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-   -   Tirumala / Tirupati Seegradarshanam query (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/75615-tirumala-tirupati-seegradarshanam-query-14.html)

Last year in October 2012 I visited Tirupati for first time and opted for Divya Darshan. Which is basically 9 kilometers trek and it was real good experience. Any one who is visiting Tirupati I will recommend this Divya Darshan. It is really divine experience and you really feel that you have earned Darshan.

If you opt for Divya Darshan then everything is free up there. You will get free accommodation, quick darshan.

I visited Tirupati in month of Aadhik which is supposed to be best month for visiting temples as per hindu culture. Tirupati also sees pick in devotees in this month. It took me 4 hours to climb and 2 hours for darshan.

Last Sunday we entered the queue at 12:30 PM got our tickets at 6 PM and finished our darshan at 9 PM. I was expecting lesser rush than normal considering boards exams had begun, but I was mistaken. This was one of the longest times I have spent waiting for the darshan. The worst thing was the it took a long time to even get tickets which meant we did not have the luxury of the waiting halls to sit while we waited for hours together.

But for a change the volunteers did not push my wife and myself around when we mentioned to them that kids are with us allowing us to have darshan of the deity in little peace rather than being pushed out even before you slow down to have your darshan.

I was a regular at this during 1998 till about 2009. Did the climbing/walking up the stairs 8/9 times during this period. It was a good experience. I used to do it in about 2.5 hrs time but of late it was taking much longer. May be physically I was not fit enough. After that I stopped that as I started going with family and was difficult to do the climbing with family.

I am travelling to Tirumala on 31st march(sunday) and plan to take darshan either Sunday night or Monday morning. Any idea if i will have to go through 5-6 hours time for darshan ?

I know that weekends are typically crowded and 29th is a long weekend too. But what is the probability that crowd would have reduced by Sunday evening or monday morning ?

Also i was thinking about Seegra darshan, but concerned with the delay !! i dont see any difference between this and 50 rs darshan. But 50 rs darshan needs some appointment

Had a good seegra darshanam yesterday (Wed 13th). I entered in to Q by 9 am and had darshanam around 1pm. Total 4hrs in Q but happy too see the lord a step closure. They call it as "laghu darshanam". I was able to go inside passing "Jaya Vijay dwaram". I am told that on Wednesdays seegra darshanam tickets are sold only from 9am to 2pm.
I feel seegra darshanam is more for the people who are not planned for the darshanam. This darshanam will not reduce the Q time.

Visited the temple last Monday using the e-sudarshan ticket, total darshan time was 2 hrs. Heard that the Seegrahadarshanam was taking about 4-5 hrs.

Those using e-Sudarshan ticket, pls ensure thatyou carry 2 copies of the ticket. I mistakenly took just one and had a hard time convincing the authorities for letting me go for the darshan.

Can someone share the experience of walking up the steps?
Where does one buy the tickets if one were to climb the steps - at the foothill or at the top?
Is there a separate darshan queue for people who climb the steps?

I have climbed the 7 hills atleast 6 times in my life and recent being about 2 years ago.

The first and last hill is the most trecherous as incline is very steep. However, plenty of place to rest, drink lemonade, bite on something to eat to ensure you reach the top.

Fastest I did was 2.5 hours and slowest was about 4 hours from the foot of the hills

Your query is slightly confusing. Which darshan ticket your referring to? As there is no ticket to walk up the hill

There is no need to buy tickets to climb the steps, those visiting the temple by climbing steps are allowed in a seperate queue which is presumably much more faster than the others. However all the queues merge at the sanctum sactorum.

Anybody has an idea why the website ttdsevonline isnt working? or is it just me who is unable to open the pages.

Another thing which troubled me was the laxity of the security at the foot of the hills where the main checking happens. People are asked to remove the luggage from the private vehicles and scan them but hardly the security staff watches the contents. I saw them mindlessly chatting while people put their luggage in the scanner and walk off after scanned. The same is not done for the TTD buses, why this differentiation?

