[ravib]

Originally Posted by Ketan

Planning to take my parents and grandma to Tirupati. My parents are senior citizen (dad 64 and mom 60). However, from the TTD website it seems they consider age>65 consider senior citizen only. Can someone confirm if my parents can get to the senior citizen queue? If not, I can surely send one of them with my grandma to the senior citizen queue, else I'm planning to send all 3 of them which is 10AM and 2PM according to TTD website (reporting 2 hours early).
Some quick questions that I have,
Are they going to consider my parents senior citizen (M64,F60)?
Can senior citizen get the tickets over there or do I have to buy online?
We have this decided in hurry so may not be able to book online etc, my grandma is going back to Gujarat in a few days so we are planning to get this done between today-tomorrow itself. Next weekend may be Srisailam is where I want to drive before she is back to GJ. Most probably planning to start early morning today so that I can reach there by 7AM for 8AM reporting. I understand we may need 6-7 hours drive time, correct me if I'm wrong and tell me what time should I leave from Bangalore to report at tirumala by 7-8AM!
Thank you.

From Bangalore, you can reach Tirupati in about 4 hours and from there 45 minutes to go up to Tirumala. Plus add time required to join the queue. May be 30 minutes to 45 minutes or so from parking slot to the queue including breaks.

Since you have aged parents, suggest you to start previous day evening and reach Tirupati. Stay overnight and start to tirumala next day morning, so that you can join queue around 8 am.

-Ravi

[Ketan]

Thank you Shipnil and Ravi, thought to provide an update post the trip here, this may be relevant for some more days at least..

Bangalore to Tirumala:

1. Roads are in good shape all through, as reported by others - 4 lanes till little beyond Mulbagal BP I guess, there is a toll booth in construction beyond which its single carriageway towards Tirupati
2. two diversions at 6 and 8.5 kms from Chittor bypass towards tirupati, well laid, doesnt seem to get crowded/bad during traffic
3. One place little beyond, where the traffic is diverted to opposite side lane for a few hundred meters, wasnt bad for me while I was driving early morning hours
4. Good signs and marking all through the roads in KA
5. Entering a town close to chittor BP, where I found two speed breakers not marked, not able to recollect, starting with 'P' I guess, but you can make out that stretch when you see the bollards with reflectors on both the sides for few hundred meters
6. It was dark in the return journey as well with more traffic than early morning we had. Almost all the vehicles on single carriageway were driving with high beams ON, private busses and TTs were horrible when they overtake, they won't bother if they have enough space and time for the maneuver, they would just do it, so keep your calm on this stretch and drive safe

Around Tirumala:
1. My Buddhist prayer flag was famous around the security check, I was stopped twice and asked to take it off, spent a few minutes to convince them and finally told them that its not anti-hindu, something to do with Hindu mantra only
2. Security check may take a few minutes depending on the rush, they will get most of the luggage thru the scanners, good we were not carrying any. The toll ticket given here will be checked while you entre Tirumala and when you exit Tirumala and again at foothills. During the exit, the person would suggest you to go slow for this 40 minutes route down hills (uphill it seems to be about 28/30 minutes, should be smaller route I guess). At the foothill when he scanned the toll ticket, I remember seeing the display telling me that I reported early by 7 minutes
3. Roads in Tirumala are well marked on maps and good signboards as well, those small green signboards bit difficult to read even at slow speed though


