Sri Venkateshwara Temple — Attraction in Andhra Pradesh

I am visiting Tirupati almost every year for the last 18 years. Every year there is something new that I learn. This year i felt that i will jot down some important points that can/ may help people better plan their Tirupati visit.

Firstly, you need to book the 'Special Darshan' tickets (Rs 300 each) 3 months in advance (For eg: for our visit in Feb'25, we booked the tickets in Nov'24).

The Special Darshan tickets can help you to complete the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple anywhere between 2-5 hours (Please note it can take even more time. You can also do Free Darshan. but be ready to spend any time between 12-24 hours or more! its basically a longer queue. You can also do the Divyajyoti Darshan, which is by climbing the 3500+ steps, i.e., ~10 km to Tirumala mandir. once you complete the climb, you enter a queue which is smaller than the free darshan but longer than the Special Darshan)

Normally the Special Darshan tickets go on sale between 19-25th of the month. So you can start checking around that time at their official website

You have to be quick as the tickets get sold out in minutes (especially the weekends!). The sale starts around 9am usually.

You need to buy tickets for members age 13 years and above (no tickets for children upto age 12 years). You need to keep Aadhar no. or Driving License no. or Passport No. handy of the people you want to book the tickets for With each ticket, you get 1 laddoo. if you wish to buy more laddoos, you can do so at this point or you can also buy it directly at the counter (on the dat of the visit!)

Post this you can book your flight tickets as well as your hotel stay. There is a hotel that suits every pocket in Tirupati. You can check as per yours. We normally book the Marasa Sarovar Premiere and its a splendid hotel.

Once you land in Tirupati, you can book your cab from the Airport arrival terminal (You will find 2 vendors, you can choose either of them!). The rates are fine but you can negotiate a bit.

We always change into fresh clothes before we start the Mandir visit (either at the Hotel or the Airport washroom; depending on the visit time slots).

We generally start by going to Tiruchanur Sri Padmavati Ammavari Temple. You can buy Special Darshan tickets from outside the Mandir. Generally there is not much of a waiting time. Best Time to go is 3-4pm, wherein you can take the VIP Break Darshan (you are able to sit and offer your prayers very close to the deity). Cost for this ticket is Rs 250 each.

Post this we go to Sri Bhu Varaha Swamy Temple (very close to the actual Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple) and take a dip in the water there. We were able to take our cameras/ phones to this point, which makes slightly easier to take pictures of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.

After this you can head straight to the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple and join the queue. Please follow your driver's instruction about the exact starting pont of the Queue. check and double check with the volunteers before getting into the queue, as there are multiple entry points.

please note that you cannot take any cameras, phones, digital watches, etc inside. Normal analog watches are allowed. you can carry bags (food, water bottle, etc.) inside also.

You have washrooms inside at various waiting points, which are well maintained. if the wait time is long, the volunteers offer prasadam also.

Once the Darshan is complete (between 5-10 seconds), sit for 5-10 minutes outside (near the Vaikunta Dwaram) and then exit. You can offer money in the Hundi as well before exiting. But be careful as it could become very chaotic with lot of pushing in the narrow space.

Once you exit, you can collect your prasad on the way out. After which you can proceed to the Laddoo counter (separate building @ 10min walking distance) to collect your Laddoos (you can buy plastic bags at the counters). Even here it can take anywhere between 30-60min!

Please note that if your Darshan is in the evening/ night, that the road from Tirumala to Tirupati (downhill) is closed...

Sri Tirumala Tirupathi: Divine & Powerful God in Tirupati/Tirumala, located in Andhra Pradesh State. We have to cross 7 hills.

Lord Venkateshwara/Balaji & Thayaar are the main deities in Tirupati.

Hill Top Location:- Road route for buses & Steps route is available for walking. Only "healthy persons" should prefer Steps route. Otherwise Bus is the best. Transports are available frequently from Lower Tirupati Bus stand to Hill Top .

Transports:- Trains available from Chennai & many parts (Appx 2.5 Hours to Tirupati from Chennai) to reach the destination. Many Taxis, Travels, Jeeps are frequently moving to Hill Top from Lower Tirupati. So transportation is available in plenty.

Free Pass & Paid special Darshan is available. Touts will be there everywhere & be alert with them.

Boarding/Hotels/Lodge:- Staying Devasthanam rooms & dormitory rooms are available for the passengers in plenty.

Devasthanam rooms should be booked Online or through direct counters at the Ground . But availability of room is the main difficulty. Care should be taken for booking rooms for stay.