Thank you!

The ticket I'm talking about is the one for darshanam (like seegradarsanam or the general darshanam ticket that one buys at the temple). I hear that if one climb the steps, there is a counter at the starting point where they issue a band with a timestamp and there is a seperate darshanam queue for devotees who climb the steps. Is this true?

I guess ghodlur just answered it. :)

Let me clarify it better.

1) No need to buy a ticket who want to climb steps to reach Tirumala. From Alipiri you can just start climbing.
2) Pedestrians who climb hills to have darshan are entitled for "Divya Darshan" ticket which has a separate queue entrance in Vaikuntam Q complex in Tirumala. The ticket is issued in mid way at the place called 'Gali Gopuram' when you climb up. You can see this Gali Gopuram (white colored Gopuram) from almost everywhere when you start climbing from Alipiri.
3) As you climb up further more, your Divya Darshan ticket will be stamped again in 3/4th of the way ( near to the place where you can Deer park). Without the stamp, these tickets are not valid. This is to ensure that only those who climb hills by walk, are getting Divya Darshan ticket and also revalidated they are indeed walking all the 7 hills.
4) After you reach Tirumala, you can enter the Divya Darshan queue from Vaikuntam Q complex and have darshan.
5) After darshan, I think you get 2 free laddus for the Divya Darshan ticket, but i am not very sure about it. Someone can confirm.

Hope this clarifies :)

-Ravi

Thanks, Ravi.
I went to Tirupathi this weekend. Your notes were very helpful.

I started the climb from Alipiri at 4:30am, Saturday; Reached the PAC at 7:30am.
Had bath in the PAC and secured a locker by paying a refundable deposit of Rs. 350. Kept my bag in the locker (only carried my purse and water bottle with me).
Got into the Queue complex at 9am and had to wait till 11:15am in the waiting room. At 11:15am the doors were open. Had a good darshanam and was out by 12:15pm.

While moving in the queue, midway there is a counter where we paid Rs. 20 and a token for two laddus was issued.

IMO it is best to climb from Alipiri as early as possible in the morning, otherwise the heat will make it strenuous.

Today's news mentioned that TTD employees are asked not to push devotees while taking darshan in the sanctum sanctorium.

I visited Tirupathi on Friday (17-May-2013). Started from home at 5AM and reached Tirupathi at 10.30AM. Went to Srinivasam complex first to book a Rs.50 ticket. But understood that there was no tickets issues since the last one month and they asked us to go directly to Tirumala, take the Rs.300 ticket and stand in the queue.

Checked into the hotel at Tirupathi, left our baggage there and went to Tirumala only with the bare necessities. Joined the Rs.300 queue at 12.00 Noon. Finally had darshan at 6PM. Being summer, there was huge rush even on a weekday. I was traveling with my two kids. Few advises for people who might be traveling soon for Tirupathi darshan.

1. Please ensure that you eat well before you go and join the queue.
2. Cellphones and Cameras are not allowed at all. They have to be left in the car or room. Never take a chance.
3. Pack up healthy snacks, fruit juices and water for surviving the long wait in the queue. With two kids, had to skip lunch for our wait in the queue and these were of immense help.
4. If you are going by car, there are multiple car parking areas around the temple. See that you properly identify the spot and associate it with a nearby bus stop or complex. In our eagerness to join the queue we did not quite locate the bustop near which we parked the car. Spent 20 minutes unnecessarily to locate the car park.
5. Getting accommodation at Tirupathi is much easier than at Tirumala

Don't know where to post this:

I have made a donation to the tirupati Nitya Annadhana Scheme. Since the donation was less than 1 Lakh, i have no direct receipt from TTD(only the bank receipt).

Since the donation is eligible to tax savings, i need to enter the PAN number of the TTD Scheme. TTD site doesn't give the number anywhere.

Can someone help?