Tirupati Visit

Hi All,
I am new to this forum. Actually i came across this while surfing for Tirupati Temple visit.
so can any body please help me out of the following.
We myself, dad & mom would like to visit the tirupati temple on 26th Jan. Actually mom & dad will come to tirupati from Goa and myself from Pune. How much time will it take to have the darshan. As we are going first time and we don't have any specific thing in mind so thought of only the darshan. But while surfing i got know that there are many seva's available at the temple. So how much time will it take to have the darshan, any suitable but simple seva to do if possible? Is there any possibility of booking the ticket online or from Pune/Goa?

Thanks & regards,

Sameer

I would not be very sure on my recommendation however for all holidays there would be very a good deal of rush. In the two instances where I have visited in the last year, I reach Tirumala early morning on Saturday (2am - 3am) and I get an printed appointment wristband stuck to my hand. The appointment would be for sometime on Sunday morning 8-10 am being the first available slot.

On Sunday, I would go and stand in the Q about 2 hours before the appointment time and on an average it takes about 5-6 hours in the paid Q for darshan on the second day of your arrival in Thirupati.

Dear Samkul,
Kindly log on to: www.tirumala.org
--------------
If possible, kindly visit:
Mumbai Manager
TTD Information Centre
GD Somani Memorial Buildings
Cuffe Parade
Mumbai - 400 005
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(***Telephone Number: 22187171..not given in the Site but obtained by me. You may talk to them, but for purchasing the Darshan Tickets all the Members of your family should go over there.)
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..............and reserve your Accomodation and Darshanam (**only Archanantara Darshanam at 5.30 am in the morning & Special Darshan at 10.00 AM/11.00 AM.....2.PM/3.00 PM
===============
V.Srinivasa Prasad
10.1.2006/20.50 hrs.
V.Srinivasa Prasad
10.1.2006/20.50 hrs.

When I was there the normal darshan took hours (five?), and you would be stuck in a cage-like enclosed queue for most of the time -- not my cup of tea.

The "special" darshan (read: more expensive) is much quicker and less claustrophobic.

For the information of IMers, the places where TTD Information Centres are located across the country:-
================
Bangalore
Manager
TTD Information Centre
16th Cross, Vyalikavel
Bangalore - 560 003
..............................
Bhopal
The Secretary
The Balaji Baktha Mandali
Piplani
Bhopal 462 021
Madhya Pradesh
.............................. .......
Bhubaneshwar
Manager
TTD Information Centre/ Kalyanamandapam
Plot # A6/1
Jayadev Vihar Colony
R P L Campus Post
Bhubaneswar - 751 013
.............................. .....................
Chennai (2 centres)
1.Manager
TTD Information Centre
V V R Dharmasala,
198 & 199, Peters Road
Chennai - 600 014

2. Manager
TTD Information Centre
50, VenkataNarayana Road
T Nagar
Chennai – 600 017
.............................. ..................
Guruvayur
The Manager,
TTD Information Centre/ Kalyanamandapam,
Guruvayur – 680 101
Tiruchur District
Kerala State
.............................. .....................
Madurai
Manager
TTD Information Centre
Sri Madurai Meenakshi Temple Premises
Madurai – 625 001
Tamil Nadu
.............................. ...........
New Delhi
The Executive Engineer
TTD Information Centre
# 10, Hailey Road
New Delhi - 110 001
(***It is learnt the New Delhi's Office has got shifted and its Telephone Number is: 24112349)
.............................. ...................
Pondicherry
Manager
TTD Information Centre
288, J N Street
Pondicherry – 605 001
Tamil Nadu
.............................. ..
Rishikesh
Assistant Executive Officer
TTD Andhra Ashramam
L J Road
Rishikesh – 249 201
Uttar Pradesh
.............................. ..........
V.Srinivasa Prasad
10.1.2006/21.10 hrs.

Thanks VSP! Can we make this a Sticky? ?

Dear sirensongs,
Can I know the meaning of ""Sticky""?
-----------
In any case, the above information has been obtained from www.tirumala.org
-----------
V.Srinivasa Prasad
11.1.2006/12.55 hrs.

