[InControl]

Originally Posted by FURY_44

I think you will have to try to book tickets for April. In general, try to visit the TTD website after 20th of the month, they will have the dates announced.

There is one option, but it will be too hectic. TTD is offering free darshanam tickets, 10,000 per day for direct visitors, last week I heard those with a free darshan ticket procured directly had a wait time of 4 days, it does not make sense for you to try this.

Thank you for the info. A wait time of 4 days would be a no-go for me. Yes, April is the option left, I was wary of going in April & May due to the summer heat and there would be a lot of rush(exams time)

[adisan]

Originally Posted by InControl

Any other Sewa tickets that I can book to get a darshan.

APSRTC offers the facility to book SED along with booking bus tickets on some routes, including Bangalore - Tirupati. Have heard that it is mandatory to travel by the same bus to get the darshan, though I am not sure whether this is true. This is not a package tour.

You might like to check this option and the rules around the same.

[kavu75]

Had a good darshan yesterday. Started from Bangalore at 5am and reached Tirumala at 9.45. Not much traffic through out, first time driving Chittor bypass after the development.
After my tonsuring, got into SED queue at 11.15 and exit at 11.40. Just verified ID details, didn't ask for vaccination or -ve certificate
Luckily there was no merging of queues at that time, it was almost like a non stop walk with 2 to 3 minute stop here and there.
Not much social distancing and many are not wearing masks.
I could see lot of crowd outside and even in walking up path also, might be for different timing.

[adisan]

Originally Posted by saisree

TTD switched from the TCS developed site to the Jio hosted one and this is even more pathetic.

Originally Posted by mazda4life

I liked the old website than the current n(new) Jio one, earlier you could create a profile and list of users but now its not the case... 1 step forward and 2 steps backward when it comes to ease of use with the provision to book accommodation now getting delinked with the ticket reservation process.

Some observations about the TTD e-seva portal then and now.

Pre-covid times:
Ticket quotas used to be released 2-3 months in advance for SED, Arjitha sevas and accommodation. The number of tickets available in each category was much much higher. People were able to book tickets at leisure, sometimes even a handful of days prior to darshan. Besides, separate quotas for Divya Darshan, SSD and ticketless Sarva Darshan also were available (these are directly availed, not through the e-seva portal). The e-seva portal was designed with all these in mind, and used to work more or less flawlessly.

Post-covid times:
SED was the only option available for darshan and with only a fraction of quota compared to pre-covid. SSD was later resumed, and intermittently allowed with limited quota based on the covid situation. Another change was that by end of each month, the SED quota for the subsequent month was released. Till almost end-2020, the demand was low, but after that the existing system began to struggle when thousands of people simultaneously attempted to book tickets as soon as the quota was released. To retrieve the slot details, select a slot, make the payment used to be a big struggle, sometimes taking half an hour.

To address that, the present system of virtual queue was introduced. In this system, the number of people simultaneously attempting to retrieve / update the slot details is throttled, and the process till choosing a slot is smooth. It is the payment gateway that seems to struggle in the present system as per news reports (Times of India report).

[samkat1]

We managed to get the Special Entry Darshan ticket at Tirumala for 7th March and it is mentioned that we need to report at ATC Circle. As we are driving on our own from Hyderabad and staying downhill in Tirupati, I need to understand if there is any safe parking place near the ATC circle? As the reporting time is mentioned as 11 AM, how early should we consider reaching there to ensure that we are able to park the vehicle and walk to the reporting centre?

Thanks in advance.

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by samkat1

We managed to get the Special Entry Darshan ticket at Tirumala for 7th March and it is mentioned that we need to report at ATC Circle. As we are driving on our own from Hyderabad and staying downhill in Tirupati, I need to understand if there is any safe parking place near the ATC circle? As the reporting time is mentioned as 11 AM, how early should we consider reaching there to ensure that we are able to park the vehicle and walk to the reporting centre?

Thanks in advance.

There's car parking close to ATC Circle.

https://goo.gl/maps/vCcUjZ91w7Ci4z946

[SVMBLR]

Originally Posted by samkat1

We managed to get the Special Entry Darshan ticket at Tirumala for 7th March and it is mentioned that we need to report at ATC Circle. As we are driving on our own from Hyderabad and staying downhill in Tirupati, I need to understand if there is any safe parking place near the ATC circle? As the reporting time is mentioned as 11 AM, how early should we consider reaching there to ensure that we are able to park the vehicle and walk to the reporting centre?

Thanks in advance.

You can park the vehicle near ATC circle / Museum road. Incase if you reach early before your reporting time, security staff will allow you SED if there is no much crowd.

[InControl]

Any idea when the Special Entry Darshan tickets would open on the ttd website for April

[adisan]

Originally Posted by InControl

Any idea when the Special Entry Darshan tickets would open on the ttd website for April

Should be around 25th. Better to keep checking the e-seva site from 20th onwards. At least a day in advance they notify.

[BRV]

Originally Posted by InControl

Any idea when the Special Entry Darshan tickets would open on the ttd website for April

Darshanam tickets for April, May, June will be released on 21, 22, 23 March

For more information, please check on https://tirupatibalaji.ap.gov.in/

[adisan]

For the seva bookings, they have retained the old system. And all the problems faced in early 2021 for SED booking are presenting themselves again.

Lots of delay in each step:

to get the seva calendar
to select the seva date
to get to the payment gateway
to make the payment

Got automatically logged out 2-3 times, and then to login again takes a long time.

[InControl]

Originally Posted by adisan

Should be around 25th. Better to keep checking the e-seva site from 20th onwards. At least a day in advance they notify.

Originally Posted by BRV

Darshanam tickets for April, May, June will be released on 21, 22, 23 March

Thank you so much for the heads up. I was able to book the SED tickets for Saturday, April 2nd. Unlike many booking experiences here, the booking process was very smooth and happened without a hotch

[ghodlur]

The seegra darshanam tickets were opened at 9 am today for April month. And as usual encountered server error. Luckily my friend was also in the process of of getting the tickets booked and he booked for me for the 8th April date and 1600 slot. Will be driving from Bangalore on 8th, stay at Tirupati on 9th and return back on 10th April. Hopefully the plans goes all well.

I am told the accomodation booking will happen tomorrow, strange.

[adisan]

Huge traffic jam at Alipiri as number of pilgrims increases (Report in The Hans India)

In the wake of decrease in Coronavirus cases, Alipiri in Tirupati witnessed a huge traffic jam following the increase in the devotees rush on Saturday. Vehicles have been lined up for several kilometres at the check post in Alipiri which caused to delay to devotees darshan.

[Swarup5]

Visited Tirumala on 21st March. I drove all the way from Mysuru to Tirumala and back in my car(~900kms in total) via Bangalore-chitoor-Tirupati. Roads were excellent with no issues whatsoever . Food options near Nanngli border (Krishna grand) were good and Tirupati town on the way back ( Pai viceroy) was clean and tasty.

Got the sight of the lord after waiting for 2 hours approximately. Crowds were pretty much high for a weekday.

Sheegradarshana ticket booked a month ago got us basic A/C accommodation at Shanku mitta guest house(Basic rooms and beds, toilets were not in a great shape either). Rooms are large and can accommodate 4 people easily. The system of room allocation is automated and we receive an SMS once we scan the ticket at a toll booth in the entry. Parking space is ample and facilities are very near to the Q complex.

Covid norms and checking seem a thing of the past, there was no check for vaccination certificate either.