[reignofchaos]

The mulbaggal bypass is in bad shape and so is the chitoor bypass. The former is still manageable but the latter is best avoided. Also some bits of SH61 before tirupati are in terrible shape. This is the state of the roads as of last week. I travelled through tirupati on my trip to kolkata.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by karty_83

Btw, any inputs on whether last week of Jan is better or 1st week of Feb ?

No idea on that Karty. Check with Ravib. He may have some more info.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

No idea on that Karty. Check with Ravib. He may have some more info.

The best bet is to visit between 30th Jan to Feb 3rd week, immediately after republic day holidays.

-Ravi

[ajitkumarlb]

Originally Posted by karty_83

Oops , i thought 4L was all the way till Chitoor. Thanks for the info. In that case will definitely make an early start.
Btw, any inputs on whether last week of Jan is better or 1st week of Feb ?

Its 4 lane only till mulbagal. I did it in 5 hours minus city traffic in Scorpio, on my Santro it takes about 7 hours minus city traffic.

Originally Posted by ravib

The best bet is to visit between 30th Jan to Feb 3rd week, immediately after republic day holidays.

-Ravi

Ravi is right, post Jan is good time, considering the fact that exam season is approaching and the temperature is picking up. However tirupathi you can never say for sure. So, as you have about 4 weeks now, though slim chances of getting it, it would yet be a good idea to visit (with all travelers) to the TTD office/temple in Bangalore and book for seva/darshan/rooms...

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by ravib

The best bet is to visit between 30th Jan to Feb 3rd week, immediately after republic day holidays.
-Ravi

Originally Posted by ajitkumarlb

Ravi is right, post Jan is good time, considering the fact that exam season is approaching and the temperature is picking up. However tirupathi you can never say for sure. So, as you have about 4 weeks now, though slim chances of getting it, it would yet be a good idea to visit (with all travelers) to the TTD office/temple in Bangalore and book for seva/darshan/rooms...

Thanks guys. It has now been decided that we ll be leaving on the 24th of Jan. Going by the replies guess it ll still be crowded. Will be staying overnight in Tirupati and not Tirumala. So getting rooms should not be very difficult i suppose.
Also would like to know what the procedure is if in case we prefer to climb up the hill. Do we need to buy any tickets for it ? Are there going to be queues for it as well ?

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by karty_83

Thanks guys. It has now been decided that we ll be leaving on the 24th of Jan. Going by the replies guess it ll still be crowded. Will be staying overnight in Tirupati and not Tirumala. So getting rooms should not be very difficult i suppose.
Also would like to know what the procedure is if in case we prefer to climb up the hill. Do we need to buy any tickets for it ? Are there going to be queues for it as well ?

You can walk on steps. No need to buy any tickets to reach Tirumala on foot. However, it is best if you buy Darshan tickets at Tirupathi as the crowds should be lesser.
In case you climb up, just make sure you are going in a group. In case you are not in a group, just dont climb the stairs at night. Start early would be my suggestion. (Say a start around 4 30 or 5 AM. ). I would also advice you to carry as less cash as possible with no valuables. Especially because you are staying at Tirupathi. I think carrying valuables just adds to additional things to take care and greater chances of loosing them.

Climbing the steps is always fun. Just do not rush climbing. Climb slowly enjoying the views. There are ample ways to eat on the way up and the entire route has proper steps, place to sit as well as covered. So sun should not be a problem and facilities on the steps are pretty good.

You will find lot of harmless monkeys. Also there is a deer park on the way.

[ajitkumarlb]

Just to add on to himavanth_m, leave your car at the hotel and use auto/local transport/bus to reach Alipiri the starting point for climbing (also for the cars).

If you need to carry some luggage there used to be a facility by TTD to transport it up (not sure recently though) but carry only what is essential as you will need to manage it in Tirumala as well.

I was reading on a Blog recently that on normal days folks climbing gets preference for darshan please check about that.

And as himavanth_m said start as early as possible.

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

No need to buy any tickets to reach Tirumala on foot. However, it is best if you buy Darshan tickets at Tirupathi as the crowds should be lesser.

