[ampere]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Also will look out for the CCD as you mentioned and will update the thread with pics on my journey once I am back.

Here is the location: CCD Chandragiri

I thought I edited the previous post and had added the locaiton.

[fusionbang]

Hi all,

Had been to SriKalahasthi this Friday(11.4.2014) and returned back on Saturday(12.4.2014). It was a nice drive all the way and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Route taken is as below:
Bangalore(Nagarbhavi) - KR Puram - Kolar - Mulbagalu - Chittoor - Tirupathi - SriKalahasthi(248Kms)

SriKalahasthi - Tirupathi - Chittoor - Mulbagalu - Kolar - KR Puram - Hebbal - Bangalore(Nagarbhavi)(252Kms)

Sweetheart Ready for the Journey



Started my journey around 12.15 PM and since I had to pick my cousin from EcoSpace(ORR) it took me exactly one hour to reach there via Ring Road(JP Nagar - SilkBoard). And by the time my cousin came and we started it was almost 1.45 PM, it took me 1 hour to reach the Toll gate, where my other family members were waiting. Also spotted a BHPian near Samsung Office.

Took a small tender coconut break and we started at 3PM. Did not pay the toll fees since my dad is an ARMY Ex-serviceman and the stretch till Mulbagalu is a breeze to drive( thanks to the 4 Lane highway).

Post that there is construction going on till the Andhra Pradesh border(checkpost) and it 2 lane till that point with construction on the other side. Even though with less traffic on this stretch I could see many yellow plated drivers and buses coming in wrong direction without even bothering if there is oncoming traffic.

Coming to the 2 lane stretch from there on the tarmac is good and nice to drive with lot of risk involved. My uncle's car almost was beneath a KSRTC bus who was overtaking a truck without even considering there is an oncoming car and it was seriously a shocking moment, since I was behind them I could notice.

We stopped before Chittoor bypass for a lunch/tea break near CCD around 4.45PM.



We took the bypass road and to our surprise, there is a stretch where the entire tarmac has been prepared for re-lay and it is for around 2Kms. Post that the roads are good all the way.

Reached Tirupathi around 7.15PM.


It was pitch dark and without street lights on the higway, it was difficult to identify the right turns to Kalahasthi, but somehow managed with my GPS. Once we got into the Kalahasthi Higway it was seriously a nightmare to drive in those roads with Buses and Trucks coming with there high beams and buses overtaking these trucks.

It almost took us one hour to reach Kalahasthi which is a 25Km stretch. There is one entrance to the temple, where they collect a toll fee of 50Rs, which could be avoided if you go on the main road and reach the main entrance. I feel it is like a ransom which you are paying to enter the temple premises/car parking.

Found the Hotel which was booked online and went off to sleep, had to get up early in the morning at 5AM for a pooja. Done with all pooja by 11AM and vacated the room by 12PM.

It was very hot and trust me you cannot stay without AC considering the moderate temperature here at Bangalore.

Captured this amazing picture on the way back in Tirupati


Started back at 12.30PM and to our surprise, it was a pain in the *** in those 2 lanes because of a campaign going in the Chandragiri junction by some political party(cycle symbol). Somehow managed to come out of it after half an hour and to my surprise there was one more campaign and the traffic was for almost 3 Kms near some village(I don't recollect the name).

On the way back, before palamner spotted a TBhpian, who was on a blue Santro with white stripes on it and a LTD sticker on the boot. Don't know if he noticed, I flashed but did not get any response.

It took me 1 hour 1 mins exactly to come out of that mess and till I reached Chittoor it was a pain as all the taxi guys, AP govt buses were pouncing on each other to overtake. An AP govt bus almost hit a i20 during this overtaking man-oeuvre. Once I reached Mulbagalu it was a pleasant drive from there till I reached home apart from the railway crossing after BEL circle, where flyover construction is going on. Reached home by 8PM.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Hi all,

Had been to SriKalahasthi this Friday(11.4.2014) and returned back on Saturday(12.4.2014). It was a nice drive all the way and enjoyed it thoroughly.

