Tirupati – Temple of Seven Hills

Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple is a landmark Vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Venkateswara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. The deity is about 8 feet (2.4 m) from the toes to the top of the crown and is considered the main source of energy for the temple.

The Tirumala Hills are part of Seshachalam Hills range. The hills are 853 metres (2,799 ft) above sea level. The Hills comprises seven peaks, representing the seven heads of Adisesha. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. The temple lies on the seventh peak -Venkatadri, on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. Hence the temple is also referred to as “Temple of Seven Hills”.

Many piligrims walk up the hill to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara. The walk starts very close to where the motorable road commences. There is a big arch close to the start. This location is called Alipiri. This is approx about 8-9 kms from the city and one can drive & park or take an auto. Most of the piligrims walk up and return by Road.

Walking up involves a total distance approximately 9 kms, with around 3555 steps. It usally takes 4 – 5 hours to climb, with plenty of breaks in between. There are stalls selling eatables and soft drinks every 300 steps on an average. Toilet facilities are available throughout at very regular intervals.

It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received and wealth. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world.

Statue of Garuda at Alipiri, the starting point of the trek upto Tirumala Temple

Raja Gopuram, from where the steps numbering starts from 1

It is a common sight to see devotees light camphor & apply turmeric / vermilion paste on each & every step

Few devotees choose to climb dressed up as their favorite deities! In this case, Lord Hanuman

Speaking of Hanuman, plenty of Langoors languish along the way

The climbing path is well covered & gets really crowded during the weekends

Gaali Gopuram at step no. 2083, where devotees can avail free tickets for a fast darshan – climbers get preference over other visitors!

A deer park on the way to the top

A deer park on the way to the top

Devotees talk, laugh & chant along the way!

The administrators ensure that the path is kept clean at all times

A giant Hanuman statue can be found mid-way in the trek

On either side of the trekking route, few devotees try to find loose stones & balance them – it’s a belief that if you balance them, one’s life also gets balanced! Another interesting observation is that nobody disturbs the stones that are already balanced!

Plenty of flora & fauna along the way

Plenty of flora & fauna along the way

Wind mill farms

This gopuram marks the final ascent (around 600 steps more!)

This is what thousands of devotees throng the place for – the magnificent Venkateshwara temple

The sanctum sanctorum is made with gilt copper plates and covered with a golden vase

Symbolism of Tirupati Balaji

The temple complex

Holy water pond

Visitors getting respite from the heat with a cool dip in the pond

Padmavathi Temple is the temple dedicated to Goddess Padmavathi or Alamelumanga, the consort of Lord Venkateswara. The Temple is situated in Tiruchanur, at a distance of 5 km from Tirupati.

The sanctum sanctorum of Padmavathi Temple