Atop the costliest hill!

Climbing the hill of Tirupathi to see the richest deity of Hinduism; to most, it sounds a Herculean task, I am sure. Trust me, when I was a little one, my mother along with my neighbours decided to climb and I was flabbergasted! More by the fact that I would not be seeing my mother for almost 6 hours! But within four hours, I was in her arms all smiles!

Almost 12 years later, I decided to accomplish this feat. The basics first: You need good company to keep you motivated, or at least speak with you constantly otherwise you will realise you are hitting the tiredness path and will lose out both on time and energy. The above may not hold good to those who love self-company and less talking! For a chatter-box like me, I have made my first do’s clear!


Travel plans for those who wish to climb:
Route: Bangalore to Tirupathi

• Package tours are the easiest bet! Generally they promise to put you in a decent hotel to rest and refresh and take you via a ‘quick’ route for darshan! My family chose this plan a few years ago, though we did not climb. Many young men had darshan arranged for themselves keeping in mind the time they would take to reach on top
• My favourite and mostly used plan: Take a bus from the Kempegowda Bus Stand, night times preferably. There are buses running to Tirupathi post 8 pm

I took a bus at 9:30pm and you will reach Tirupathi anytime between 3 and 3:30am. There is a guest house run by the government there, which is free for all. I cannot obviously vouch for utmost hygiene and cleanliness but you can have a quick bath without having to pay! For those who think otherwise, take a bus straight to Tirumala (the place of worship, atop the hill) and there are many places to stay.

Back to my trip: After refreshing, you take a bus to Alipiri which is hardly about 5 kms from Tirupathi. You begin your climb from here. I started at 5:15 am sharp. The climb up is about 14 kms long and can be divided under 3 stretches:

1. In my mother tongue it’s called, ‘Muzhankaal mudichu’ which means ‘knots in your knee’! Trust me, it is quite tough, this stretch! They are full of steep steps winding up with no stopping. But the good part is, they have well-maintained washrooms and lot of refreshment stalls for drink breaks. Make sure you carry a bottle and a pack of glucose. Do not eat anything because a full tummy may slow your pace down.
2. The next stretch is quite pleasant and easy. It is like a walk on the road with minimal steps and you will be treated to a herd of deer nibbling on grass. At this juncture, you could finish your breakfast as there are many stalls serving hot idlis and the like. Not to mention sinful ‘chilli bhajjis’ at 8 in the morning!
3. The last stretch is similar to the first one, but with less than half the steps! The joy of almost making it will keep you going and it is worthwhile!

As I remember, once you reach Alipiri, you can leave your baggage at the free luggage counter. Make sure you lock your bags otherwise they will not keep your bags. You pay a minimal fee which is refundable. By the time you make it to the top, they will have your luggage transported. So the first thing you do after achieving the feat, is to collect your bags!

Tickets available for Darshan:

1. Before leaving Bangalore, you can buy ‘Sudarshan tickets’ from the counters at Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanams which are across the city. These tickets are priced at 50/-. All you need to do is, stand in the queue for a minimum of 3 hours (!!!) and buy the ticket. The good part is that you get to choose the timings of your darshan, which again falls under 4 categories. The authorities take your finger print and a photograph of yours on the webcam.
2. As you finish your first stretch, there is a counter which gives away free darshan tickets for those who climb. I have never collected the same, so I don’t know how it works, but I have mentioned it as an option.
3. There is another ticket which can be purchased called ‘Anantha Darshan’ (the name may be different, will check again). This is priced at 100/- and the darshan time is early in the morning between 5:30 and 6:30
4. Several other options depending on the amount pay; higher the amount, easier the darshan!

I bought the ‘Sudarshan ticket’ priced at 50/- and you are entitled for 2 free ladoos! I hope I need not explain the value and the taste of the ladoos! The minute you enter the temple, the smell of ghee and dry fruits will take you to a different plane all right! You need to stand in the queue an hour earlier from the mentioned time on the ticket. For ex: A 10 am darshan, requires you to be in the queue at 9 am. In the three times I have climbed, twice I have waited not more than an hour. But the last time I went, it took me 3.5 hours so never time yourself and book your return tickets.

Yes, it is true that once inside the main place of worship, you are pushed and thrown to various directions but I guess it’s worthwhile to see the richest god! Your prayers in front of god will last less than a minute, unless you are among those who have paid a lot more! Following this, you are in yet another ‘delicious’ queue to receive prasadam! I must tell you, it’s a wonderful treat! They have sweet pongal (a dish made from dal, rice and jaggery), spicy pongal (a dish made from dal, rice, spices like pepper and cumin seeds), curd rice, puliyogare (rice spiced with tamarind) and many other mouth-watering stuff.

Next, you get to witness the money counting centre where men are busy counting away thousands and lakhs of notes and coins which contribute to the God’s worldly richness. You contribute to it if needed by offering money in the main Hundi (a huge gold vessel like structure).
Now to collect the famous ladoos; there is yet another queue. However due to many counters, they move quickly.

Note: Make sure you carry a bag; otherwise you have to pay 2/- to get a plastic carry-bag!

For those who want to shop, there are small shops which sell souvenirs where you could while away some time. There on, you take a bus down to Tirupathi. It is a 40 minute drive with some 14 hair-pin bends. Good time to catch up on some sleep. Once down, you must visit the deity’s wife, Alamelumaga!

She has a separate temple for herself which can be reached by another small bus ride. It is said that you must never leave the temple without buying Kum-kum (is a powder used for social and religious markings in Hinduism). Hawkers will persuade you to buy a lot of other things like bangles, mangoes etc. Once done, you go back to Tirupathi.

Take the night’s bus back to Bangalore; take a bus after 10 so that you reach early in the morning where transport is available back home. I took a bus at 6:30 pm and reached Bangalore at 1 am! The auto drivers are sure to give you unimaginable rates to take you home!

Do not visit Tirupathi during June and July. Temperatures soar up to 45 degree celcius! I once went in January and was welcomed by some pleasant showers which makes your climb pleasant too!

Add on more information if I have missed out on any vitals!