India Travel

Tirupati

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Southern Andhra Pradesh

The further south you travel from the fertile lands watered by the great Krishna and Godavari rivers, the less hospitable the terrain becomes, especially in the rocky southwest of the state. For Hindus, the main attraction in southern Andhra Pradesh is the tenth-century Venkateshvara temple, outside Tirupati, the most popular Vishnu shrine in India, where several thousand pilgrims come each day to receive darshan. Puttaparthy, the home town of the spiritual leader Sai Baba, is the only other place in the region to attract significant numbers of visitors. Both Tirupati and Puttaparthy are closer to Bangalore in Karnataka and Chennai

Buses to and from Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad to; Amaravati (2 daily; 7hr]; Bangalore (hourly; 13hr); Bidar (19 daily; 4hr); Chennai (1 daily; 16hr); Mumbai (8 daily; 17hr); Puttaparthy (3 daily; l0hr); Tirupati (7 daily; 12hr); Vijayapuri (10 daily; 4hr]; Vijayawada (every 15min; 6hr); Warangal (every 15-30min; 3hr). Tirupati to: Chennai (every 30min; 3hr30min-4hn: Kanchipuram (hourly; 3hr30min); Hyderabad (7 daily; 12hr); Mahabalipuram (3 daily; 5hr 30min; Puttaparthy (1 daily; 10hr). Vijayawada to: Amaravati (hourly; 2hr); Guntur (every 15min; 1hr-1hr30min): Hyderabad (every 15min; 6hri).

Tirupati General Information

The best way of getting to Tirupati is by train from Chennai; the trip can be done in a day if you get the earliest of the three daily services (3hr 30 min). From Hyderabad it takes sixteen hours. An APTDC counter at the railway station (daily 7.30am-7pm) is accessible from the entrance hall and platform 1, where there's a 24hr left-luggage office and a self-service veg refreshment room. Stands sell English copies of TKT Viraraghava Charya's History of Tirupati, and there's a Vivekananda religious bookshop next door. Tirupati's APSRTC Central bus station - also with 24hr left-luggage - is

Trains to and from Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad/Secunderabad to: Aurangabad (1 daily; 12hr 22min); Bangalore (3-1 daily; 11 hr 45min-15hr50min); Bhubaneswar (3 daily; I9hr 50min-22hr 55min): Calcutta (2 daily; 27ht 40min-33hr 15min|; Chennai (2 daily, 14hr 5min-14hr 15min); Delhi (2-3 daily; 22hr 10min-32hr 50min); Mumbai (3 daily; 15hr 35min-i7hr 40min); Timpati (3-4 daily; 14hr-15hr 30min); Varanasi (2 weekly; 30hr 15min); Vijayawada (12-13 daily: 5hr 10min-7hr 45min); Vishakapatnam (5-6 daily; 11 hr 30min-19hr 10min); Warangal (9-10 daily; 2hr 8min-3hr 18min). Tirupati to: Chennai (3 daily; 3hr 15min); Hyderabad/Secunderabad (3-4 daily; 13hr 20min-17hr 10mm); Tinjchirapalli (1 daily; 14hr 15min|; Vatanasi (1 daily: 36hr); Vijayawada (3-6daily; 6hr 25min-8hr 45min>; Vishakapatnam (2-3

Tiruchanur Padmavati temple

Between Tirupati and Tirumala Hill, the Tiruchanur Padmavati temple is another popular pilgrimage halt. A gold vimana tower with lions at each corner surmounts the sanctuary, which contains a black stone image of goddess Lakshmi with one silver eye. At the front step, water sprays to wash the feet of the devotees. A Rs 20 ticket allows you to jump the queue to enter the sanctuary. If you'd like to donate a sari to the goddess, you may do so, upon payment of Rs. 1200 . Cameras are prohibited.

Practicalities to Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu

Tiruvannamalai is served by regular buses from Vellore, and by eleven daily services from Pondicherry. Coming from the coast, it's easiest to make your way there on one of the numerous buses from Tindivandum. The town bus stand is 2km north of the temple on the main road to Gingee. Haifa kilometre north of there, the railway station is on the line between Tirupati and Madurai, with a daily service in each direction. Amazingly, you can access the internet from Tiruvannamalai, at the Image Computer Centre, 52 Car St (daily 10am-10pm).