In addition to the Sudarchanam ticket, there will be plenty of tickets available for the various sevas which will be issued only one day prior to the seva. Once you are at Tirumala, go to Vijaya bank and buy the ticket of any seva you would like. The darshan will be sometime ealry in the morning and should be over in about a couple of hours.

Thanks a lot all of you for sharing your experiences. It seems there will be a good rush on 26th Jan. One question (meight be silly)
If i purchase the ticket for darshan after reaching there, will i be able to get the darshan and other things finished by 27th Jan? Actually we are planing to go to Hydrabad from tirupati. So will i be able to catch the evening train to Hydrabad?
can we purchase the darshan ticket for others. Actually the thing is we are travelling from different sources so it may happen that we meight reach at different timings. So who ever reaches first can buy the tickets for all. But is it possible?

Accomodation? Which one is good and at what cost?

Please give your valuable opinions all of you.

thanks,

Sameer

To the best of my knowledge, everyone who wants to have a darshan will have to be present while the tickets are purchased. This is true atleast for what are called Arijitha Sevas. Everyones finger print will be taken while purchasing the ticket and verified while entering the temple.

If you do get any tickets for any of the Arijiths Sevas you can definetly catch the train to Hyderabad as most of these are over max by around 10 in the morning.

Regarding accomodation, do you have any donor passes? If you do not, then go by what is alloted to you. I however suggest Rambaghcha guest house or ATc. They are on either side of the temple.

If you are not aware there are no private guest houses at Tirumala. All of them are run by TTD. You can however book your accomodation at any of the TTD offices.

Samkul,

There are two ways in which you can have darshan:

1. Regular Queue: There are 2 types - Free and Special (50/-). For both types, you need to get a Sudarshanam Token (wristband) which is available both in Tirupati as well as in Tirumala and in quite a few of the places mentioned above by VSP. These tokens will indicate your darshan timing - and at the appointed time, you can join in the queue. Depending on the time, the day, rush and so on, it may take anywhere between 2 to 5 hours to complete darshan this way.

2. Paid Sevas: There are quite a few sevas you can opt for. These would be a little expensive though. The best (in my opinion) is the AAD - Archanantara Darshanam. Each ticket costs Rs 200. The darshan is very early in the morning and you complete the whole darshan in less than 45 minutes. About 1200 tickets are available everyday. Some portion allotted to various TTD branches and internet. Majority of the tickets are sold on the previous day at 2 places - in the Srinivasam Complex in Tirupati and at the Vijaya Bank counter in Tirumala. You need to queue up early in the morning to get the tickets. So for example if you need to have darshan on 27th morning, you need to be either in Srinivasam or Vijaya Bank by 6 AM (even then you would find quite a few in the queue ahead of you!). All of you need to be present since your photographs and thumb impression will be taken and matched. No question of any black marketing here! In your specific case since 27th happens to be a Friday, you are out of luck - there is no AAD on Fridays.

There is another seva which may also work out fine. This is the SDS - Sahasra Deepalankarna Seva. This is in the evening. 1000/- and 5 persons allowed. You could try for this on 26th. With this too, the darshan should not take more than an hour or so.

I would suggest the following for you:

- Meetup with family on 26th at Tirupati station
- Get the token tied to your wrist immediately at the bus stand opp the railway station. You may get it for the next morning.
- Go to tirumala immediately. Check if the SDS for that evening is available. If so take it. Refresh yourself have lunch and attend the seva in the evening. After that it is up to you to have the darshan next day too.
- If you do not get the SDS, spend time visiting places like the Natural Arch, Papavinasanam etc. Next morning have darshan in the queue.
- Finish darshan and come down to Tirupati on 27th afternoon.
- Catch the last train to Hyderabad.

Samkul,

There are two ways in which you can have darshan:

1. Regular Queue: There are 2 types - Free and Special (50/-). For both types, you need to get a Sudarshanam Token (wristband) which is available both in Tirupati as well as in Tirumala and in quite a few of the places mentioned above by VSP. These tokens will indicate your darshan timing - and at the appointed time, you can join in the queue. Depending on the time, the day, rush and so on, it may take anywhere between 2 to 5 hours to complete darshan this way.