Darshan:
1. We went straight to Vaikuntham-II, this is opposite to Museum where the senior citizens are picked up in a golf cart and taken to the place where the queue starts, should be around 500 meters
2. Ample parking space in the surroundings here, we heard from others its more than usual crowd for past 2-3 days, not sure if that’s the effect of exams schedules coming to an end
3. Sr citizen timings on the website as we read were, 10AM and 2PM. We were late when we started from home so could only make it to tirupati foothills by 8.30AM which was the time we were supposed to be at reporting place
4. Got to the place where queue starts by around 9.30AM and got into the queue which wasn’t that long, got my grandma to sit/take rest while we save her place in the queue, unfortunately, they stopped taking people in exactly at 9.50, so here the 10AM slot got full, I guess they take around 700 people for this sr citizen slot; asked us to wait till 12/1 when they start next slot for 3PM darshan
5. So, for 10AM slot, they will start taking people in about 2 hours before the slot time and just a few minutes before or if the slot is full, they will close the slot
6. My grandma got in first with my wife as attendant, my father/mother were not allowed here, my father is 64 and mother is 61, we came out quietly and thought of exploring the free darshan slots, but it seemed they will just give you a slot timing sometime in the night, so we decided not to go for it, they already had darshan a few years back when they travelled on a package tour
7. My grandma/wife had to wait there till 2.50PM when they opened the Darshan for 3PM slot, they were provided with some refreshment/milk/food etc while they were waiting in the hall
8. They spent some good time during and post darshan around the hall and came out at around 3.45, I got into the queue for Sree vari laddus, so far I was at ease for hours, exploring the surroundings, kindle book and tea shop kept me entertained, but the 45 minutes I spent trying to get these laddus were horrific, people were jumping from one counter to another, not knowing which counter is operational/serving, some of them were consistently serving and had long queue, one such jump worked for me and got to a counter that just opened and got the laddus in a few minutes time

[jkrishnakj]

Did a day trip to tirumala this friday, the 27th.
Must be the exam i suppose - hardly any crowd.

I had done the booking online at the TTD website, for a 11 am darshan. Left JP nagar at 4.45 am and was at Tirumala at 10.15 AM, after a very quick break fast stop over at Bans Resort. This time around, i was on time both climbing ( 29 mins and return - 40 minutes ).

Reported to the TB Cottage 74 at 10.30 AM. This is where i saw a big crowd, which i later realised that people with bookings at 12 noon were also trying to join the queue, and were promptly asked to wait in.

Traditional dress is now compulsary and i could see lots of people selling the White Dhotis for 100 bucks. Thankfully, i had carried mine from home.

Entered the queue, and within minutes, we were locked out in the Room/Hall number 21 for about 15 minutes. I could see a long queue, stuck for a long time. I was telling my wife and son, that this time, lets be ready for a longer wait.

Suddenly, the gates open, and within minutes, we finished our darshan and were out by 11.25 AM - whew !. The laddoo counter for the Rs. 300 ticket on the first floor was absolutely empty and that was done within seconds too.

A good lunch at Bhima and we were back home at JP Nagar by 6.30 pm, after going thru the dreaded KR Puram/ORR/Sarjapur road/Silk board bottlenecks.

Overall , a fantastic and mind fulfilling peaceful trip. Hope i can visit again and hope to have such a pleasant experience yet again.

[lambuhere1]

Quick Question here : Do we have a dress code for children around 11 years of age ? Boys !

Would Full length pants do for them ? Need your inputs. Planning this weekend or mid of next week.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Suddenly, the gates open, and within minutes, we finished our darshan and were out by 11.25 AM - whew !.

This is the most unfortunate part of the darshan for me atleast. The sudden opening of the gates and the mad scramble to get through the doors. No one gives a damn about senior citizens nor small children. Its utter chaos in that short span of time before you reach an open area where you take the full fresh breath of air. You feel you have passed the bad phase until you reach the sanctum sanctorum. Again here too people elbow each other, stomp on other's feet giving no two thoughts for others lined up for the darshan.

I distinctly remember when I had gone with my son when he was 2 yrs of age and that scramble has left a bad mark in his mind. Every time I propose to go to Tirupati and he vehemently denies accompanying us. I don't know how am I going to get that memory erased from my son'd mind.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Quick Question here : Do we have a dress code for children around 11 years of age ? Boys !

Would Full length pants do for them ? Need your inputs. Planning this weekend or mid of next week.

I would recommend you to call TTD helpline numbers to confirm the dress code for boys, based on the darshan/queue you are planning to go.

-Ravi

[BusyBoyKK]

Please help. Its been a decade since I went to Tirumala last.

We are travelling from Chennai, so would reaching by around 9 AM. We booked Rs 300 darshan for 3 PM slot this Saturday (23rd May).

1) We want to get our 1.5 yr old tonsured. Where do we get the tonsure done? Where can we get him (and if possible, me) bathed after that? Are there any hotels / accommodation available close by.

2) Please suggest any accommodation on the hill. We have to get milk boiled and food prepared for our son if possible. Tried Ahobila mutt, its full. TTD guest houses are full too.