Lot of Hotels/Lodges are available in Lower Tirupati. Better to book thro Online . You should see the Reviews of the Hotels/Lodges before booking & confirming Hotels. Hotels are there with minimum Tariff to Maximum depending on Quality of Rooms. Many Hotels are not upto the mark . It is not neat , clean & Hygienic . So carefully Hotel should be selected. Since lakhs of Devotees are arriving & Occupying rooms on daily basis, Hotels are almost booked everyday & care is not given by Hotel Management. They are commercially based.

Ticket for Darshan:- Many counters are there to book Entry Pass for Darshan. Time slots will stamped on Pass . Special Darshan Tickets are also sold here. Special ticket may help you to get the Darshan in few hours (May be 2 to 3 hours or less time). Normal Tickets may take atleast 4 to 24 hours to get the darshan. Food & water are provided in queue way till the Darshan. Toilet/Rest Room facilities are available in all places.

So we can see queue everywhere. Sitting arrangements are available in good fashion. So not to worry.

Not Allowed:- MOBILE PHONES/Camera... are not allowed in the main Temple. Collection & Delivery counters for things are there in many places, before the Queue for Darshan starts .

Dress:- Decent clothes are only allowed in Temple. Dhotti/Veshtti is mandatory now for Men. Sarees & Sudidhar are meant for ladies. It should be confirmed. I went to Tirumala during 2019 March. Many developments & improvements are taking place every day. Updated information will be available in Temple Website.

Queue is totally controlled by Devasthanam Team & managing very well. This is Great & appreciated. Surrounding Many places around Tirumala are there. We can take Cabs / Travels on a reasonable rates for sight seeing. Important Temples are there surrounding Tirumala. Better check the places from Google Maps to get an idea of planning. At least 1 to 2 night stay may be required to see all places around.

Temple...

⭐⭐⭐☆☆ Spiritual Experience with Disappointing Crowd Management – Tirumala Tirupati Darshan

Hi all, Me and my friend visited the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple (Tirumala) on 30-05-2025 via the Alipiri footpath route. It’s my second time trekking the divine path, and here’s my honest review.

🚶‍♂️ Trekking Experience: We climbed a total of 3550 steps (approx. 9 km) starting from Alipiri.

My time: 4 hours

My friend’s time: 5 hours

On my first visit, Darshan tickets were issued at the 7th mile, but this time we were disappointed — no tickets were issued en route, which was the first letdown.

After completing the steps, we freshened up, donated our thala neelalu (hair offering), and then got into the Sarva Darshanam queue at 9:00 PM.

⏳ Waiting Time & Queue Experience: We stayed overnight in the line because of the huge crowd. We tried for ₹300 or ₹500 Darshanam tickets, but sadly, TTD had stopped all premium ticket sales without any proper announcement. The crowd management was very poor — we were directed in long loops, only to be taken back to the same waiting point the next morning. This caused frustration and fatigue.

It felt like TTD management was only focused on VIPs and premium ticket holders, and general devotees like us were left neglected.

Despite all this, we were given:

Night: Sambar rice + hot milk

Morning: Upma + hot milk

Afternoon: Sambar rice again Appreciate the free food distribution, but it doesn’t make up for the mismanagement.

🙏 The Darshan: After all the waiting, we finally had Darshan at 2:00 PM on 31-05-2025. And let me say — everything else faded the moment I saw Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy. My body pain vanished, and I felt like I was in heaven. Maybe it was God himself who stopped me from leaving the queue out of frustration.

⚠️ Key Issue: Poor TTD Crowd Management No step-route ticket issuance

No real-time updates on Darshan status

Lack of proper line discipline

Too much preference for VIPs I hope TTD seriously works on these issues for a better experience for common devotees.

🛕 Temple History – In Brief: The temple dates back centuries and is built in Dravidian style.

It's spread over 16.2 acres and located on the Seshachala Hills, Tirupati.

Lord Vishnu is worshipped here as Venkateswara, with several legends tied to his incarnation on Earth.

Dynasties like the Pallavas, Cholas, and Vijayanagara kings expanded the temple.

Krishnadevaraya's gold and diamond offerings are still remembered as symbols of royal devotion.

TTD was established in 1933 to manage the temple and its vast resources.

🏁 Final Thoughts: While the spiritual energy of Tirumala and the darshan of Lord Balaji are unmatched, I sincerely hope TTD improves its system for Sarva Darshanam devotees.

Please don’t give up due to the struggle — because once you see the Lord, you’ll feel blessed beyond words.

🛐 Govinda Govinda! #TirumalaDarshan #TTDReview #LordVenkateswara #FootpathRoute #SarvaDarshanam...