2. Paid Sevas: There are quite a few sevas you can opt for. These would be a little expensive though. The best (in my opinion) is the AAD - Archanantara Darshanam. Each ticket costs Rs 200. The darshan is very early in the morning and you complete the whole darshan in less than 45 minutes. About 1200 tickets are available everyday. Some portion allotted to various TTD branches and internet. Majority of the tickets are sold on the previous day at 2 places - in the Srinivasam Complex in Tirupati and at the Vijaya Bank counter in Tirumala. You need to queue up early in the morning to get the tickets. So for example if you need to have darshan on 27th morning, you need to be either in Srinivasam or Vijaya Bank by 6 AM (even then you would find quite a few in the queue ahead of you!). All of you need to be present since your photographs and thumb impression will be taken and matched. No question of any black marketing here! In your specific case since 27th happens to be a Friday, you are out of luck - there is no AAD on Fridays.

There is another seva which may also work out fine. This is the SDS - Sahasra Deepalankarna Seva. This is in the evening. 1000/- and 5 persons allowed. You could try for this on 26th. With this too, the darshan should not take more than an hour or so.

I would suggest the following for you:

- Meetup with family on 26th at Tirupati station
- Get the token tied to your wrist immediately at the bus stand opp the railway station. You may get it for the next morning.
- Go to tirumala immediately. Check if the SDS for that evening is available. If so take it. Refresh yourself have lunch and attend the seva in the evening. After that it is up to you to have the darshan next day too.
- If you do not get the SDS, spend time visiting places like the Natural Arch, Papavinasanam etc. Next morning have darshan in the queue.
- Finish darshan and come down to Tirupati on 27th afternoon.
- Catch the last train to Hyderabad.

Regarding acco -

In tirumala, you can get TTD accomodation or APTDC Punnami guest house. These would be fairly basic, unless booked in advance. Since you are just a couple of weeks away, I am fairly sure most of the better acco will be gone.

I think I saw some private acco too - Woodside or something like that when I was there last month.

Once you arrive in Tirupati - have b'fast or Lunch at the Maya's restaurant in Bhimas Deluxe hotel quite close to the railway station.

Dear Samkul,
Your observation:-
""If i purchase the ticket for darshan after reaching there, will i be able to get the darshan and other things finished by 27th Jan? Actually we are planing to go to Hydrabad from tirupati. So will i be able to catch the evening train to Hydrabad?""
------------------
@@@If you ALL reach TPTY by 26th morning and then stand in the Queue in the Srinivasam Complex just opposite to RTC Main Bus Station, you will not only get the Accomodation but also Special Entry Tickets either for the same day or at the most next day, that is, 27th.
------
@@To be on a safer side, please reserve your Berths by 7229 Sabari Express, whose schedule given below,
24 TPTY TIRUPATI 1 00:50 00:55 897 2
25 RU RENIGUNTA JN 1 01:15 01:30 907 2
26 KHT SRI KALAHASTI 1 01:49 01:50 930 2
27 GDR GUDUR JN 1 03:15 03:17 990 2
28 NLR NELLORE 1 03:45 03:46 1029 2
29 OGL ONGOLE 1 05:13 05:14 1145 2
30 CLX CHIRALA 1 05:48 05:49 1194 2
31 BPP BAPATLA 1 06:00 06:01 1209 2
32 NDO NIDUBROLU 1 06:21 06:22 1230 2
33 TEL TENALI JN 1 06:54 06:56 1252 2
34 GNT GUNTUR JN 1 07:48 08:03 1277 2
35 SAP SATTENAPALLE 1 08:37 08:39 1319 2
36 PGRL PIDUGURALLA 1 09:05 09:06 1351 2
37 NDKD NADIKODE 1 09:19 09:21 1372 2
38 MRGA MIRYALAGUDA 1 10:08 10:10 1411 2
39 NLDA NALGONDA 1 10:42 10:44 1448 2
40 SC SECUNDERABAD JN 1 13:00 13:10 1558 2
41 HYB HYDERABAD DECAN 1 13:40 00:00 1568 2
--------------------
(or) Rayalaseema Express, whose schedule is given below
You Queried For Train No Train Name Date Runs From Source Runs On
7430 RAYALASEEMA EXP 11/01/2006 TIRUPATI MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN


