Tirumala is located near the holy city of Tirupati in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh State, South India, between 13° and 14° North Latitude and 17° East Longitude

A Guide Map to Tirumala


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Food

Food Packets, Snacks and Coffee are sold inside the Queue Complex. On a crowded day the refreshments may be sold out fast. It is always safe to buy some biscuits and fruits before you enter the Queue Complex. Mayura, Woodlands (Main and Annexe) and Akshaya Restaurants serve both North and South Indian menu.

India Coffee House, Woodside, Annapoorna and New Central Cafe are some of the other restaurants on Tirumala (for location of these restaurants refer guideline map). Roadside restaurants serve food round the clock. It is safe to carry your own drinking water on Tirumala.

Shopping

'Lepakshi' - the A.P. Government Showroom is a safe bet to buy handicrafts. At all other places you have to bargain. On Tirumala ask for the price before you buy anything; otherwise even a newspaper will cost you a lot!

Tirumala - The Seven Sacred Hills

The picturesque Tirumala hills is situated 2820 ft above MSL and is about 100sq.m in area . It comprises seven peaks ,representing the seven hoods of Audisesha , thus earning the name Seshachalam.

The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Vedadri, Garudadri, Anjandri, Vrishabhadri, Narayandri and Venkatadri (Adri in sanskrit means Hill).The Venkatam hill is believed to be a part of the celestial mount meru, brought to the earth from Vaikuntam by Garuda.The sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak,Venkatdri and there are several legends associated with the manifestation of the lord in Tirumala. The shrine of the lord is very ancient and there are ample references to it in the early inscriptions belonging to the Chola and Pallava periods as well in the Sangam literature.

The abode of the lord is about 10 Km north-west of Tirupati and there are footsteps leading to the hill as well as two separate serpentine roads to reach the shrine. According to legend ,God Vishnu revealed himself earlier in the previous incarnations as Varahaswamy on the banks of the present temple tank..This manifestation of the white boar (Sveta Varaham) is enshrined in the Adi Varahaswany temple situated on the northeastern banks of the tank.