There is a belief that if one goes to Kalahasthi, he/she is not supposed to come to Tirupati for having darshan of Lord Balaji. The reason being Kalahasthi is famous for Navagraha pooja being done during inauspicious times like Rahu kalam, Yamagandam etc. After completion of the pooja, if one goes to Tirupati, then the fruits of the pooja will never materialize.
It is therefore expected for one to come back home after visiting kalahasthi instead of going to Tirupathi.

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

There is a belief that if one goes to Kalahasthi, he/she is not supposed to come to Tirupati for having darshan of Lord Balaji. The reason being Kalahasthi is famous for Navagraha pooja being done during inauspicious times like Rahu kalam, Yamagandam etc. After completion of the pooja, if one goes to Tirupati, then the fruits of the pooja will never materialize.
It is therefore expected for one to come back home after visiting kalahasthi instead of going to Tirupathi.

Yes Suresh, it is true. We did the Rahu-Ketu pooja and Sarpa Dosham nivarana. It was told to us not to visit any temples nor any relatives place after the pooja. Hence we drove back straight home after the pooja.

But our actual plan was to visit Tirupathi and go to Kalahasti, since we reached late we just visited the Kalahasti temple.

But saw Lord Venkateshwara in the hills as shown above while returning back So I am happy about that.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Yes Suresh, it is true. We did the Rahu-Ketu pooja and Sarpa Dosham nivarana. It was told to us not to visit any temples nor any relatives place after the pooja. Hence we drove back straight home after the pooja.

But our actual plan was to visit Tirupathi and go to Kalahasti, since we reached late we just visited the Kalahasti temple.

But saw Lord Venkateshwara in the hills as shown above while returning back So I am happy about that.

Slightly OT but for info purpose only. Lord Uppiliappan in Kumbakonam is the elder brother of Lord Balaji in Tirupati. If you have any specific offering at Tirupati and say one is not able to go to Tirupati, he/she can do the same in Uppiliappan's shrine. But the reverse is not applicable.

[tckanth]

Hi All,
Got back from Bangalore - Chennai - Tirupati - Bangalore trip on 21st.
A quick update on the Tirupati - Bangalore stretch.
- The roads over all are very good.
- The Chittoor bye-pass strech before the Bans hotel is in bad shape, watch out for potholes and severe undulations especially in the night.
- 4 lane work in progress from Mulbagal, reminded me of the Bangalore Hyderabad highway during 2009. We can maintain decent speed.
- There are two places where we have to pay toll, forgot the exact location and amount

Cheers,
Chaitanya.

[tckanth]

Hi All,
Just got back from a trip to Tirumala.
my wife and I were wanting to do this trip for quiet some time and in April when we realized that it is becoming pretty difficult to just walk in to Tirumala and complete the darshan.
I visit Tirumala almost once in 3-4 months, and never have I returned back without the darshan until my last trip.

Decided to buy a seva ticket and went to the TTD office in Jayanagar and realized that the seva tickets are not there for the weekends, and weekday is not an option (for the next few months) for the next few months. So, ended up buying a 50/- ticket for a 2PM slot on 8th June. I was hoping to get into the 300/- ticket after reaching Tirumala if that is faster.

Left Bangalore at around 5:30 AM and reached Sri Vaari Mettu (the foot hills of Tirumala) by 10:30 after having a quick breakfast at PLR Grand hotel.
Started walking up the hill at around 10:30 and reached Tirumala by 12:15 PM.
Before you jump off your seat looking at the time, this is the shorter route / walking path which has 2400 steps to climb.

