Tirupati Sightseeing, Quick Facts, History, Packages, Tours & Excursions

A deep and abiding faith brings millions of pilgrims to the feet of the Lord Venkateshwara, despite the endless queues and the long waits at the holy temple of Tirupati on the Tirumala hills. It is faith that gives them the patience to move step by step, for long hours, for that ultimate glimpse of the Lord, before they are urged to move on for others to do darshan. That momentary glimpse alone, which defying all logic, is worth it all the queues, the heat, the crush of the crowds as they surge towards the inner sanctum.

Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Hindu trinity, is incarnated as Lord Venkateshwara, the God who fulfills all desires at Tirupati. The Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, is his consort. The seven hills of Tirumala are said to represent the seven hoods of Vishnu's serpent Adisha. For devotees climbing Venkatadri Hill to seek his benevolent presence and the radiance of his hope-giving smile, is equivalent to visiting Vaikuntha, Lord Vishnu's heavenly abode. 

The lord has been giving succour to his endless devotees since the 5^th century, when it was already an established centre of worship, and devotees of the Vaishnava cult were singing hymns of praise to him. The shrine accumulated vast riches under the patronage of the southern dynasties of the Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijaynagara, the last of whose king Krishna Deva Raya donated gold and jewels and expanded the temple complex. Unlike many of the other prominent temples of the south, Tirupati escaped the plunder of Muslim invasions. The administration of the temple lies in the hands of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) committee by order of a special act passed in 1933 by the Madras legislature. After the Vatican in Rome, Tirupati is the world's second most visited religious centre, apart from the temple itself being the richest Hindu temple.

Tirupati lies on the Saptagiri hill range in Chittoor district. The great temple of Venkateshwara is located at Tirumala approached by a forested uphill, zig-zaggy road. The holy hill is known as Venkatadri at the foot of which is the first step or Adipadi. Tirupati township itself lies 3km away from here. In the Vaishnava tradition the temple here is considered to be one of the 108 most sacred temples in India referred to collectively as Tirupathis.