Tirupati

Even though the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple is the top most visited place in Tirupati for Hindu pilgrims, there are many other temples and sites around the city, which are just wonderful and can be visited with family and friends for a holiday.

1. Akasaganga Teertham: For all the Hindu devotees who have taken a pilgrimage trip to the Venkateswara Temple, this waterfall holds as much religious significance as the temple. The waterfall is situated 12 km away from the city center, which allows visitors to have some private and quiet, peaceful time away from all craziness of the city. There is also a Devi Mandir located close-by the waterfall where the devotees could offer their prayers.

2. Swami Pushkarini Lake: Situated in the proximity of Sri Venkateswara, in the city center is this magnificent lake. It is believed that Lord Vishnu was the owner of the lake and Garuda brought the lake to the earth from Vaikuntha. Devotees generally take a holy dip in this lake before proceeding to offer their homage in the main temple.

3. Silathoranam: If you are on a mission to spend some time amidst nature and witness some incredible natural rock formation, this is the place you should go to. The administration has been taking extreme care of keeping the place in its highest quality. The bed of grass, plants, seasonal flowers covers the entire area.

4. Talakona Waterfall: this 270 feet tall waterfall is the highest in the state of Andhra Pradesh. To spend a relaxing weekend away from the bustling city, a gadget-less small trip visits the region. The trek to the waterfall is smooth and easy with properly constructed concrete stairs and paths. 

5. Divyaramam Park: Located in Tirupati, this park is well known for the varied types of migratory birds it receives every year. If you are looking to spend a calm evening while enjoying a different variety of birds, this park should be on your list. The forest department has kept the park well-maintained.

6. Deer Park: The deer park in Tirupati is well secured by the authorities. A large number of deers are kept amidst the natural surroundings, the park is also home to many other birds, natural exotic flora and fauna. You can also feed them from the other side of the fence. It is a great way to spend some relaxed time with family after a long week. 

You can visit Tirupati on any day of the week. Tirupati receives over 50,000 devotees every day. However, it is advisable to visit Tirupati from November to March, when the weather is cool and comfortable.

Tirupati is widely known for the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, located in the foothills of Tirumala. However, many other temples including the ISKCON temple, various national parks are also remarkable sites to visit.

It is believed that the Tirupati temple was built in 300AD, making it 1,720 years old. 

The distance between Tirupati and Tirumala is 20 km. It takes around 46 min to reach from one place to the other when driving. There are buses from Tirupati to Tirumala every15 minutes, which takes around one hour.

Tirupati is one of the culturally and historically rich cities in India, and has an assortment of goods you can purchase. Some of the top tourist favourites are Kalamkari Paintings, wooden toys, silver jewelry, religious deities in copper and brass, and many other devotional items. 

You must have heard, read or seen how people shave their head off while in Tirupati Balaji. When people give their hair it represents them giving up their ego, as the hair is considered as one the accessories that amplify your beauty. It represents the sacrifice of material beauty by the devotees.

One cannot exactly put a rigid time limit required for the Tirupati Darshan. Depending upon the intensity of the crowd on that day, the darshan time might be anywhere in between one hour to over 12 hours. The darshan slot ends at 9 p.m of any day and starts at 11 a.m. There are also records of people waiting for 18 hours for the darshan.

No, cameras and mobile phones are strictly prohibited in the temple premise. The temple authority provides lockers for the safekeeping of the gadgets.