[BrokenHW]

Originally Posted by redcruiser

I have just got Aadhar xerox and I haven't got the original IDs. Will that be an issue?

I have had darshan with SED token couple of times in the past 3 months and I have had just the Aadhar Xerox and SED ticket copy checked, they have not asked for Original Aadhar. Hope this will not be an issue this time as well with you. Hope you have a pleasant darshan

[smileline]

Originally Posted by redcruiser

Guys I have booked Seeghra darshan ticket tonight at 3am (SAT -3am)
I have just got Aadhar xerox and I haven't got the original IDs. Will that be an issue?
Can I take my original DL as a backup ID proof?

I had SED Darshan on 20th, saw pilgrims using Photocopies, one pilgrim didn't have that either, so they asked for some ID proof, and then allowed.

So I suppose it should not be an issue

[ravib]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

My sister in law who had initially not planned to come, now was checking if there was any way she can come. I assume not as she does not have a booking. Assume there is no alternate way? No spot/special ticket that can be booked? If my mom goes in the senior citizen queue, can my sister in law use the SED ticket I have for my mom?

If she joins us, will they allow up the road to Tirumala or tickets will be checked and she will be blocked at the checkpoint at the bottom itself.

Again, I assume not, but asking to be sure. Is there any 'praying from outside' point from where the lord is visible even if it is from a long distance? For example in Guruvayoor, I can enter the outer temple compound and see into the main sanctum.

Hi @Rajeevraj, unfortunately No is the answer for all your questions.
No possibility to get on the spot/special ticket , no possiblity to replace one person ticket to other due to ID verification, no possibility to see and pray the god from long distance.
Without a valid ticket and valid ID proof, no one can enter the queue.

Sorry about that. That's one of the reason to plan well in advance and book tickets for all those want to get darshan.

-Ravi

[redcruiser]

Thanks smileline , brokenhw.
I had a good Darshan of the Lord Balaji.
Was at the start of queue at 3:10 and was out at 5.

Had stayed in Ahobila Matt for the night.
I spent some 1 hr to get to the matt after I exited from the temple.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by BrokenHW

Better to enter the queue complex in late evenings or at night.

Originally Posted by Altrozed

2. Ring road has parking, go a bit early and you can park in gaps between ATC guests houses near to Vaikuntam Queue.

Originally Posted by BRV

2. If your Mother changes her mind and plan to go through Senior Citizens darshan and if you plan to go by car, park your car near Ram Bageecha guest house / CRO car parking and take the electric buggy from the Ram Bageecha guest house to temple (near to temple). From there Senior citizens queue entry is near

Originally Posted by ravib

Hi @Rajeevraj, unfortunately No is the answer for all your questions.
-Ravi

Thanks everyone for the useful inputs that helped the trip go smoothly and we had a good darshan. I always like to have a mental map of what to expect before I visit a place for the first time and the valuable and personalized input provided here helped me do that.

A short summary:

