Date: 13th May 2017
Visitors: Arun, Shilpi Harsh, Radheshyam, Usha, Sourav and Aarush
Fee: Rs 300 booked from the temple website. Toll Rs 30.
Timing: I guess full day. Cars are not allowed up from 12 midnight to 2 AM.
Main Deity: Lord Venkateswara, incarnation of Vishnu.
6 year ago we were pushed, pulled, crushed, waited for 4 hours and finally came out without worshiping. 6 years later it was the same except that we stood only for an hour and finally had the blessing of Lord Balaji. We had booked for 4 PM slot on 13th. We reached haritha hotel in kalahasti at 11:45 AM itself. The hotel is bit faraway from Tirupati. We rested for couple of hours and started at 1:30 from the hotel. We reached the base at 2:00 PM. After the checking at the toll we drove up the thirumala hills. The good part about the drive is its a separate route for climbing up and down. The view from the hills was beautiful but there are very few places to stop. The view especially while coming down in night is breathtaking. The view of tirupati under light was truly mesmerizing at while coming down after sunset. We struggled a bit to find the ATC parking area where the Rs 300 ticket holders need to report. We parked the car a near the Indian coffee house and walked to the parking area. We had few pain moments and a separate post on what to do and not to do coming up soon. After we got our tickets checked we joined the line. We kept moving at slow pace but we thought its fine as long as we move. We were expecting huge crowd as it was saturday evening and holiday season. We managed to get the darshan of Lord venkateswara in an hour and half which was not bad. We had more trouble in the crowd while coming out than while going in. The exit was closed for 15 min for the uthsavar to be brought in. This caused more people to be gathered to get out and it became unmanageable. The door is small and either people can go out or come in. The guard block one side and let people in and then block other and let people out. Harsh and I came out first but other got stuck and came out after 10 min. One thing i regret is leaving phone in car. The temple was decorated beautifully with serial lights. We did not have any phone to take pic. We could have deposited the phone in the cloak room and took it back after coming out. Anyway we came out had some snacks and again made a long walk back to car. We reached the hotel around 9:45, had dinner and fell asleep immediately.
Also read about Srikalahasthi temple near Tirupathi.
Few pics from the visit.
Expect the pushing, shoving and squeezing. If you do not like it just don't go instead of cribbing.
Visitors: Arun, Shilpi Harsh, Radheshyam, Usha, Sourav and Aarush
Fee: Rs 300 booked from the temple website. Toll Rs 30.
Timing: I guess full day. Cars are not allowed up from 12 midnight to 2 AM.
Main Deity: Lord Venkateswara, incarnation of Vishnu.
6 year ago we were pushed, pulled, crushed, waited for 4 hours and finally came out without worshiping. 6 years later it was the same except that we stood only for an hour and finally had the blessing of Lord Balaji. We had booked for 4 PM slot on 13th. We reached haritha hotel in kalahasti at 11:45 AM itself. The hotel is bit faraway from Tirupati. We rested for couple of hours and started at 1:30 from the hotel. We reached the base at 2:00 PM. After the checking at the toll we drove up the thirumala hills. The good part about the drive is its a separate route for climbing up and down. The view from the hills was beautiful but there are very few places to stop. The view especially while coming down in night is breathtaking. The view of tirupati under light was truly mesmerizing at while coming down after sunset. We struggled a bit to find the ATC parking area where the Rs 300 ticket holders need to report. We parked the car a near the Indian coffee house and walked to the parking area. We had few pain moments and a separate post on what to do and not to do coming up soon. After we got our tickets checked we joined the line. We kept moving at slow pace but we thought its fine as long as we move. We were expecting huge crowd as it was saturday evening and holiday season. We managed to get the darshan of Lord venkateswara in an hour and half which was not bad. We had more trouble in the crowd while coming out than while going in. The exit was closed for 15 min for the uthsavar to be brought in. This caused more people to be gathered to get out and it became unmanageable. The door is small and either people can go out or come in. The guard block one side and let people in and then block other and let people out. Harsh and I came out first but other got stuck and came out after 10 min. One thing i regret is leaving phone in car. The temple was decorated beautifully with serial lights. We did not have any phone to take pic. We could have deposited the phone in the cloak room and took it back after coming out. Anyway we came out had some snacks and again made a long walk back to car. We reached the hotel around 9:45, had dinner and fell asleep immediately.
Also read about Srikalahasthi temple near Tirupathi.
Few pics from the visit.
Expect the pushing, shoving and squeezing. If you do not like it just don't go instead of cribbing.
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