Thanks in advance.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by BusyBoyKK

Please help. Its been a decade since I went to Tirumala last.

We are travelling from Chennai, so would reaching by around 9 AM. We booked Rs 300 darshan for 3 PM slot this Saturday (23rd May).

1) We want to get our 1.5 yr old tonsured. Where do we get the tonsure done? Where can we get him (and if possible, me) bathed after that? Are there any hotels / accommodation available close by.

2) Please suggest any accommodation on the hill. We have to get milk boiled and food prepared for our son if possible. Tried Ahobila mutt, its full. TTD guest houses are full too.

Thanks in advance.

Since you are traveling on a saturday and that too during summer vacation, expect heavy crowds and long waiting hours for Tonsure & darshan. Last saturday my friend had gone to Tirumala and it took about 1.5 hours for Tonsure and about 6 hours for Darshan.

Since you have booked for 3 pm Darshan, you can enter the Queue at 2 pm after lunch. Since you have a kid, suggest you to carry a back bag (like laptop bag type) with food and (milk in a flask), required for the baby when you enter the queue. I expect minimum 4 hours for your darshan to complete in best case.

For Tonsuring, there is a separate queue called "KalyanaKatta" where you have to stand in line to get tonsured. Once done, you both can take bath in the Temple pond near to Rajagopuram. The hotels and accommodations will be obviously full.

Getting accommodation in hill is very difficult in this season, so i would suggest you to stay in Tirupati instead of Tirumala. You have umpteen options to get accommodation as per your budget. Also, if you are traveling by car, suggest you to carry an Induction stove and couple of compatible vessels, so that you can get the milk / required baby food boiled/prepared in your vessels and pack it up for the baby. Thats what i did whenever i go out of station where we wanted safe food for the baby. Just a suggestion....

-Ravi

[rnidumolu]

Originally Posted by BusyBoyKK

Please help. Its been a decade since I went to Tirumala last.

We are travelling from Chennai, so would reaching by around 9 AM. We booked Rs 300 darshan for 3 PM slot this Saturday (23rd May).

1) We want to get our 1.5 yr old tonsured. Where do we get the tonsure done? Where can we get him (and if possible, me) bathed after that? Are there any hotels / accommodation available close by.

2) Please suggest any accommodation on the hill. We have to get milk boiled and food prepared for our son if possible. Tried Ahobila mutt, its full. TTD guest houses are full too.

Thanks in advance.

1. If you do not want to stay at Tirumala then there are some places where locker facility is available along with facility to take bath and tonsure. I remember one near to the bust station at Tirumala. You can en-quire about this facility.

2. As far as I know, the police at the check-post at down Tirupathi will not allow us to carry any electric stoves and heaters along with us. So the only option left out is to check with any tea stalls and ask them to boil the milk and give. I have done the same thing when I went for my daughter's tonsure.

Coming to the darshan part, if you and your wife only are going for the darshan with your kid then I don't guess you need this rs.300/ darshan. There is one facility for the parents of children (I remember under 2 years) called Supadham. It will be a dedicated line for the parents of the small kids and darshan will be done very fast in this line. If possible try this. When I went with my kid it took me 40 minutes for the entire stretch of walking and darshan.

BTW, I will also be at Tirumala on the same day along with my family

Thanks,
Ravikumar N

[Grand Drive]

Guidelines for Online Booking ( not in specified order)

• A user need to register at www.ttdsevaonline.com to proceed for the booking.

• Pilgrims need to book e-Special entry Darshan ( Rs 300 per pilgrim ) / e-Seva / e-Accommodation with a minimum of 1 day and maximum of 56 days in advance subject to availability.

• e-Special entry Darshan / e-Accommodation ( for both Tirupati and Tirumala) bookings starts at 12:30 am. e-Seva bookings start at 9:00 AM.

• The TTD online booking portal will be shut down for maintenance between 00:00 - 00 : 30 am and 8:30 - 9:00 am.

• Registered members are limited only to two bookings per day. Only one e-Seva (persons allowed more than one) and one e-Accommodation will be allotted for one registered user within 56 days from the seva/accommodation date.

• All credit / debit cards are accepted. If you are booking through debit card, please select Andhra Bank and proceed with the transaction. Please have patience during the booking process.

