Before I describe my amazing spiritual journey, I'd like to explain how to purchase special darshan tickets online through the TTD (Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam) website. When we entered the TTD website after having unexpectedly scheduled the trip, it indicated that tickets for the darshan festival from July to October had already been reserved. But later, we learn through YouTube that every month at the conclusion, TTD releases the remaining tickets for the following month's darshan.
Special darshan ticket price: 300Rs/person
So, our trip to the spiritual realm begins.
Day 1(August 12th 2023):
We chose to travel by Hyundai Venue (if you have read my article about Dharmasthala, you will understand why I am mentioning the car; it is the same remarkable car). Around 12 o'clock, my sister woke us up. We got ready, and at 01.30 o'clock, we set out on our excursion. We arrived in Karwar, Karnataka, at precisely 03:00 a.m. We arrived in Haveri around 06:00 in the morning, and the Bangalore highway begins there. Because we were travelling to Tirupati for the first time and the map indicated it would take 7 hours from Bangalore to get there, we didn't stop for breakfast when we arrived in Bengaluru at 9:30. By 2:00 pm, we had arrived in Alipiri, Tirupati. We reserved a room at the Hotel Woodside Prestige, and since I am a bakasura for our clan, I demanded that we eat lunch before checking in. We ate at the restaurant where we reserved our hotel room and ordered Andhra veg meals, which was incredibly delicious.
After getting ready we set out for the Shri Kalahasti Temple. In fact, we've seen in a few posts that individuals go to the Tirupati Balaji temple before going to Shri Kalahasti, and many devotees believe that if you perform a particular Rahu-Ketu pooja at Shri Kalahasti on a given day, you shouldn't go to any other temples. We visited Shri Kalahasti temple first because our special darshan ticket timing was on the 13th at 10:30 p.m. and the next day we planned to depart for Bengaluru.
Review about Hotel Woodside Prestige
The second worst hotel I've ever stayed at is this one. I was duped by the images and reviews. The worst has happened. They accepted upfront money in full and then neglected to offer good service. Here, money is the central theme. If you remain for more than a single day, they don't even clean the rooms or change the sheets. Even more towels are not offered. Even for the complimentary breakfast, they only provide a small amount of food, and if you ask for more of any dish, they make faces. In addition, you are only entitled to one gratis small cup of tea or coffee; if you want another, you must pay for it. Although the food is delicious, the bad aspects make you unhappy.
Price: 5500Rs/night (including a meager breakfast buffet)
Assessment of the Shri Kalahasti Temple
Parking fees are only requested at the door; no one is on hand to help you in the right direction inside. They charge 71Rs for that level of service. Then they ask you to leave your phones at the entrance; a phone deposit counter is accessible even on the temple grounds. Don't leave your phone at the door since it will be rubber banded along with others. They won't bear responsibility for any damage, in my opinion.
Inside the temple, one person will approach you to ask about the service you are interested in offering. But beware—this person is agent out to steal your money. I don't understand why there are agents inside the temple or why they can't provide clear orders. The pundits here will still charge thousands of rupees even if you buy the most costly ticket for the pooja. The system is flawed here. If you must rate this location with a star, this temple receives one star for its management even though I loathe providing one star to any house of worship.
We returned to the hotel where we were staying after the pooja and since we weren't hungry, we ate dosa before going to bed.
Day 2 (August 13th 2023)
The following morning, we got ready, and at around 9 a.m., we departed for the Tirupati Tirumala Balaji Temple.
Appraisal about Tirumala Balaji Temple
On Sunday, we paid a visit to the temple. Earlier, we were unable to purchase a ticket because the TTD website indicated that all tickets had been sold out; as a result, we accepted an MP recommendation letter. We didn't like it, but we had no other choice because we were in a rush for a darshan and had exhausted all other options. By God's grace, we discovered that the website had been reopened and that tickets were once again being sold. So, we got darshan tickets for August 13 at 10.30 p.m. (We didn't present the MP letter to the JEO office because we already had tickets, and although it was possible that you wouldn't be given break darshan based on the letter, we later learned that TTD would be providing lodging on the temple grounds.)