Moving on from Hyderabad

Daily train services from Hyderabad railway station {Nampally) include: the Charminar Express #2760 to Chennai (7pm; 14hr); the Hyderabad-Cochin Express #7030 (noon; 27hr); Andhra Pradesh Express #2723 to Delhi (6.40am; 26hr); Hyderabad-Mumbai Express #7032 (8.40pm; 17hr); East Coast Express #7046 to Calcutta (7am; 33hr) via Vijayawada (6hr), Vishakapatnam (13hr 30min) and Bhubaneswar (23hr); Rayasaleema Express #7429 to Tirupati (5.30pm; 15hr 30min). All northeast-bound services call at Warangal and most at Vijayawada. From Secunderabad, there are some originating services and many through trains in all directions. Useful services include the Konarak Express #1020 to Mumbai (10.50am; 17hr 30min), Secunderabad-Bangalore Express #7085

Travel details in Central Tamil Nadu

Trains Trains from Egmore; all others from Central. Chennai to: Bangalore (7 daily; 4hr 45min-8hr 10min); Bhubaneswar (7 daily; 20hr 10min-24hr): Calcutta (2-3 daily; 28hr 15min-32hr 50min). Coimbatore (2 daily; 6hr 50min-8hr 55mm); Chengalpattu (5 daily*; Itir); Delhi (3 daily; 29-43hr); Dindigul (5 daily"; 5hr 45min-9hr): Hyderabad (2 daily; 14-15hr); Kanniyakumari (1-2 daily; 15hr45min-17hr 15min): Kochi (5 weekly: 10-13hr); Kodaikanal Road (4 daily*; 9hr); Kumbakonam (3 daily; 7hr 20min); Madurai (5-6 daily*; 8hr-11 hr 20min); Mumbai (3 daily; 24hr 15min-31hr30min); Mysore (2 daily; 4hr 45min-iihr 20min); Pune (3 daily: 2Ohr-25hr 30min); Rameshwaram (2-3 daily*: 14hr 30min-24hr); Salem (10 daily; 4-6hr); Thanjavur

Govindarajaswamy temple

Just a five-minute walk from the railway station, the one temple in Tirupati itself definitely worth a visit is Govindarajaswamy, whose modern is clearly visible from many points in town. Begun by the Nayaks in the sixteenth century, it is an interesting complex with large open courtyards decorated with lion sculptures and some ornate wooden roofs. It also houses the Venkateshvara Museum of Temple Arts. The inner sanctum is open to non-Hindus and contains a splendid large black reclining Vishnu, coated in bronze armour and bedecked in flowers. The sanadarsanan (daily 9.30am-12.30pm: Rs5) will let you in to glimpse the

Chandragiri Fort

In the sixteenth century, Chandragiri, 11 km southwest of Tirupati, became the third capital of the Vijayanagars, whose power had declined following the fall of the city of Vijayanagar (Hampi) in Karnataka. It was here that the British negotiated the acquisition of the land to establish Fort St George, the earliest settlement at what is now Chennai. The original fort, thought to date from c. 1000 AD, was taken over by Haider Ali in 1782, followed by the British in 1792. A small museum of sculpture, weapons and memorabilia is housed in the main building, the Indo-Saracenic Kaja Mahal. Another

Flights to and from Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad to: Ahmedabad (4 weekly: 1hr40min): Bangalore (2-3 daily; 1hr); Calcutta (1-2 daily; 2-3hr); Chennai (3-4 daily; 1hr-1hr 45min); Cochin (2 weekly; 2hr 40min); Delhi (3 daily; 2hr-2hr10min|; Mumbai (6-7 daily; 1 hr 15min-3hr); Tirupati (1-2 daily; 55min-1hr 20min); Vishakapatnam (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min). Puttaparthy to: Mumbai (2 weekly: 1 hr 20min). Vishakapatnam to: Bhubaneswar (4 weekly; 55min); Calcutta (4 weekly; 2hr 20min); Chennai (4 weekly; 1hr 5min); Delhi (4 weekly; 3hr 35min); Hyderabad (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min); Mumbai (1 daily; 2hr45min).

Faizabad southwest of Ayodhya in the Uttar Pradesh

During the reign of Shuja-ud-Daula (1756-75), as the Moghul empire disintegrated. FAIZABAD, 6km southwest of Ayodhya, attracted craftsmen, artists and musicians from Delhi. However, the first capital of Avadh declined in tandem with the rise of Lucknow. Among the few monuments to survive is the lofty white marble Tomb of Bahu Begum, widow of Shuja-ud-Daula, close to the the nawab's own mausoleum. Faizabad's cantonment area is a legacy of British rule - caught up in the rebellion of 1857, it was thankfully spared the bloodshed seen in Kanpur and Lucknow. Cheap central accommodation can be found near the chowk in the

