bangalore to tirupati
This weekend being long weekend we planned to go to tirupati. As usual we could not book any of the things since this was a last minute plan .We knew that there will be crowd at tirupati but remembering the experience of previous visits it was always like that. And we had 3 days so we decided to go ahead.
We started from bangalore at 5 am on friday morning by my maruti alto.The route for tirupati is Bangalore – kolar – chittoor – tirupati. We got on inner ring road, headed straight to airport road flyover , indira nagar and at the dead end took right for old madras road. After that it is almost straight . You just have to follow the signboards. One route is through chittoor town and another one takes diversion to left for a alternate route. And the alternate route was the worst patch of road as compared to rest of the road in the trip and we have to pay Rs 5 toll ! . The highway being in existence since long has lot of things for travellars unlike new bangalore chennai highway where we did not find any decent place to eat or rest. Only deterance was sudden speed breakers without any warning or coloring. And dummy speed breakers – there was zebra coloring but no speed breakers. But apart from this things and drive was fine. We stopped at woodys for breakfast which is after kolar. The roads in Andhra seemed to be better than in karnataka. Reached tirupati at 12 in noon.
We had lunch at andhra tourism hotel in srinivasa complex first floor. It was andhra style thali. Iterations of rice and dal, rice and sambhar , rice and rasam, rice and curd and then sweet dish. And the waiters did not allowed to mix and match the order. We managed to get rooms in hotel sindhu at the outskirts of tirupati which turned out the be a good value for money.
Next day after darshan we did some shopping near the temple. Down in tirupati we went to place called Shilparamam which was near the hotel. This is crafts village kind of place but there was nothing of that sort. The things being sold was nothing special and all of them you could find in your neighbourhood gift store. The entry is only 2 rs per person. car parking is 3 rs. It was a beautiful place but could have been more fun, looked like nrityagram in bangalore. There was a singing recital going on in the ampitheater with less than ten people as audience.
We wanted to stay in tirupati in night but could not get any place as all the hotels were booked for marriage. So we decided to go back to bangalore in night. We started at 8:30 pm.Decided to take dinner at woodys but it was closed in night which looked odd for a hotel on highway. Reached bangalore at 2 o clock in saturday night with enough time to rest on sunday.
Thanks for the information (bangalore -tirupati by car)
Thnx, this is wht I was looking for. I am plaing with my car. Thnx alot
Thanks, this gives useful information, can you give the information on how to get the darshan ticket when you go by car..also i wanted to know whether we can get a hotel in the hilltop ..near the temple …..
you can either book online or through some travel agents.
hi, are you mentioning “hotel sindhuri park”?
How far is the mentioned hotel from the tample? Do you need to take your car to the temple again (if it is far) and is there parking available at the temple?
Mayank – name of the hotel is “sindhu” and it is at the town which is at the base of hill. Temple will be around 15 kms from that place(not exact). and you have parking at the temple.
Thanks very much.
Hey, Thanks buddy…u solved my problem…i m driving tomorrow morning…wud surely stop in woody’s for breakfast…:)
Hi,
Could you please give us the information on how to get the darshan ticket when you go by car or is there any place in bangalore where we can get the Darshan tickets in advance.
With Warm regards,
Sanjay
Hi.
Thanks for vital information. Is there any short route with good roads to reach srikalahasthi from Bangalore. What about Kuppam/palamaner route?
Hi,
Thanks for your informative blog, yesterday I drove from Bangalore to Tirupati, with Family (4 pax, including me). My account goes as follows :
Travel : Started early morning at 5 AM, reached Tirumala (270 KMs) at 11 AM, as we went there with a single intention of having darshan (which we completed before 4 PM), I drove back to Bangalore same day and reached home at 11:30 PM (This was bit hectic, dropped to my bed as soon as we reached home and was asleep in no time, but got a confidence that I can drive 550 Kms in a single day)
Stay : Though I dint stayed, but as per the enquiries I made, there is some TTD counter opposite to Tirumala Bus Stand, where you can book the accomodation in different guest houses managed by TTD on per night basis.
Food : Being a typical north Indian Family we prefer North Indian food (in contrast to South Indian food which is treated as a delicacy, and not a staple meal). So, carried Poori Bhaji with us for a lunch, and had bread butter Jam breakfast along with nice tea on a road side Joint. On our way back we had south Indian food in some restaurant and also visited Cafe Coffee day before Kolar and had refreshing cuppa there.
Darshan : Since it was first time that I was visiting Tirupati, I asked for a information regarding Darshan from one of the old colleagues who is the native of AP, he told me that he has a relative working in TTD, who will help me getting the VIP entry through cellar (tkt 100 Rs. per head), I was very happy (felt like he is a true friend of mine), but that relative turned out to be a tout and after the Darshan demanded for Rs. 1000 (Rs. 800 for the person who signed the cellar recommendation and 200 for himself), I felt duped, but life is like that, and I reluctantly parted with the money.