When we first arrived, we went to the Sri Varaha Swamy Temple. According to devotees, Sri Varaha Swamy must be visited before Lord Venkatesa. After that we wanted to see where the queue began. So we asked the ladies employees, who were kind. They told us to eat lunch and then return; else, they would leave us inside. At the Annamayya Sannidhanam restaurant, we ate delicious veg thali prepared in the Andhra style.
As we entered, we observed that each person in the queue had a separate visit time. It is therefore obvious that you must have tickets, regardless of the time. For darshan, it took us precisely 2 and ½ hours. Perhaps there is a queuing system based on timing during busy months or special days, but I am not sure of this.
We had a nice glimpse of Lord Venkatesa. Waiting and anxiety are gone and you feel pleased when the divine is there. Because I'm a believer, I feel When you get a decent look at Lord Venkatesa, the wait and expense of the trip are worthwhile.
FYI: Despite the fact that the service is free, the employee in the luggage collection area still demands payment. Even the pandits who provide prasadam on temple grounds request dakshina. Even though it is said that wearing traditional Indian clothing is required, western clothing is permitted.
Tirumala Ghats’s information
TTD maintains the stunning and magnificent Tirumala Ghat road, which winds through dense forest. An enormous statue of Garuda in the anjili (Namaste) position stands guard above Alipiri, which marks the beginning of the path that ascends the Tirumala Hills. There are more than 36 hairpin curves on each road, which is about 19 kilometres long. The journey to Tirumala Venkateswara Temple's summit takes 40 minutes.
About footsteps to Tirumala
There are two different historic footpaths leading to Tirumala: one departs from Alipiri and is known as the Alipiri Mettu and the other departs from Srivari and is known as the Srivari Mettu. The devotees who wish to honour their vow to Lord Venkateswara would follow this route from Tirupati to Tirumala. The Srinivasa Mangapuram Temple is also accessible to pilgrims who wish to hike through Srivari Mettu.
Alipiri Mettu : 3550 steps
Srivari Mettu: 2388 steps
People, who visit Tirumala by ascending these steps, as far as I know, are given special entry darshan tickets.
We arrived at Tirupati at around 7 o'clock and went to Vivah Bhojanambu for dinner. Although their thali isn't served after dark, we were nevertheless eager in trying it. We then put orders for gutti vankaya pulao and paneer fried rice. The food was incredibly bland.
Day 3 (14th August 2023)
The following morning, we awoke got fresh and began our journey towards Bengaluru after eating breakfast. I arrived in Bengaluru at 01:00 pm and reserved a room at the Hotel Pai Viceroy. The hotel was spick and span. The rooms were precise, and the sheets had no creases. Breakfast here wasn't that good. The rooms and service, though, were pleasant.
Price: 4900Rs/night
We went to Andhra Ruchulu for lunch because we had previously eaten there in Hubli and enjoyed the food there. We therefore headed to this eatery to have authentic Andhra food. But to our dismay, the food here isn't very good. As opposed to Hubli restaurant, the thali does not come with chapatis or puris. The flavour wasn't all that fantastic either.
Evening we visited Forum South Bengaluru. I didn't understand the fuss that was being made about Forum South Bengaluru on social media because Bengaluru has larger and nicer malls.
We went to Brew Meister Craft Beer and Kitchen for dinner, where the pizza and French fries were excellent. Don't ask about the beer; I don't drink it.
On August 15th, we travelled back to Goa, our beloved home.
The following are things to do’s and don’ts in Tirumala:
• Plan your trip to Tirumala and your lodging well in advance.
• Before you go to worship Lord Sri Venkateshwara Swamy, visit Sri Bhu Varaha Swamy in his temple.
• Before you enter the sanctuary temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy, take a bath and put on clean traditional clothes.
• Within the temple, pay close attention to Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy.
• Plastic is banned in Tirumala so don’t take plastic water bottles or covers to hill.
• TTD maintained its premises very clean so don’t litter.
16000Rs was spent on fuel.
2000Rs approx on toll.
Note: One may also use the Anmod Ghat Road, but we avoided it because we were moving at one in the morning, which is quite early, and there would be no or very few vehicles on that road.