• By Saturday mom finally decided that she would stick with us and did not want to go alone. So based on that we leisurely left on Sunday at around 10am from Sarjapur Road-Dommasandra area. Route was Varthur-Hope Farm-join the highway before Hoskote and then the usual route.
• Have not travelled this route in a long long time and from the posts here, was expecting a nice drive on some good roads and was not disappointed. Very nice roads especially the Chitoor-Tirupati stretch. Traffic was low throughout and I reached Tirupati by 1.45pm. Had lunch at the famed PS4 restaurant. I expected it to be a 4.5 hour drive from home and was pleasantly surprised it took less than 4 hrs.
• From the hotel we got a little late leaving to Tirumala. Left by 6pm and was at the hilltop by 7am. Got into a little bit of a circle trying to find ATC as google was not being helpful. Asked directions to the cops around and dropped family at ATC SED entry point by around 7.30pm.
• Was a little worried again going and searching for parking as everything seemed full. A volunteer asked to go to the museum parking. I went there, was able to squeeze in and we entered the queue by 7.45pm. Had forgotten about the dupatta part of the dress code and had to buy that at the entrance.
• Took around 45 min to reach the hall where there were scanning the id's and checking proofs. Id copy seemed good enough.
• Post that we were directed into compartment numbered 25 and waited there for around 30-40 min.
• At this point since I did not know how the queue would progress, was getting a little worried as mom was already getting tired.
• They opened up around 9.15pm and we went past till compartment 19 where there was another security check and then back into the line.
• Something interesting happened here: After compartment 19, the queue was moving upward through steps, and at that point there was a door that some people were just hanging on-I think they knew there is a chance it will open. The volunteers kept asking people to continue.
• Surprisingly, just as we reached this point, they opened this door and asked people to go through it. We had no clue what it meant, but looking at the enthusiasm of people pushing through, quickly understood it was some kind of a short cut and we also pushed through.
• To my pleasant surprise found ourselves in the final section of the queue before entering the sanctum. 2-3 lines were moving slowly and the one we were let into was mostly empty and moved ahead quickly almost till the main entrance. Experts here would know better, but I think this was a real good fortune and would have saved us a good amount of time.
• From that point, as expected, massive push pull and got totally squashed. Was trying to keep my mom protected, but was becoming too much. Fortunately 2 hefty gentlemen also helped create a little space around her.
• Although the volunteers were pushing people to move quickly, they let my mom stand there for a minute in front of the deity. So she was super happy.
• All in all went off well- We entered at 7.45 and finished darshan around 10.15 which I thought was pretty good.
• Exited the temple complex by 11pm. The parking location also ended up being perfect as we exited via the Museum exit and the car was right there.
• Started downhill by 11.15pm, well within the 12am cut off. Downside of this late night slot was that we could not spend time at Tirumala
• Left for Bangalore today morning by 10am and was home by 2pm.

[BrokenHW]

Tirumala SED Rs300/- Tickets April Quota Update

[udayjani]

Despite availability of tickets, unable to book them due to the below error. Refreshing the slots shows the available tickets decreasing, so not sure how the tickets are getting booked or the error selectively affecting only few users.

[udayjani]

Didn't find an option to edit my last post so posting another reply.

Tried booking the tickets in multiple dates, single ticket vs multiple tickets, different slots, however nothing worked hence I gave up and tried to complain in the online form available in TTD official website but after entering all the details, you get a prompt for OTP which you never receive.

Even after entering a dummy OTP, the page doesn't give you an error stating wrong OTP but the page on the background refreshes prompting you to prove you aren't a robot.

Now this is the 1st time, I have faced similar issue booking ticket online. Not sure if anyone else trying to book the ticket faced similar issue.

Need some advise from fellow BHPian if booking a private package will be helpful like TTDC Tourism or something similar.

[aston_martyr]

Originally Posted by udayjani

Despite availability of tickets, unable to book them due to the below error. Refreshing the slots shows the available tickets decreasing, so not sure how the tickets are getting booked or the error selectively affecting only few users.

Attachment 2433687

Had the same issue, even when i saw slot availability in the 100's. I gave up after 20 mins of non stop trying and moving from one date to another. Every single date with every single slot game me the same issue. I thought i was alone. Requesting help to check if we are doing something wrong or should we be doing something in a sequence etc.. As i would like to atleast get a slot in the month of May.

[udayjani]

Originally Posted by aston_martyr

Had the same issue, even when i saw slot availability in the 100's. I gave up after 20 mins of non stop trying and moving from one date to another. Every single date with every single slot game me the same issue. I thought i was alone. Requesting help to check if we are doing something wrong or should we be doing something in a sequence etc.. As i would like to atleast get a slot in the month of May.

I’ve taken screenshots of the issue and also fortunately able to take a video of the issue while it kept failing.

Will initiate an official complaint through proper channel to the executive body of TTD Org. Hope they address this and fix.

[realactivex]

Planning a trip to Tirumala on impulse.
Tried today for tickets online, but weren't successful.
So the plan is to go to Tirupati and walk up the stairs hoping to get the offline tickets (Divya Darshan)
We will reach Tirupati by around 11AM and the earliest we can hope to reach the ticket counter in the climbing path is around 1PM.
I hear that there are limited number of tickets per day.
Given that we are reaching at 1PM, is there a chance to get tickets?
What happens if the tickets are all given, any way to get darshan same day?

if nothing works, we just walk up the hills and pray from afar.
Also, what is the best place to safely park the car closer to Srivari mettu?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by udayjani

Now this is the 1st time, I have faced similar issue booking ticket online. Not sure if anyone else trying to book the ticket faced similar issue.

