Shravanabelgola - Karnataka

Shravanabelgola is a city located in Hassan District in Karnataka state. Shravanabelgola is a extraordinary Jain Pilgrimage site spreads over two hills, several tanks and village. Its highlight is the main temple crowning Indragiri Hill. Inside its precincts stands a 57-foot monolithic statue of Gommata. With long arms and legs entwined with creepers, he is wonderfully serene and oblivious to the crowds of prostrate pilgrims below. Sculptures of Jain Tirthankaras (prophets) and Yaksas (demigods), as well as 9th to 19th century reliefs carved into boulders, continue on Ghandragiri, the samll hill to the north.

How to reach:

Shravanabelgola is 158 kms away from Bangalore, 89 kms away from Mysore and 364 kms from hubli. State buses are available from Bangalore and Mysore.

Hassan is the nearest railway station and Bangalore is the nearest Airport for Shravanbelgola

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam - Andhra Pradesh

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a famous hindu temple of Lord Venkateswara located in Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh. The temple is build on venkatadri hill, one of the seven hills of tirumala, and hence it is known as "Temple of Seven Hills". The temple is the richest and most visited place of worship in the work. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 10,000 pilgrims daily. At the time of Bhramotsavam and other special occasions, its about 5,00,000 pilgrims.

History of the Temple:

Thondaiman, a king, is a ruler of Thondaimangalam (South side of Chennai), is believed to have first bulit the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream. He bulind the Gopuram and Prakhara, and then he arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple. Later, the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments.

Dharshan:

Tirumala Tirupati devasthanam made queue systems for Dharshan to control crowd. There are some types of queue systems as follows:-
1. Dharma Dharshan - Free of cost (average time takes about 10 hours for Dharshan)
2. Sudharshanam - Rs. 50 per head (average time takes about 3 hours for Dharshan)
3. Nija Pada Dharshanam - Rs. 100 per head (average time takes about 2 hours for Dharshan)
Apart for this, there are separate queue for senior citizens.
And for kalyanam in temple, Rs. 1000

Prasadham:

Tirupati Laddu is the world famous prasadham given by the temple. Recently the trust has taken copy rights Laddu prasadham. Hencu no one can prepare same type. Free meals given by the temple to the pilgrimages.

Travel Routes:

By roads and railways, its around 592 kms far away from hyderabad and from chennai, its around 120 kms. Airlines facilities also available for tirupati in daily basis.