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-   -   Tirumala / Tirupati Seegradarshanam query (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/75615-tirumala-tirupati-seegradarshanam-query-47.html)

Hey even i wanted to book accommodation on Tirumala as my slot is too late for us to come down to Tirupati, can you please explain the process a bit more. Did you book the accommodation in advance online ?

There is one accommodation given to Sheegradarshana bookings. Once the tickets are booked we need to log in to the same portal and book accommodation. Usually, they open the accommodation booking on the same day second half or the next day of SED booking.

They give only 1-day accommodation for every SED ticket. The accommodation is pretty big and can accommodate 4 adults easily.

In case you don't have the booking, it is better to book other private accommodations in advance before going. On spot, bookings were allowed, however, advance booking is very seamless and easy.

I have 4 * 300 rupees special darshan tickets booked, but for accomodation it still says that the quota is not released for 2nd april :unhappy

Sorry got confused a bit reading this. We can book accommodation in advance right? Do we have a choice of rooms or is it automatically allocated? If given a choice which is the best accommodation to choose? Will need parking too.

I am told the accommodation bookings for April 2022 will be open on March 26th.

Yes booking in advance is best once they open the accommodation quota on portal. There is a choice of room based on budget not by the locality. So we were 5 people (4 adults and 1 kid) and opted for 1700 Rs accommodation which is A/C room . Allotment of exact room and location is done dynamically once we enter the toll and scan the QR before climbing the hill . We got an SMS in around 40 minutes of scanning the ticket at entry. As I said the rooms are basic and toilets are not in great shape, but it could be different in your case. Parking is ample and not a thing to worry if you have Ttd accommodation.

TTD Accomodation is a hit or miss. Especially if you are looking for the higher categories with a bigger budget. For just a bed and bathroom, the cheaper rooms work. Like said above, you can only choose the budget and they allocate a place, even though at times I have been offered a choice that too with some expectation of greasing palms. Some blocks are new and these have good facilities while some are quite old and run down with awful maintenance. The other issue is size. Once I booked a 2000 rupee room to be provided a cottage with two separate bedrooms and a total of five beds and two bathrooms even though we were only three of us. The next time, when we were actually five and I booked the same category, we ended up in a triple bedded room that too with no concept of extra bed.

Hence, lesson learnt from then, just book a room downhill in Tirupati and only visit Tirumala for darshan. And I somewhat happened to notice an increased palm greasing expectations all over TTD so I stopped paying for anything more than the darshan and seva.

Ditto. +1 . Thats the exact reason why i stopped staying up hill in Tirumala. Another reason why i am not staying up in Tirumala cottages is that, for food (lunch or dinner or even for a coffee/tea), you have to drive down / walk long way , wait for longer time in limited restaurants available and that is more time consuming.

I stay in Tirupati in a much better , comfortable accommodation , either in a hotel or homestay depending on budget, need, number of people and locality. Plan the darshan timings in such a way that i return back for night.
Post covid, nowadays, i am doing a day trip from Bangalore-Tirupati-Tirumala-Bangalore and not staying even in Tirupati, but downside is I miss the time to see temples around Tirupati.

-Ravi

The TTD accommodation booking at Tirumala turned out to be a miss since the availability turned out to be unavailable within 10 mins of slot openings. So should I book the room at the Srinivasam complex or Madhavam Guest house on the day of arrival i.e 8th April. I have a darshan slot at 1600 hrs. If I reach Tirupati by say 11 am it will give me sufficient time to reach Tirumala for the darshan? What is the general attire code for the temple visit? Asking this since we might need to change clothes to the attire code. Thinking of booking Srinivasam complex since the buses for Tirumala do start from the complex itself. I can drive to Tirumala and change in the car if reqd??

Need suggestions.

At tirupati, you have TTD managed guest houses like you mentioned or many hotels to choose from. it takes about 45 mins to get to tirumala from tirupati.

