapuram) is covered in this page too. Tirupati is considered a major holy city for Hinduism and receives a significant amount of pilgrimage traffic. Many attractions here are geared towards religious tourism. Venkateshwara is also called the Lord of the Seven Hills. This temple has acquired a special sanctity in the Hindu religion. The benefits that accrue by a pilgrimage to this holy town is mentioned in the Vedas and Puranas.
You can reach the main temple by walking. It is called Divya Darshan. Take a local bus to Alipiri. You can start the walk from there. The walk way is open all day. It consists of 3550 steps. An average person takes 3-4 hours to reach the top. The last 100 to 200 steps are steep. After the walk you can take a bath at the free bathrooms. You have to deposit the luggage and enter the divya darshan queue. Before starting climbing steps to the seven hills you can deposit your luggage at Alipiri and take a token, so that the temple authorities will bring the luggage to the top of hills by the time you reach there at free of cost.
In addition to various shrines scattered all over Tirupati, there are holy water falls, sacred rivers and archaeological wonders. 1 Chandragiri Fort, Chandragiri. This fort was built in the 11th century. This site features stucco work and abundance natural light. The fort hosts a sound and light show twice a day in English and Telugu. There is a Hanuman Temple at the entrance of the fort. (updated Jan 2016) 2 Govindaraja Swamy Temple, GS Mada St. This temple is a few blocks north from the Tirupati train station. (updated Jan 2016) 3 Kapila Theertham Falls. This is a holy waterfall with a temple dedicated to Venkateshwar near its base.
Visit the Sri Varahaswami temple before taking the darshan of Sri Venkateswaraswami. As per traditions and legend, Varahaswami owned the seven hills and agreed to give them to Sri Venkateswaraswami with the stipulation that he too is worshiped. Therefore, Sri Venkateswaraswami asked his pilgrims to visit the Sri Varahaswami temple before visiting him. Carry extra locks for your vehicle and rooms.
Tirupati is a pilgrimage town. People on pilgrimage don't drink or eat meat (non-vegetarian food) including egg and fish. Consumption of liquor is prohibited in Tirumala. Smoking is not allowed in Tirumala. For drinking it is advisable to use bottled mineral water only as the water available here might be sour in taste. As mentioned in the later section, the laddu of Tirupati is considered to be "nearly" as famous as the deity himself. Taj Tirupati Bhimas Mayura Ekante Bliss
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Aug, Tirupati typically sees ~33°C daytime highs and 22 rainy days.
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