I am amazed by the fast fingers used by people to book the tickets online, the entire slot for April vanished in just 25 minutes. I was in the process of booking and by the time I reached the calendar page, could see red everywhere of April dates. I am pretty sure there must be some scam here about the online slots booked by agents known to TTD itself or the server where the tickets are hosted must be stone age old which doesnt allow fast processing of applications.

The worst part is I will have to wait for one month now to check May slots.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by BRV

As your Mother is 75, why don't you try for senior citizen darshan which will not have waiting time and they have separate queue. .. The timings are in the afternoon daily, online tickets can be purchased.

Earlier there used to 10 am slot as well for Senior Citizen Darshan. Has that been discontinued? Only 3 pm slots for online booking now?

[BRV]

Originally Posted by realactivex

Planning a trip to Tirumala on impulse.
Tried today for tickets online, but weren't successful.
So the plan is to go to Tirupati and walk up the stairs hoping to get the offline tickets (Divya Darshan)

if nothing works, we just walk up the hills and pray from afar.
Also, what is the best place to safely park the car closer to Srivari mettu?

Divya Darshanam tokens will resume on trial basis at Alipiri and Srivari Mettu footpath routes from 1 April for a week. Based on the response they might extend or stop this.


Parking at Srivari Mettu is available however, this route is closed in the evening post 5/6 pm so vehicles are at risk. If I were to park vehicle I will prefer parking at Alipiri or in Srinivasam and take an auto or jeep to Srivari Mettu.

Other options are:
- Booking from Tours and Travels (KSRTC, APSRTC, Sugama etc ).
- Sri Vani Donor Darshan: Rs. 10,000 per person donation, valid for a year. Darshan will be in the morning and will be taken inside Jaya Vijaya
For the above options also, we will have to book online in advance. The slots for these were already released for April and May month, so there are 50-50 chances

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I am amazed by the fast fingers used by people to book the tickets online, the entire slot for April vanished in just 25 minutes. I was in the process of booking and by the time I reached the calendar page, could see red everywhere of April dates. I am pretty sure there must be some scam here about the online slots booked by agents known to TTD itself or the server where the tickets are hosted must be stone age old which doesnt allow fast processing of applications.

The worst part is I will have to wait for one month now to check May slots.

Based on the latest update, looks like TTD has reduced the number of tickets as per the update (in the above pic)

April May and June months are peak season and the footfall of pilgrims is multifold. If you are still planning to have Darshan, try Divya Darshanam token which will be issued for those who go by walk from 1 April.
Note: Limited number of tickets will be issued per day so they might get over soon and the last option is get into Free Darshanam which might take time.

Originally Posted by shipnil

Earlier there used to 10 am slot as well for Senior Citizen Darshan. Has that been discontinued? Only 3 pm slots for online booking now?

Yes, am not sure if they are still having morning slots for senior citizens. Last time when we visited in Dec, it was in afternoon only.

[realactivex]

Originally Posted by realactivex

Planning a trip to Tirumala on impulse.
Tried today for tickets online, but weren't successful.
So the plan is to go to Tirupati and walk up the stairs hoping to get the offline tickets (Divya Darshan)
We will reach Tirupati by around 11AM and the earliest we can hope to reach the ticket counter in the climbing path is around 1PM.
I hear that there are limited number of tickets per day.
Given that we are reaching at 1PM, is there a chance to get tickets?
What happens if the tickets are all given, any way to get darshan same day?

if nothing works, we just walk up the hills and pray from afar.
Also, what is the best place to safely park the car closer to Srivari mettu?

A brief update on my impromptu trip to Tirupati. Left Bangalore Friday afternoon via Malur route hoping to touch kolar and take the highway from there.
However got a bit lost (mapmyIndia - in-vehicle map faltered) and went towards Bangarpet. Had to take a village potholed road to return back to Kolar and eventually get on to the Highway. Was an uneventful trip beyond that.
Beautiful 2+2 lane road till Chittoor, and a 2+3+3+2 lane road (different highway) from Chittoor to Tirupati.
Overall journey time around 2.5 hours from Kolar to our hotel in Srinivasa mangapuram. (Srinivasa hotel - ok place to spend a night if you plan to take the steps from srivari mettu). Food is expensive and average, but again ok if you are not complaining
(part 2 in next post)