As for attire, if this is special darshan of 300 rupees, then any shirt + lungi/dhoti/cotton pajamas would do for men. No western style trousers allowed. Women should wear Indian traditional clothing.

I guess my bad luck continues since the accommodation at Tirupati also seems to be full. Any suggestions for good hotels around Sreenivasam complex? Also is the restriction of 6 pm for private vehicles coming from Tirumala still present or has been removed?

I feel it would be risky to try out the accomodation after reaching Tirumala. Better to book a room at Tirupati prior to your trip and you can stay there on 8th night.
Dress code - Lungi/Dhoti is must for gents and Saree/Chudidaar is must for ladies. Duppatta is must if one is wearing chudidaar.
You just need 45m (plus around 30m for checking at toll gate) to drive from Tirupati to Tirumala.
If you park your car here, https://goo.gl/maps/zwHPqPJtwFXHBJxg8, then there is a rest room nearby where you can do the change of dress. This is what I do whenever I travel. And this parking space is very near to laddu counter. So, you can just walk to this parking space after your darshan (after collecting Laddus).

For the dress code, like others mentioned Dhoti+simple shirt is allowed for men. Don't wear T-Shirts. Note "Lungi" is NOT permitted and not an ideal dress for darshan. For ladies, Saree or Salwar/Chuidhar+Dupptta is allowed.

Since your darshan slot is 1600, if you have to book rooms on the day or arrival in the morning, then will end up booking for 2 nights of stay in Tirupati. Rather, what i suggest is, if you start from early morning from Bangalore, you can drive up straight to Tirumala and reach around 11 am, finish early lunch, enter queue early, say around 2 pm or 3 pm post lunch, finish darshan by 6 pm or so (assuming it takes 4 hours) and drive down to Tirupati. You can reach Tirupati by 8 pm or so check-in to the room, have dinner and rest for the day. Thus you can plan and pay for 8th night only. If you are looking for budget, book at srinivasam/madhavam complex, but you have plenty of other options to book in many hotels in Tirupati that is more comfortable and well maintained rest rooms with AC in your preferred budget.

The car parking location in Tirumala, that i mentioned below and kavensri mentioned is same and the nearest. You can change dress (for men only) in the nearby rest room or even in that car parking. Taking car up to Tirumala is convenient because you can keep mobile, valuables etc in the car itself before going to darshan.

There is no 6 pm timing restriction. Vehicles are permitted between Tirumala and Tirupati for 21 hours in a day and blocked only between 12 midnight to 3 am.

-Ravi

Looks like many of our esteemed members are ill informed, hence pasting the picture. There is dress code for Arjitha seva and then there is one for special darshan. The difference is one does not allow pyjama while the other does. Lungi is allowed in both. (Frankly it is incomprehensible how the biggest temple in South India would bar Lungi which is the most common dress from peasants to politicians alike in South India.)

Copyright of picture rests with respective website.

Sorry there seems to be difference in interpretation. I don't see Lungi mentioned anywhere and hence it is not permitted. I haven't seen people with Lungi entering Tirumala temple, especially the colored ones. May be some people have a white one, and looks like Dhoti.

The reference links below also talks about white pancha/dhoti or pyjamas, but not Lungi.

https://www.tirumala.org/DressCode.aspx
https://gotirupati.com/tirumala-seva-dress-code/

Agree Lungi is a common dress, but AFAIK, almost all temples in south india don't permit or entertain (even though Pants are allowed), though some people violate it or not questioned.
My personal opinion is, its a casual dress for home but not an ideal dress for temple darshan, but that's just me and my personal opinion. Don't want to pick up an argument or debate about it. :)
Dhoti (White or Saffron) is most ideal and safer option. Other than that, i have seen those who goto Sabrimala wear Black dhotis or specific color dhoties who do a group pilgrimage.

-Ravi

I'll agree here. After 7 visits to Tirumala, I am yet to see any short lungi-clad pilgrims. It has always been a dhoti, i.e. more-or-less till the ankles, and that too white.

Another silent rule is that women are not allowed to wear flowers in their hair.