While climbing we were welcomed by a lady on the mic saying "Since this is a Sunday, there is very heavy rush and the 300/- queue is stopped at 7 AM. The darshan time for free darshan is around 36 hours, darshan time for pilgrims walking up is around 25 hours and the pilgrims who entered the 300/- queue before 7 AM can expect to get the darshan in 16 hours".
This announcement dampened our spirits (we thought if the most expensive ticket is taking 16 hours and the free darshan is 35 hours 50/- ticket would take around 20 hours atleast) and we almost decided to go back. But somehow better sense prevailed and we decided to continue our walk up.
Reached the 50/- reporting place at around 12:20 and got into the line at 1 PM. Had an amazing darshan and was out by 4 PM.

Started back to Bangalore at around 6:30 PM. and reached home by 1 AM. We should've reached a lot sooner but we were stuck in a huge traffic jam for more than 1.5 hrs as a fruits van toppled near Palamner.

Coming to the most important thing - The road condition:
Bangalore to Mulbagal : Roads are brilliant. This stretch has toll now, for a return trip we have to pay 23/- after Brigade exotica and 91/- after Kolar.
Mulbagal to AP border : Road is being widened to a 4 lane highway. There are diversions and the road is good.
AP border to Chittoor : This is a 2 lane road and is in very good condition
Chittoor bye-pass : This stretch is pretty good overall, except for a small stretch after 'Bans hotel'. This stretch has no road, only gravel and pot holes.
Chittoor to Tirupati : Road is very good. despite of being a 2 lane road the road overhangs / extensions on either side of the road helps you maintain a cruising speed of 80 KMpH.

OT : I realised that if we can plan the Balaji darshan in advanse we can have a peaceful and relatively relaxed darshan.

Hope my experience helps you in your future trips to Tirumala.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by tckanth

Left Bangalore at around 5:30 AM and reached Sri Vaari Mettu (the foot hills of Tirumala) by 10:30 after having a quick breakfast at PLR Grand hotel.
Started walking up the hill at around 10:30 and reached Tirumala by 12:15 PM.
Before you jump off your seat looking at the time, this is the shorter route / walking path which has 2400 steps to climb.

Is "Sri Vaari Mettu" pedestrian starting point different from Alipiri foot hills? Will this pedestrian path goes via Gaali Gopuram. Can you please share some more details ?

Overall, your timing looks amazing and i would say you are lucky to get darshan in 4 hours. Surprisingly, sometimes Rs. 300/- seegradarshan ticket takes more time than Rs. 50/-.

Thanks
-Ravi

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Captured this amazing picture on the way back in Tirupati
Attachment 1229972

.

Received this as a forward on whatsapp. Didnt know where it originated Nice observation mate!

Originally Posted by tckanth

to continue our walk up.
Reached the 50/- reporting place at around 12:20 and got into the line at 1 PM. Had an amazing darshan and was out by 4 PM.

Started back to Bangalore at around 6:30 PM. and reached home by 1 AM. We should've reached a lot sooner but we were stuck in a huge traffic jam for more than 1.5 hrs as a fruits van toppled near Palamner.

.

Guess you are a regular. Is the Sri Vari mettu very tiring to climb? And is it lonely or such? I am going this month end since I got tickets online for 28th. Sudarshanam is currently the most dependable method and I can safely recommend it instead of seegradarshanam or whatever it is.

Originally Posted by ravib

Is "Sri Vaari Mettu" pedestrian starting point different from Alipiri foot hills? Will this pedestrian path goes via Gaali Gopuram. Can you please share some more details ?

Overall, your timing looks amazing and i would say you are lucky to get darshan in 4 hours. Surprisingly, sometimes Rs. 300/- seegradarshan ticket takes more time than Rs. 50/-.

The Srivari mettu is a totally different pathway and it goes directly up the hill compared to the regular path that covers multiple hills on the way, and it is steeper than the regular route. It is like drawing a vertical line from the bottom to top of the hill whereas the regular route is not so direct.

