There is a tiny museum that is located within the Tirumala Tirupati temple that houses a fascinating collection of musical instruments and other religious exhibits. You must try and visit this museum during your travel tours to this part of Andhra Pradesh in South India. It is believed that all the rulers who have reigned in this region, be it the Cholas, Pandyas or the other kings, used to believe in and pay homage to the deity, Sri Venkateshwara. Different rulers have contributed to the building of this shrine over the years. The local ruler Krishnadevaraya installed statues of his consorts and himself at the doors of the main temple at Tirumala Tirupati that are there till date for you to see during your pilgrimage travel tours to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, India.
                                                                                                                       
Tirumala is a unique pilgrim centre which never sleeps. The darshan of the Lord begins at 3 am in the morning and ends at 12 pm midnight. The offerings include special Sevas and Sarva Darshan (Free Darshan). It takes around 3 to 4 hours waiting in "Q " for either Free Darshan or Rs.50.00 or Rs.40.00 paid darshan as the TTD have come out in a novel way by issuing computerized tokens to the pilgrims with approximate time to enter the "Q" complex. This system by TTD has considerably reduced the waiting time in the "Q" by the pilgrims and facilitates them to know their turn for Darshan and depending on the time gap they can visit the other temples around Tirupathi. These computerised tokens are issued at the Venkateswara Bus Stand and Padmavathi Bus stand in Tirupathi and near the main entrance at Tirumala.

Hundi offering is an important part of the pilgrimage to Tirumala. The collections, running into crores of rupees annually, are utilised for charitable purposes besides for the upkeep of the temple and making of the Laddu Prassadam and other Neivedyams distributed among the lakhs of devotees daily. With crores worth of hundi collections and gold and diamond jewellery used to adorn the idol, the Tirumala temple is the richest in the country.

Situated by the side of the temple is a sacred tank, known as Swamy Pushkarani, where many pilgrims take a holy dip before going to the temple. The shrine of Varaha Murthy, the original deity of Tirumala, is situated here. Offering of hair is another important vow many devotees undertake. Separate enclosures are provided for this purpose.

Temple Legends
Sri Venkatachala Mahatmya is referred to in several Puranas, of which the most important are the Varaha Purana and the Bhavishyottara Purana. The printed work contains extracts from the Varaha Purana, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, Harivamsa, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmottara Purana, Aditya Purana, Skanda Purana and Bhavishyottara Purana. Most of these extracts describe the sanctity and antiquity of the hills around Tirumala and the numerous teerthams situated on them. The legends taken from the Venkatachala Mahatmya and the Varaha Purana, pertaining to the manifestation of the Lord at Tirumala, are of particular interest. According to the Varaha Purana, Adi Varaha manifested Himself on the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini, while Vishnu in the form of Venkateswara came to reside on the southern bank of the Swami Pushkarini.
                                                                                                                     PILGRIMAGE ATTRACTIONS AT TIRUPATI

Padi Kavali Maha Dwara
The Padi Kavali Maha Dwara or Outer Gopuram stands on a quadrangular base. Its architecture is that of the later Chola period. The inscriptions on the gopuram belong to 13th century. There are a number of stucco figures of Vaishnava gods like Hanuman, Kevale Narasimha and Lakshmi Narasimha on the gopuram.

Sampangi Pradakshinam
The path for circumnavigating the temple is called a pradakshinam. The main temple has three prakarams. Between the outermost and middle prakarams is the second pathway for circumambulation known as the Sampangi Pradakshinam. Currently, this pathway is closed to pilgrims. The Sampangi Pradakshinam contains several interesting mandapams like the Pratima Mandapam, Ranga Mandapam, Tirumala Raya Mandapam, Saluva Narasimha Mandapam, Aina Mahal and Dhvajasthambha Mandapam.

Ranga Mandapam
Ranga Mandapam, also called the Ranganayakula Mandapam, is located in the south-eastern corner of the Sampangi Pradakshinam. The shrine within it is believed to be the place where the utsava murti of Lord Ranganadha of Srirangam was kept during the 14th century, when Srirangam was occupied by Muslim rulers. It is said to have been constructed between 1320 and 1360 AD by the Yadava ruler Sri Ranganadha Yadava Raya. It is constructed according to the Vijayanagara style of architecture.