Originally Posted by ajitkumarlb

I was reading on a Blog recently that on normal days folks climbing gets preference for darshan please check about that.

Once we reach on top of the hill by steps, do we have to again go to Vaikuntam Complex and stand in the queue ?

[kavu75]

Originally Posted by karty_83

Once we reach on top of the hill by steps, do we have to again go to Vaikuntam Complex and stand in the queue ?

Yeah, You need to go to Vaikuntam Q complex . But there is a separate queue for persons who reach hill by steps. Mostly that may not be crowded. Towards the end this queue will merge into some other queue.

And on the climbing path they will issue the darshan ticket.

[ravib]

Few additional points. You cannot buy normal darshan tickets at Tirumala. Only seva tickets (advance booking) & Rs.300 seegradarshan tickets are sold in Tirumala. So you need to your tickets at tirupati itself, if you plan for Rs. 50/- ticket. Buying it in Bangalore Vyalikaval TTD office here is another choice.

Else, if you climb by stairs you can get pedestrian darshan tickets at Gaali Gopuram on the way. (I think its called Divya Darshan tkt, but not very sure about the name). There is a separate queue for pedestrians near Vaikuntam Q complex, but it will also ultimately join with Rs. 50/- tickets queue at somepoint. You may want to leave your mobile phones at tirupati hotel room itself.

As himavanth said, don't climb in hurry. It makes you more tired at last leg of stairs & will pain your foot. After which you also need to stand in Q for few hours for darshan. With Slow & Steady climbing, you can reach tirumala ( 9 kms/ 3500+ steps ) in about 3.5 to 4 hours with good intermittent breaks.

Have a good darshan

-Ravi

[santhoshs]

Today i was informed - for persons planning to climb the hill are allowed only after 5.00 AM. Is it true? If anybody visited recently, pls confirm.

[MuraliR]

Any idea if the crowd will be less on Sankranti days.
AP, KAR, TN, all at home in celebration mood?

Or do we expect no change?

[MuraliR]

Originally Posted by karty_83

Thanks guys. It has now been decided that we ll be leaving on the 24th of Jan. Going by the replies guess it ll still be crowded. Will be staying overnight in Tirupati and not Tirumala. So getting rooms should not be very difficult i suppose.
Also would like to know what the procedure is if in case we prefer to climb up the hill. Do we need to buy any tickets for it ? Are there going to be queues for it as well ?

Karty, hope you guys had a good Darshan.

Any pointers to crowd?

[Fauji]

Just came back from a day trip to Tirumala on Saturday. We had booked a seva and we could have darshan in two hours flat. I understood that people who had brought Rs 300 ticket were in queue since 10.30 AM and had darshan with us at 2.45 PM. Being saturday rush was expected.

Road conditions

a) Bangalore - Mulbagal bye pass - Four lane completed and fantastic.

b) Mulbagal - Chittoor - Double lane road. Good condition. Heavy truck traffic after 5 PM. Slows you down badly.

c) Chittoor byepass to Tirupati - Five KMS of misery. Avoid it even if you have to go through city to join NH 18.

d) Beyond Chittoor till Tirupati - Very good road. One may get delayed if stuck at level crossings.

We left at 6.15 AM in the morning and reached Tirupati at 9.45 AM

We left Tirupati at 5 PM and reached Bangalore 9.30 PM.

Lot of CCDs on the way. One before Kolar, One after Mulbagal and a new one before Chittoor Bye pass.

With eleveted highway inplace for Kolar bye pass, it is difficult to notice Woddys and one has to go ahead, take a U Turn and come on service road to go there. I saw a good Restauarant - Shanti Sagar - between Mulbagal and Palamner.

[ravib]

Folks,

Any recent update on quick darshan in special queue for senior citizens & infants (are they same queue, first of all)? I am thinking of taking my 5 month old kid through that queue.

Not clear about couple of things as I have never used that facility in the past.
1) Is only mother & infant allowed or can father also accompany - totaling 3 people?
2) At what intervals they open the gates for this queue? Every 1 hour or every 2 hours. I guess they stop other queues when this queue gate is opened.
3) My father is a senior citizen, but my mother is not. Can she also accommpany him totaling 2 people?

-Ravi