Chithoor

Tirupathi :

Tirupati(Telugu:తిరుపతి) is a major pilgrimage and cultural city in the Chittoor district of India. It is the largest city in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian stateAndhra Pradesh. It is located at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats, 65 kilometres (40 mi) from Chittoor, 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Chennai, 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Bangalore and 550 kilometres (340 mi) from the state capital,Hyderabad.

Tirupati is famous for Venkateswara Swamy temple dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north west of Tirupati in theTirumala hills at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft). One of the most important pilgrimage centers in the World, the temple draws millions of pilgrims and is the busiest pilgrimage center in the world.^[2] Tirupati has several temples and is a major economical and educational hub in the southern region of the state.

RAMAGIRI:

 

Ramagiri is a village in Pitchatur Mandal, few kilometres from Chittoor district. This place is also known as Bhairava Kshethra, meaning Lord Bhairava home. It is popular among tourists due to the existence of ancient temples.

One of these temples is located at the foot of the hill and is devoted to Lord Shiva. Another temple is dedicated to Lord Muruga, which is present on top of the hill.

Tourists are attracted to a tank present near the temple, which is said to have curative power. The water in the tank flows from top of the mountain from a spring into the tank

Best time to visit Chittoor with family

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• FEB
   
• MAR
   
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• AUG
   
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Gurramkonda:

                                                             

 

Gurramkonda is a hill fort town between Bangalore highway and Cuddapah in Chittoor district. The average elevation of this historical place is 2,125 ft. The major highlight of this town is the Gurramkonda Fort. It is a beautiful architectural structure existing in the town and is about 500 years old. This town once had forty mosques, which are all destroyed and extinct now.

It is said that the rulers travelled on the horses to reach atop hill to their palaces. Thus, the name given to the place was Gurramkonda, in which Gurram means horse and konda means hill.

Pulicat Lake:

Pulicat Lake is the second largest lake situated on the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. This lagoon in southern part of India is located on the Coromandel Coast along with a bird sanctuary. The lake has rich diversity of flora and fauna, which support activities like fishing and birdwatching. Tourists are attracted here as many migratory shore birds pass through the lake.  

The lake is separated from Bay of Bengal due to the coastal land form of Sriharikota, which is a satellite launch centre of India. The Indian Space Research Organisation using multi-stage rockets launches 

satellite here.

Kaundinya wildlife sanctuary:

Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is situated at Palamaner, around 60 km from Chittoor. The sanctuary is surrounded by valleys and hills and is spread in an area of 358 sq. km. This place is a home for large number of elephants, which has migrated from nearby forest areas.

The sanctuary has rich collection of flora and fauna of tropical thorn comprising bamboo, ficus bengalensis and albizia amara. Along with elephants, various other animals like hares, jackals and more   can also be seen in this sanctuary.

Sri Venkateswara Temple:

Sri Venkateswara Temple or Tirupati Balaji Temple is one of the ancient temples in Chittoor district. The temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, who is popularly known by the names, Balaji, Govinda, Srinivasa, Venkitarama and Venkateswara. The presiding deity of the temple is one of the forms of Lord Vishnu.  

Located in the hilly region, tourists can see seven sacred hills in the vicinity of temple. It is believed that the temple was built in 12th century. Tourists visit the temple to pay homage to the deity and also for its beautiful architecture that depicts a blend of Chola, Pandya and Pallava architectures.  

One of the major highlights of the temple is the dome, which is fully gold plated. Along with this, another attraction of the temple is a waterfall namely Papanasam and a park.

Located at an altitude of 853 m from the sea level, the temple can be reached by using vehicle or by foot.