Tirumala Raya Mandapam
Adjoining the Ranga Mandapam on the western side, and facing the Dhvajasthambha Mandapam is a spacious complex of pavilions known as the Tirumala Raya Mandapam or Anna Unjal Mandapam. It consists of two different levels, the front at a lower level and the rear at a higher. The southern or inner portion of this Mandapam was constructed by Saluva Narasimha in 1473 AD to celebrate a festival for Sri Venkateswara called Anna Unjal Tirunal. This structure was extended to its present size by Araviti Bukkaraya Ramaraja, Sriranga Raja and Tirumala Raja.

It is in this Mandapam, that the utsava murthi Malayappan, holds His annual darbar or Asthanam during the hoisting of the Garudadhwaja on Dhwajastambham to mark the commencement of Brahmotsavam. Incidentally, the prasadam distributed on this occasion is still called Tirumalarayan Pongal.
                                                                                                                   

Tirumala Raya Mandapam
The Mandapam has a typical complex of pillars in the Vijayanagara style, with a central pillar surrounded by smaller pillars, some of which emit musical notes when struck with a stone. The main pillars have rearing horses with warriors mounted on them. Some of the best sculptures of the temple are found in bold relief in the Mandapam. The bronze statues of Todermallu, his mother Matha Mohana Devi and wife Pitha Bibi, are kept in a corner of the Mandapam.

The Aina Mahal
The Aina Mahal is on the northern side of the Tirumala Raya Mandapam. It consists of two parts - an open mandapam in the front consisting of six rows comprising six pillars each, and a shrine behind it consisting of an Antarala and Garbhagriha. It has large mirrors which reflect images in an infinite series. There is an unjal in the middle of the room in which the Lord is seated and festivals conducted.

The Daily Routines at Tirumala Tirupati Temple
The daily program starts with 'Suprabhatam' (awakening the Lord) at three in the morning and end with the 'Ekanta Seva' (putting the Lord to sleep) at one in the night. Daily, Weekly and Periodical 'Sevas' and 'Utsavams' are performed to the Lord. Interested pilgrims can choose from the list and pay to get the Sevas or Utsavams done on their name. Devotees offer their gifts and donations in the "Hundi", which is the main source of income.

Festival of Tiumala Tirupati :
Everyday is a day of festivity at Tirumala. The most famous is the annual festival called 'Brahmotsavam', which is celebrated on grand scale for nine days in September, attracting pilgrims and tourists from all parts of the country. The fifth and ninth days of the festival are especially significant in as much as Garudostavam and Rathotavam takes place on those days.

Sudarsanam Token System

The Sudarsanam token system was introduced to minimise the waiting time for Sarvadarsanam, Special Darshan and other paid darshan /sevas. Some of its features:

Some precautions for you to take:

Special Darshan The entrance for Special Darshan is through the PPC (Queue Complex). The queue merges with the Sarvadarsanam queue at Bangaruvakili. Pilgrims who use this queue will have a shorter waiting time. There are two categories of special darshan, with tickets costing Rs. 40.00 and Rs. 50.00 per head. The darshan timings are the same as that for Sarvadarsanam

Code of Conduct The Temple Committee requests all visitors to preserve the sanctity of the Tirumala area. Suggestions in the form of 'Dos and Don'ts' are displayed at various places in Tirupati and Tirumala. You are requested to get acquainted with them before you visit Tirumala.

A summary of these suggestions is as follows :

The DO’s

Do pradakshinam (keeping the shrine to your right) with devotion before entering the temple

DON’Ts                                                                                              

Day 01 : Arrive Chennai                                                                             

Garlanding on arrival , meeting and assistance and transfer to hotel . Overnight at hotel.

Day 02 : Chennai – Tirupati

Morning depart by surface to Tirupati . On arrival check-in at hotel . Overnight at hotel .

Day 03 & Day 04 : In Tirupati

Full day at leisure to perform prayers . Overnight at hotel .

Day 05 : Tirupati – Chennai

Morning depart by surface to Chennnai . On arrival check-in at hotel . Overnight at hotel .

Day 06 : In Chennai

Morning city tour . Afternoon at leisure . Overnight at hotel .

Day 07 : Depart Chennai

In time transfer to airport to board flight for onward destination.

End of The Tour                                                                                                                  

• Any airfare, Trainfare, airfare, services of personal nature i.e Table drinks, Tips, Laundry, Telephone bills, meals,
• Portage , Tips , entrance charges, and any other expenses
• Any airport departure tax.
• Any thing not mentioned in Cost include