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Temperature:
Summer : Max. 43°C and Min. 22.3°C
Winter : Max. 32°C and Min. 13°C
Season:
Being the
richest and the most flocked pilgrimage, one can visit Tirupathi
any time during the year as each day is a day of festivities in
this place.
Situated
in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, 704 kms. from Hyderabad,
250 kms. from Bangalore and 150 kms. from Madras is the holy city
of Tirupathi.
It is famed
for the shrine on the Seven Hills on the top of Tirumala, a cluster
of seven hills known as Seshchala.
This shrine
is an important pilgrim centre for tourists in India because of
the temple of Lord Venkatesa. This is the God whose picture graces
the reception areas of most lodges and restaurants in southern India.
He is the one
with his eyes covered since his glaze is would scorch the world
and garlanded in so many flowers that only his feet are visible.
Among the powers
attributed to the Lord by his devotees is the granting of any wish
made in front of the idol at Tirumala. On the basis of such a legend
pilgrims flock here from all over India.
They are never
less than 5000 in number at any single point of time and in a day
the total is often as high as 100000 although the average is a mere
30000. The temple staff alone is nearly 6000. Such popularity makes
the temple one of the richest in India with the annual income running
in several billion rupees.
A lot of this
money is ploughed back to help the poor and into providing shelter
for pilgrims on their way to Tirumala. It is considered auspicious
to have your head shaved when visiting the temple.
The temple
is one of the few in India that will allow non-Hindus into the sanctum
sanctorum. As you face the entrance of the temple there is a small
museum at the top of the steps to the left. Among other things it
has a good collection of musical instruments including a tabla-type
drum called 'Ubangam'.
It is an engrossing
place where you can spend the whole day just wandering about and
despite the large number of pilgrims the place sees very few visitors.

City Info Info
Centres Visitors
Paradise
History Festivals Eat
& Stay
Transportation Special
Feature Travel
Agents
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