Andhra Pradesh Guided tours

India Touring operates a number of guided tours. All times quoted below are when the tours set off from the Secunderabad office; pick-up time in Hyderabad is 45 min later. The better of the two city tours (daily 8am-5.15pm; Rs130) includes Husain Sagar, the Birla temple and planetarium, Qutb Shahi tombs (not Fri), Salar Jung Museum (not Fri), Charminar and Golconda. There are also shorter morning and afternoon city tours and one to Golconda Fort's sound and light show (daily 4.15-9.15pm); Rs 100 including entrance fee), which also drives past Hi-Tech City. Ramoji Film City, 35km south, also has its own

Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu

Ask any Tamil what KANCHIPURAM (aka "Kanchl") is famous for, and they'll probably say silk saris, shrines and saints - in that order. A dynastic capital throughout the medieval era, it remains one of the seven holiest cities in the subcontinent, sacred to both Shaivites and Vaislmavites, and among the few-surviving centres of goddess worship in the south. Year round, pilgrims pour through for a quick puja stop on the Tirupati tour circuit and, if they can afford it, a spot of shopping in the sari emporia. For non-Hindu visitors, however, Kanchipuram holds less appeal. Although the temples are undeniably

Nathdwara of Udaipur in Rajasthan

The temple dedicated to Krishna - known also as Nath, the favourite avatar (incarnation) otVishnu - at NATHDWARA."Gateway to God", is said to be the second richest temple in India after Tirupati (in Andhra Pradesh). The site was known as Sihar until the moment in the seventeenth century when1 a chariot laden with an image of Krishna became stuck in the mud 26km north of Eklingji. The idol was being carried from Krishna's birthplace Mathura to Udaipur to spare it almost certain destruction by Aurangzeb; its bearers interpreted the event as a divine sign and established a new temple where

Andhra Pradesh

Although ANDHRA PRADESH occupies a great swathe of eastern India, stretching for more than 1200 km along the coast from Orissa to Tamil Nadu and reaching far inland from the fertile deltas of the Godavari and Krishna rivers to the semi-arid Deccan Plateau, it's not a place that receives many tourists. Most foreign travelers pass through en route to its more attractive neighbors, which is understandable as places of interest are few and far between. However, the sights that Andhra Pradesh does have to offer are absorbing and well enough connected to warrant at least a few stops on a

History of Andhra Pradesh

Earliest accounts of the region, dating back to the time of Ashoka (third century BC), refer to a people known as the Andhras. The Satavahana dynasty (second century BC-second century AD), also known as the Andhras, came to control much of central and southern India from their second capital at Amaravati on the Krishna. They enjoyed extensive international trade with both eastern Asia and Europe, and were great patrons of Buddhism. Subsequently, the Pallavas from Tamil Nadu, the Chalukyas from Karnataksj and the Cholas all held sway. By the thirteenth century, the Kakatiyas of Warangal were under constant threat from

Accommodation and eating from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu

There's not a great choice of accommodation in Kanchipuram, but the hotels are sufficient for a night. The less expensive lodges offer minimal comfort, while the pricier places, if not exactly elaborate, are clean and comfortable and generally serve good south Indian dishes in their own restaurants. The most highly rated place to eat in town, however, is Saravana Bhavan on Gandhi Road, an offshoot of the famous Chennai chain of pure vegetarian restaurants, which offers superb Rs30 "meals" at lunchtime, and a long list of south Indian snacks the rest of the day. They open at 6am for breakfast,

Accommodation of Tiruchirapalli in Central Tamil Nadu

Trichy has no shortage of hotels to accommodate the thousands of pilgrims that visit the town; dozens cluster around the bus stands and offer good value for money. While most are rather characterless lodges, there are a few more comfortable upmarket hotels. Traffic noise is a real problem in this area, so ask for a room at the back of any hotel you check into. Ajanta, Rockins Road, A huge, 86-room complex centred on its own Vijayanagar shrine, and with an opulent Tirupati deity in reception. Popular with middle-class pilgrims: rooms (the singles are particularly good value) are plain and clean,

Tirumala Hill, the Venkateshvara temple and Kapilateertham

There's good reason for the small shrine to Ganesh at the foot of Tirumala Hill. The journey up is hair-raising and it's worth saying a quick prayer when embarking on it, but at least separate routes up and down preclude head-on crashes. Overtaking is strictly forbidden, but drivers do anyway; virtually every bend is labelled "blind" and every instruction to drive slowly is blithely ignored. The fearless sit on the left for the best views; the most devout, of course, climb the hill by foot. "When you get to the top, you will see barbers busying themselves giving pilgrims tonsures