Tirupati Tour : Andhra Pradesh Tourism Package

Just came back from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Here goes my travelogue :-)

Recently my parents were in town, I wanted to take them to the famous Tirumala Temple situated in Tirupati. It is around 650 Kms from Hyderabad. Initially it was quite confusing, as everyone was giving different suggestion on how to go, where to stay etc etc. I was totally confused on what to do as there were no tickets available for the temple, even the bus tickets prices were high. I did not have any idea of the lodging and food in Tirupati. But Finally the trip was a success, thanks to APTDC.

Why Triupati ?

Quoting wikipedia "The temple is the richest pilgrimage centre, after the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, of any faith (at more than INR 500 billion) and the most-visited place of worship in the world." i.e. to feel the rich heritage of ancient India one should at least go once to this place. And the story behind this temple is simply described in the following video

Booking the ticket

I booked a ticket from APTDC website on Monday and took the tickets for Wednesday. You've to register on their website and search for the packages available in "Enquiry/Reservation" section. Sadly there is no phone number given on the website for the enquiry but I was impressed with the chat facility (bottom right side of the page) provided on their website. It gives correct information about whatever you ask. I took 3 days tour package which was suppose to start from Hyderabad on Wednesday evening and drop me back to Hyderabad on Friday morning. Unfortunately, there were not enough bookings for Wednesday so they cancelled the tour and informed me on Tuesday evening further they gave me two options

1.  Cancel the trip and full money will be refunded to my account. 
2.  Go for the booking on next day I was made assure that they have sufficient no of bookings for Thursday, so there is no chances of cancellation. 

I opted for the second one. There are no phone numbers given on the website, so it might become difficult for you to contact them. The numbers I called for these bookings and confirmations etc is : 04066745986


Day 1 - Hyderabad to Tirupati :

We reached at APTDC's Kukatpally pick up location at 5:00 PM. There was nice seating arrangement to wait for the bus. Receptionist was polite and he confirmed my seat after checking my ticket. And yes, don't forget to print the tickets which will be mailed to your mailbox as soon as you book the ticket. At around 5:15 the Bus arrived, It was a Mercedes and in very good condition.

Bus started at exactly 5:30 and stopped at two more pick up location before leaving Hyderabad. At around 10:00 PM bus stopped at "Hotel Delhi Darbar" on the highway for dinner. The restaurant was good and the dinner costs 250 INR for three people.

Day 2 - Tirupati

We reached Tirupati at 7:00 AM next day, as soon as we entered the city guide "Mr. Reddy" hop on to the bus, woke us up and explained plan for the day. Guide was very good and patient while answering questions. Bus stopped at Srinivas Guest House, and rooms were allotted 2 person in one room. Since we were three we were given only one room, but later, I was given a separate room alone. Rooms were clean and tea facility was there, however they charge 10 rs per cup and some tip to the waiter.

1 hour time was given for to freshen up, after that, guide instructed us to keep all our luggage in the BUS except mobile/wallet/purse and have breakfast at a near by restaurant. It costs around 70-80 rs for the breakfast. We started at around 10:00 PM for Tirumala Hills by a local transport bus (Non Ac). View of Tirumala hills while the bus climbs up was awesome.

On reaching top, guide instructed us to keep our mobile/camera at a shop. It charges 10 rs per item (mobile/camera). You can carry your wallet/hand-bags with you inside the temple. Next, he asked if someone wants extra "Laddus". If you want extra "Laddus" you can give 50/- rs per Laddu to guide, which can be received along with the two free Laddus (which is included in the ticket) after the darshan. Guide arranges for the 300/- rs ticket (included in the package) and we went in a queue. Since it was a friday, we finished darshan within 1 hr and we were free by 2:00 PM. After darshan, we collected our mobile/camera did some photography on the hill top and then started for the Tirupati city to visit Padmavati Temple. Before visiting the Padmavati Temple, guide took us to a restaurant for the lunch. The restaurant was good with excellent food. They have Thaali as well as chiness and other indian foods. I ordered fried rice and Manchurian, which was tasty. Food costs around 150 rs per head.

After the lunch, we went to visit Padmavati Temple, and then we started our journey back to Hyderabad. In between the bus stops at APTDC's own restaurant for dinner. Food was cheap and good. It costs 200 for three people. We reached Hyderabad next morning 7:00 AM.