SNo Stn Code Stn Name Route No. Arrival Time Dep. Time Distance Day Remark
1 TPTY TIRUPATI 1 Source 19:00 0 1
2 RU RENIGUNTA JN 1 19:15 19:17 10 1
3 KOU KODURU 1 19:54 19:55 51 1
4 OBVP OBULAVARIPALLI 1 20:06 20:08 64 1
5 PMT PULLAMPET 1 20:15 20:16 75 1
6 RJP RAZAMPETA 1 20:24 20:25 85 1
7 NRE NANDALUR 1 20:44 20:45 96 1
8 HX CUDDAPAH 1 21:38 21:40 135 1
9 KKM KAMALAPURAM 1 22:04 22:05 159 1
10 YA YERRAGUNTLA 1 22:19 22:20 174 1
11 MOO MUDDANURU 1 22:34 22:35 191 1
12 KDP KONDAPURAM 1 23:08 23:10 214 1
13 TU TADIPATRI 1 23:33 23:35 242 1
14 GY GOOTY 1 00:28 00:30 290 2
15 GTL GUNTAKAL JN 1 01:00 01:35 319 2
16 AD ADONI 1 02:19 02:20 370 2
17 MALM MANTHRALAYAM RD 1 02:59 03:00 411 2
18 RC RAICHUR 1 03:33 03:35 439 2
19 KSN KRISHNA 1 04:14 04:15 465 2
20 NRPD NARAYANPET ROAD 1 04:34 04:35 485 2
21 YG YADGIR 1 04:54 04:55 508 2
22 NW NALWAR 1 05:24 05:25 533 2
23 CT CHITTAPUR 1 06:40 06:41 562 2
24 MQR MALKHAID ROAD 1 06:50 06:51 572 2
25 SEM SERAM 1 07:02 07:03 584 2
26 KQT KURGUNTA 1 07:10 07:11 592 2
27 NAW NAWANDGI 1 07:19 07:20 600 2
28 TDU TANDUR 1 07:37 07:38 617 2
29 VKB VIKARABAD JN 1 08:22 08:32 659 2
30 SKP SHANKARPALLI 1 09:14 09:15 687 2
31 LPI LINGAMPALLI 1 09:34 09:35 708 2
32 SNF SANAT NAGAR 1 09:51 09:52 722 2
33 BMT BEGAMPET 1 10:00 10:05 726 2
34 HYB HYDERABAD DECAN 1 10:30 00:00 732 2
....................
I hope you should get cleared by evening of 27th itself.
============================== ===============
""can we purchase the darshan ticket for others.""
--------------
@@@Ofcourse Yes, if you are making Advance Reservation by way of sending the Demand Draft but definitely NOT in Current Counter Booking, where, everybody intending to have Darshan need to stand in the Queue, if it is a Special Entry Ticket OR AAD.
--------------
V.Srinivasa Prasad
11.1.2006/14.25 hrs.

Dear Gopal,
Your observation:-
""This is the SDS - Sahasra Deepalankarna Seva. This is in the evening. 1000/- and 5 persons allowed. You could try for this on 26th. With this too, the darshan should not take more than an hour or so.""
-----------------
@@@A few minutes back, I spoke to TTD Information Call Centre, Tirupati (Tel.No. 00-91-877-2231901 from outside the Country/ 0877-2231901, for places within India)
----------
I was informed SDS Tickets are sold one-day in advance. Since 26th January,2006 happens to be National Holiday, in all likelihood, it is very much difficult to get SDS for 26th, if they queue-up before Vijaya Bank Counter (OR) in the Exclusive Counter for SDS opp; Vaikuntham Complex, on 26th morning. I presume 27th SDS Tickets, even if available, may not help them, unless they decide to take 7229 on the night of 27th January, whose schedule was indicated already.
=============
V.Srinivasa Prasad
11.1.2006/14.35 hrs.