• The Administrative Office timings are 10:00 AM - 05:00 PM , Monday to Saturday and Sunday is a holiday. TTD customer support number is +91 87722 77777.

• Once booked, it cannot be cancelled / amount will not be refunded.

• Voter ID, Aadhaar card, Passport, Ration Card and School / College id cards are accepted as photo id proofs and original has to be produced for the verification at Darshan counter.

• Registered booking member must enter the photo id card number and original must be produced for verification at the Darshan counter. The id number of your accompanied persons must also be entered while booking and the same original document has to be carried for the accompanied persons too for verification at the Darshan counter.

• Registered booking member must upload his photo ( jpeg or png format) during booking and it must be less than 20 Kb in size. Uploading of photos are not required for the accompanied pilgrims.

• Pilgrims have the choice to book with a gap of one hour time slots for e-Special entry Darshan ( also called as Seeghra Darshan - Rs 300 ticket) and they need to report at the counter 30 minutes in advance.

• e-Accommodation check- in time slots are 00:00 Hrs to 12:00 Hrs and 12:01 Hrs to 23:59 Hrs.

• The booking receipt has to be printed and please print the booking receipt directly by logging into your user id rather than saving as PDF as the saved document will give error in the accompanied persons age column.

• Try booking through a laptop / desktop as booking through iPad gave me error and not sure about the booking through mobile devices.

• Pilgrim can book additional laddu while booking Sudarsanam tickets Rs.25 per laddus. e-Special entry Darshan members will get 2 laddus per pilgrim for free and the receipt needs to be produced at the Laddu counters ( in the separate building for Laddus)

• Electronic items ( mobiles, camera, etc ) are not allowed inside the temple and can be given at the Electronic items collection center just before the entry of the queue line. Please collect the receipt and make sure that you don't lose the receipt. The electronic items can be collected at the separate collection center ( a separate building ) and your receipt will contain the counter number where one can collect their Electronic gadgets. Water bottles too are not allowed inside the temple.

• Visit www.tirumala.org for more information about the types of Darshan / Seva / Accomodation.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by Grand Drive

• e-Special entry Darshan / e-Accommodation ( for both Tirupati and Tirumala) bookings starts at 12:30 am. e-Seva bookings start at 9:00 AM.

Is this correct? Most of the time when I check the site is under maintenance in the mornings. I have been checking it for the last week.

[Grand Drive]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Is this correct? Most of the time when I check the site is under maintenance in the mornings. I have been checking it for the last week.

Yes, it's correct. Infact, I waited for 30 minutes and then booked at 12:30 AM for the e-Special entry Darshan (Rs 300 ticket).

[samish_g]

Originally Posted by Grand Drive

[*]Visit www.tirumala.org for more information about the types of Darshan / Seva / Accomodation.

Thank you @Grand Drive for the detailed explanation of the procedures.

Request to provide some tips about accommodation booking online. Almost at all times, either the rooms are fully booked or the quota has not been released. I am looking for the Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 category rooms.

Regards,

Samish

[Grand Drive]

Originally Posted by samish_g

Request to provide some tips about accommodation booking online. Almost at all times, either the rooms are fully booked or the quota has not been released. I am looking for the Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 category rooms.

Rooms at Tirumala will always be in great demand and booked as soon as the slots are open. You need to book 56 days in advance prior to your date of journey.

You can try to book your accommodation at Srinivasam Complex, Tirupati. There are two types of AC rooms available (costs Rs 400 / & Rs 600 /). Bigger AC rooms are also available in their newly constructed Srinivasam Complex Annexe, Tirupati. The complex will generally be very crowded and don't expect hotels like quality / facilities.

If you are looking for more quality / facilities, yon can try booking at Hotel Vihas,Tirupati or Hotel Regalia,Tirupati.

[vnabhi]

A few questions for TTD experts:

1. i've got eDarshan booking for 3 of us at the 6pm to 7 pm slot on Jan 23rd. We need to report at SM 211. I'm not sure where this gate is. I'll be driving my own car, so need guidance on where to park, which is close to that entry gate.
2. Would I be right in presuming that the darshan will be over by 7 pm?
3. I've booked an AC room at Vishnu Nivasam, opp Rly Station via the TTD website. I heard that they have plenty of car parking. Anyone who stayed there can share their experierences?
4. Is there any dress code for males and female adults?