Tirumala Pilgrimage

Tirumala is the hill adjoining the town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and is famous for the temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara, also known as Lord Balaji.This temple is located on the seventh peak, Venkatadri (Venkata Hill), and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini. This is an ancient temple dating back to over twelve centuries and is visited by several millions every year.

Tirumala comprises seven peaks, representing the seven hoods of Adisesha, thus earning the name, Seshachalam. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrishabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. Tirumala Hill is 3200 ft above sea level, and is about 10.33 sq miles in area.

Other Temples in Tirumala:

Though Tirumala is famous for this temple, there are several other temples situated on this pilgrimage hill town. If you plan to visit Tirumala for a darshan of Lord Balaji, you can also plan to visit the temples adjoining this famous temple.They are:

Sri Varahaswami Temple:

This temple is situated on the banks of the sacred pond Pushkarini, which is adjacent to the Lord Venkateswara temple. History has it that Lord Sri Ventakeswara took up his residence after getting permission from Sri Adi Varaha, who had his home originally at Tirumala. As per puranams, devotees should first visit this temple for Shri Adi Varaha Swami and offer naivedyam before going to Sri VeKateswara Temple.

Sri Anjaneyaswami Temple:

Sri Anjaneyaswami Temple is located on the north east banks of Pushkarani, and opposite to Sri Varahaswami Temple. This deity is considered as a protector from all evil and a bestower of boons. Apart from the weekly abhishekam performed every sunday, On Hanuman Jayanthi, special poojas are conducted for Sri Anjaneya.

Sri Bedi Anjaneyaswami Temple:

As per the vaishnavite customs, either Anjaneya or Garuda is situated opposite to the main temple. Sri Anjaneya is devotee of Sri Rama while Garuda is for Sri Maha Vishnu. Accordingly, in Tirumala, Sri Bedi Anjaneyaswami is seen opposite to the temple.This temple also sees special poojas conducted on sundays and on the Hanuman Jayanthi.

Teerthams in Tirumala:

Apart from the above temples, there are several teerthams in Tirumala:

· Swami Pushkarini
· Akasaganga Teertham
· Papavinasanam Teertham
· Pandava Teertham
· Kumaradhara Teertham
· Tumbhuru Teertham
· Ramakrishna Teertham
· Chakra Teertham
· Vaikuntha Teertham
· Sesha Teertham
· Sitamma Teertham
· Pasupu Teertham
· Japali Teertham
· Sanaka Sanandana Teertham 

Other Places to visit in Tirumala:

The following are a few other places that you can go around when you are at Tirumala, abode of Lord Venkateswara:

Silathoranam

Natural rock arches are very rare in the world. It is learnt there are only three natural rock arches in the world, of great antiquity. One of them is Silathoranam, found on Tirumala Hills near Chakra Tirtham.

TTD Gardens:

TTD maintains several gardens in Tirumala and Tirupathi. The gardens which are categorized into landscape, flower and ornamental gardens are spread over an area of 460 acres. Around 10 lakh plants are propagated annually in four nurseries at Tirumala namely, Sri Padmavathi Guest House area, Divyaramam area, Gogarbham Dam area and Travelers Bungalow area. These gardens meet the total demand (around 500 kgs) of flowers for all temples in Tirumala and Tirupathi. The flowers are used for making garlands for deities, decorating pandals and mandapams on festive occasions.

There is also an Asthana Mandapam, an auditorium near the main temple complex, and called Sadas Hall, where cultural events are held.

Sri Venkateswara Museum is a museum established in 1980 where articles made of wood etc., which are used for pooja, are placed for public viewing. Sri Venkateswara Dhyana Vignana Mandiram is a new building constructed for housing this museum. It also has a meditation halls for pilgrims!

TTD (Tirumal Tirupathi Devasthanam) and APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) operates a ‘Travel as you Like’ Bus Service from Tirumala to Papavinasanam. It stops on the way at Akasha Ganga and Japali Venugopala Swamy temple. Pilgrims can get down at any stop, visit the place and board another bus to go to the next destination. The fare collected is Rs. 8/- and frequency of bus is every 30 minutes. The services are operated between 05 hrs to 1945 hrs.

Enjoy your pilgrimage to Tirumala. You can also read about Tirumala Tirupathi – TTD Online Darshan Booking andTirumala Tirupathi (TTD) Online Booking for accommodation.