[ravib]

Originally Posted by soarer

Hello,

Im planning to visit Tirupati tomorrow with my 8 months old Kid, Kindly let me know do I need to buy any special ticket or can I go directly to the queue.

Also can someone provide the TTD helpline.

Soarer

I did similar trip last July. You can directly goto 'Supatham' queue and have darshan in about 1 to 1.5 hours max. You may have to pay for laddu, if you wish to buy. Please note that, Supatham queue is opened periodically (like senior citizens queue). I went around 3/3:30 pm in the evening, but TTD may keep changing time slots depending on rush.


-Ravi

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by soarer

Hello,

Also can someone provide the TTD helpline.

Soarer

There is no ticket needed for children below 11 years as I mentioned in my previous post. But like @ravib says there is a special entry for parents travelling with infants by which you can gain entry into the temple from the Main Gopura. You can call up the call center and inquire the details of whether they'll allow both parents or just only one accompanying the child though.

T.T.D Call Center (24/7):

Ph: 0877-2277777, 2233333 & Toll Free No: 1800-425-4141

[SPEEDY_RACER]

Originally Posted by soarer

Hello,

Im planning to visit Tirupati tomorrow with my 8 months old Kid, Kindly let me know do I need to buy any special ticket or can I go directly to the queue.

Also can someone provide the TTD helpline.

Soarer

Hey Soarer,

if the devotes visiting TTD have infants, then there is an special queue for family, which would be joined almost near to the entrance of the temple.(this is the new initiative from TTD)

The Queue is almost near the Vaikuntam Queue Complex 1, you can ask any guard on duty and they would guide you(just ask the queue for Infant Family )

[PC77]

The belief is that one should visit Padmavati temple after dharshan at Tirumala.

When you visit Padmavati Temple, try to get the 100 Rs. per person ticket. The waiting time for this queue is not more than 15 mins and one is directed right inside near the sanctorium.

Another tip - if you need extra ladoos try to seek out these guys who stand near the laddoo distribution windows. They sell the 20 Rs. ticket for 100 Rs. you would get two ladoos in each ticket.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by luvurride

There is no ticket needed for children below 11 years as I mentioned in my previous post. But like @ravib says there is a special entry for parents travelling with infants by which you can gain entry into the temple from the Main Gopura. You can call up the call center and inquire the details of whether they'll allow both parents or just only one accompanying the child though.

T.T.D Call Center (24/7):

Ph: 0877-2277777, 2233333 & Toll Free No: 1800-425-4141

Father, Mother, infant less than one year and if there are any siblings (not sure of age limit for siblings), they are all allowed in the Supatham queue.
This queue entrance is next to the entrance for kalynaotsava queue entrance.

-Ravi

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ravib

Father, Mother, infant less than one year and if there are any siblings (not sure of age limit for siblings), they are all allowed in the Supatham queue.
This queue entrance is next to the entrance for kalynaotsava queue entrance.

-Ravi

I thought i'll share some more details & tips from my personal experience while entering infant's queue aka supatham queue.

1) Feed the baby before entering the Supatham queue. Though it can take max 1 to 1.5 hours, sometimes if there is any VIP visit or for other reasons, darshan could get delayed.
2) Use a backpack or laptop bag type to carry food/water for baby instead of a one side shoulder type bag which is inconvenient in the crowd.
3) Water bottles are not allowed inside temple, so for baby keep a small separate water bottle in the bag. If asked, say its only for baby.
4) Infants queue merges with any of the existing queue (like Divya darshan OR Seegra darshan or Sudharshan queues depending on the time) just before the foot over bridge from the last cell in the vaikuntam Q complex. Thereafter there is no stopping/break and the Queue is one and the same for all and keeps moving. So if possible, its better to put your baby to sleep before you enter the Queue/while you are walking through the queue. Just a thought, because for some kids, crowds are a big no-no.
4) If you have more than one kid, suggest one parent to carry the infant and the bag and other parent take care of other kid.
5) Inside the temple, after the Dwajasthambam & Silver gate Entrance, the crowd literally gets mad and there will be lot of push (front & back) till you see the lord. Extreme care is needed to keep the baby safe with tight hug so that we also don't fall down anywhere.
6)If you are traveling by your own vehicle, suggest to park the car in parking lot opposite to Sri Venkateswara museum which is actually back side of the temple and behind the laddu counter complex. From there it is about 1 to 1.5 kms walk (which is nearest IMO) to reach the supatham Queue complex. The added advantage is, when you return back after darshan, you can collect the laddus and immediately reach the car.
7) Plan the trip on a week day, instead of weekend or any special/festival day.

My iternary from bangalore was like this and it worked very well.

Day1 : Left bangalore at 6:30 am and reached tirupati around 10:30 am. Check-in to a hotel and relax for couple of hours.
Finish lunch (@ Maurya) and drive up to Tirumala and reach by 2 or 2:30 pm.
Feed the baby and Enter the queue around 3:30 pm.
Finish darshan by 5/5:30 pm and drive down to Tirupati.
Take rest in hotel again or if you have energy & time, visit Govindaraja perumal temple near railway station. Rest for the day.

DAY2: Leave early morning around 6am or 7 am to Alamelumangapuram for Pamadavathi/Lakshmi darshan. Finish darshan in about 1 hour or so.
Return to Tirupati and have breakfast. Check out from hotel and drive back to bangalore. You can reach Bangalore before lunch.
Alternatively, you can relax in tirupati for couple of more hours, finish lunch and then drive to bangalore, so that you can reach before it gets dark.