Darshan Preparations : As soon as we reached Tirumala, we went to RamBagicha guest house no.3 where there was mini Kalyan Katta and got my Son’s head tonsured there (Rs. 10 per head), After that we went to a tank behind Sri Varaha Swamy temple and had a bath there (water was quite clean and bath turned out to be very refreshing).
Then we had a Darshan of Sri Varaha Swamy (recommended), before getting into the queue for darshan of Lord Sri Venkateshavara Swamy (Tirupati Balaji).
After the Darshan (was able to complete by 3-3:30 PM), we roamed around in the market for a while and did some shopping.
Experience and learning :
1. TTD has maintained the place well and has done a good job.
this time) and will not fall into tout trap.
2. Darshan was good as the time we went there was relatively less crowded.
3. In contrast to the practices followed in other temples (Rameshwaram, Menaxi temple etc. ) where Special Darshan (paid) means entering into main Sanctum Sanctorum and no proper darshan for people in free darshan queues, I liked the practice in Tirumala where the differentiation is only till we enter the temple, in front of lord all (free, 50 Rs, 100 Rs ) were equal and had equal darshan. (Felt like Tamil Brahmins are more corrupt than Andhra ones, no hard feelings only a personal experience).
4. Next time I will investigate more into types of Darshans available trough TTD itself (heard they have token counter in Bangalore, but being lazy enuff dint tried to get in touch wid
As per the Information I recieved, proper way to Darshan Includes :
1. Worship your Family Diety before leaving for Tirumala.
2. Have bath in Pushkarini, and worship Sri Varaha swamy in his temple before worshipping Lord Venkateshwara.
3. Have Darshan.
4. Have a bath in Papavinasam and AkasaGanga teerthams around Tirumala.
5. Deposit all your offerings in SriVari Hundi inside the main temple only.
Aum Shri Venkateshvaraya Namah !!!!
Really good information and will help us when we will drive down to temple….great and thanks a lot.
My trip to tirupati temple was a different experience, there is an MLA/MP’s Office. I went there and took a letter from them, as i had my elderly parents. I did not have any tickets nor booking, they issued me the letter, basis which at the counter i could buy VIP tickets off the shelf with a payment of Rs. 100/- per head, within an hour we completed DARSHAN, but the way it has been commericalised is the sad part.
Thank you very much . I am planning to go with my car.
thank you very much. I am planning to go tirupathi with my car
advanced bookings of sevas & accomodation (3days-90days) can be made online through http://www.ttdsevaonline.com.
2)Payment for advance reservation for sevas can be made through DDs sent atleast three months in advance, in favour of Peishkar, Sri TT Tirumala. For all details regarding Arjita Sevas, please dial 2279277 .
Advance reservations are not allowed for Archanantara Darsanam and Ekanta Seva.
To reserve seva tickets in advance, you can send a Demand Draft drawn on any nationalised bank, in favour of The Executive Officer, Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams, Tirupati, to the following address:
The Peishkar
Sri Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala – 517 504.
Chennai to Tirupati All inclusive car hire charges
http://tinyurl.com/bh3afs
Sharman’s Cab Company, Chennai City TamilNadu
Well documented. Thanks!
Very well presented, will help a lot of devotees.
alto, maha sadiyal car, wo chalata hai tum?
we will be visiting tirupati temple on 2 august, could someone please help me . i want to know whether we can get 100 Rs or 200 Rs. ticket in tirupati city as in mumbai all the tickets are sold out. i have evn heared that agents in tirupati city also sell tickets but a little coslty. is that true?
on jul-28 visitied tirupathi by car (accent). Total distance till tirumala (hill top, where temple is located) is around 275 KM. Road from bangalore to mulbagal is under construction and lot of diversions. Start early to avoid traffic on this road. After mulbagal you will enter Andhra and road is well maintained. Before entering Chittor follow the bypass road so as to avoid the chittor town. You will enter NH18 using the bypass and will pass puttalapatu. After puttalapatu you will hit a juction to tirupathi, follow the road and after approximately 30 km check for the chandragiri, this route will avoid the tirupathi city which will save you good 20-25 km and the city traffic. There is very small board for the chandragiri direction so keep a keen eye on the sign boards. I missed this board and went into tirupathi and spent another 45 mins of time. After chandragiri follow the boards for alipiri or tirumala else you will again hit tirupathi city.
It took me around 5 and half hours will bangalore traffic and frequent halts for lunch,tea etc……
Drive slowly on the hill top….
Hai All, I am planning to drive down to Tirupati this weekend, just wanted to know the condition of the road in that strech. (Bangalore – Tirupati)
When I read through one of the articles in a Forum, the gentleman had written that the lorry traffic is very dangerous in most of the places to the extent that he was forcibly pushed of the road, couple of times due to the opposite side lorry traffic. It being a state highway cannot expect the road condition be at par with the national highway level (like the Bangalore – Krishnagiri – Chennai/Salem).
Is it that bad !!! Any status on the present conditon of the roads that side.
Thanks
Sudhan
Thanks for lots information…
I traveling from Bombay to Bangalore. if someone have idea about how to book car from Bangalore airport for Tirupati darshan then it help me lot. please help me..