Seegradarshanam is no longer seegradarshanam since the name was scrapped long time back. Now it is called as special queue or Rs. 300 queue. And again the extra money wont assure you get a fast darshan since the set up is different compared to other darshan. It is just a little faster than the free darshan and at the most as fast as sudarshan. Consider the path or the process of each darshan.

In free darshan, number of tickets is theoretically unlimited. So the devotee needs to navigate through the lines across the town, enter the queue complex where they will be lodged in chambers. Here they may have to wait for a long time depending upon various procedures going on in the temple and probable VVIP visits. Later they are let out and they join the final queue which is usually moving every few minutes. Hence the average distance of queue is more.

Next, for the 300Rs queue, there will be a line before issuing tickets, which fills up long before the issue of tickets starts. Then after issue of tickets people are sent to the cellar or upper queue complex depending upon crowd and made to wait. Finally they enter the final queue clubbed with other crowd. So the time spent before this is variable depending upon how crowded it is.

Coming to Sudarshan, there is no prior queue since tickets are limited and are already sold. So the specific batch of people report to queue complex directly without any queue. Once they are in the queue complex within half hour their respective compartment is let to move on to the final queue. If at all there is any delay, you will either have to wait inside the compartment or the final queue will move slowly. Other than that there is no hassle as such. Hence even if there is a crowd, this queue can give you faster darshan.

The best darshan I have had through tickets was during the telangana strike days. We had a sudarshan slot for 9Pm but when we went at 8Pm we were left in, and we found a queue only after the retractable bridge. Darshan from entry to exit was 45mins only. Even on that day Rs. 300 tickets took more than two hours since that queue was merged with the free darshan queue after the complex.

One bad management principle of the temple they let all the queues merge before the retractable bridge. Though there are two separate queues until we enter the main temple, these are merged which creates a lot of hungama.

Heard they introduced a new queue system inside of the main temple anyone experienced any change?

[ravib]

There seems to be some changes made to Rs. 300/- special entry ticket (formerly seegradarshan ticket).

TTD is planning to sell 15k to 20k tickets every day and in heavy crowd season, upto 25k tickets.
Also, unlike the current method where we can buy ticket only after entering the queue, TTD is also planning to open 14 counters in different places in Tirumala.

-Ravi

[NPV]

Came across this recently, sharing it here since some of the earlier posts on this page were discussing the Srivari Mettu route as an alternate for pilgrims walking up to Tirumala.
Source:New Indian Express - Link

[suresh_gs]

Hi all

Came across some old photos of Tirumala Tirupati. Wish such an era comes back to this generation.

[chakri400]

I am planning on Anna prasna at tirumala for my 7mo old next month. Can't find much on google though. Anyone has done this before, can you please share your experience?

Where in tirumala is this ceremony organized?
Do I need to book in advance? If yes, how?

[chakri400]

For the benefit of anyone needing this info in future: I called up 24x7 toll free enquiry service - 18004254141 on a Sunday afternoon (and it works!).
Annaprasna is done in PUROHIT sangam and this is on the way to papavinasinam. No advance booking required. I will update my experience once I return from tpty.

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by tckanth

Coming to the most important thing - The road condition:
Bangalore to Mulbagal : Roads are brilliant. This stretch has toll now, for a return trip we have to pay 23/- after Brigade exotica and 91/- after Kolar.
Mulbagal to AP border : Road is being widened to a 4 lane highway. There are diversions and the road is good.
AP border to Chittoor : This is a 2 lane road and is in very good condition
Chittoor bye-pass : This stretch is pretty good overall, except for a small stretch after 'Bans hotel'. This stretch has no road, only gravel and pot holes.
Chittoor to Tirupati : Road is very good. despite of being a 2 lane road the road overhangs / extensions on either side of the road helps you maintain a cruising speed of 80 KMpH.
....

Hope my experience helps you in your future trips to Tirumala.

@tckanth - The road information was precisely what I was looking for.

Would like to solicit your input / feedback on the drive time from say K R Puram after the Bridge to Tirumala ?

Cheers