-Ravi

[NPV]

Originally Posted by PC77

The belief is that one should visit Padmavati temple after dharshan at Tirumala.

Another belief is to first visit the Varahaswamy temple before visiting the Lord. The Varahaswamy temple is part of the Tirumala complex and is near the Pushkarini (pond) but I'm not sure too many people visit this first (I've mostly seen the people visit this temple after visiting the Lord on the way out of the temple complex).
Anybody here do this first ? Asking since this needs a little understanding of the location of the Seegradarshan queue complex entrance since we will need to enter the Pushkarini side first and then join the queue.

[SPEEDY_RACER]

Originally Posted by NPV

Asking since this needs a little understanding of the location of the Seegradarshan queue complex entrance since we will need to enter the Pushkarini side first and then join the queue.

So once you finish your pooja near the pushkarini then you have to walk on the other side of the temple and join the queue. On the right side of temple you have pushkarini, and Vaikuntam queue complex would be on the Left hand side and the seegradarshan queue entrance is near the vaikuntam queue Complex

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by NPV

Another belief is to first visit the Varahaswamy temple before visiting the Lord. The Varahaswamy temple is part of the Tirumala complex and is near the Pushkarini (pond) but I'm not sure too many people visit this first (I've mostly seen the people visit this temple after visiting the Lord on the way out of the temple complex).
Anybody here do this first ? Asking since this needs a little understanding of the location of the Seegradarshan queue complex entrance since we will need to enter the Pushkarini side first and then join the queue.

We follow that procedure, belief is that , as the place for the lord at Tirumala was given by the Varahaswamy , we need to pay our respect/prayer to him and then proceed. In fact , our padatti/ procedure is to take a dip in pushkarni , proceed to Ashwath katte ( tree on the west side of the pushkarni) and then to the Varahaswamy temple and then to the Q complex. If accompanied by elders or seniors, we park our car/vehicle near the shopping complex adjacent to the Archaks residence and then follow the route to the Vaikuntam Q complex...else, we just walk down to the Q complex.

We usually plan to finish all the morning kriyas by 6 AM and the earliest time that the Varahaswamy temple opens is 6 AM I suppose.

[praveenp]

Came back from Tirumala/Tirupati yesterday evening. Had a great Darshan of Lord Shrinivasa. We had bought Rs.50 ticket from TTD office in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. Our allotted time slot was at 8 AM March-4th. We went and stood in the queue at 6.30 AM itself. Though the sign board says the entry will be only from 7AM, the gates were opened at 6.45 AM itself and we were all let in. We finished Darshan by 8.30 AM itself. Can’t believe it took only 2 hours for us.

Few tips: While you are about to enter the main sanctum, move to the right-most side of the queue. You will get slightly (few seconds) more time to see the lord (you will realize it once you are inside). Also, inside the sanctum try to let others pass by you so that you again get more time to see the lord. When you come out, do not forget to see the “Vimana Venkateshwara swamy”, which is as sacred as the main deity.

At the Padmavathi temple, there are two ticket counters: one outside the gopuram and one inside. I suggest you undergo the security check, enter the gopuram and then buy ticket based on the crowd. You can actually see the length of the queue. If it’s quite crowded then buying Rs.100 or Rs.200 ticket makes sense else you can stick to Rs.20 ticket. But the crowd management here is quite bad. You just take two steps and then wait for 5 minutes. We were again lucky here too because by the time we were in the queue another new entry path was created due to heavy rush and we sneaked in. Else with Rs.20 ticket we would have had to wait for close to 1.5 hours before we had the Darshan.

And yes, Chittoor bypass road is in good condition. It’s an overall hassle free drive between Bengaluru and Tirumala. If you are planning a visit then this is the best time due to ongoing exams in all south Indian states.

Hare Shrinivasa!

[explorer09]

Will be driving down to Tirupati next weekend from Bangalore. Planning to start early in the morning so I was trying to find out some good breakfast options along the route. Any recommendations/suggestions here?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by explorer09

Will be driving down to Tirupati next weekend from Bangalore. Planning to start early in the morning so I was trying to find out some good breakfast options along the route. Any recommendations/suggestions here?

Lots of coffee days along the way. Woodys at Kollar. Nandi Plaza just before Chitoor bypass.

[sridhar24]

Originally Posted by explorer09

Will be driving down to Tirupati next weekend from Bangalore. Planning to start early in the morning so I was trying to find out some good breakfast options along the route. Any recommendations/suggestions here?

The best place I suggest you stop for breakfast is Adiga's, I found it to be much better than Woody's.
Just after crossing Kolar I think about ~10KM, you get a place Venakatapura Village, you can see on your right side Adiga's and Coffee day next to each other.

[audioholic]

Even I vote for Adigas. Much cleaner, tastier compared to woodys. It was recently opened and as of now, is an excellent option. Guys be careful about eating snacks in CCD, especially on weekdays when crowds are less. Having flocked that place frequently, I have not had good experiences. As they carry out lesser sales, I have been given stale sandwiches, cakes etc. Only the coffee and other drinks are good.

[OmThoke]

I usually manage to drive down to Tirupati easily within 5hrs, including a couple of quick 10-12mins stops. It's about 250kms, and with Kolar highway in top-notch condition, it's a pleasure trip for any driving enthusiast!!!