On Sunday,27th Dec 2009, I visited the most famous and widely renown temple of Lord Venkateshwara in Chilukur, Hyderabad.
To know about the history of temple, Please visit: http://chilkurbalajitemple.blogspot.com/
This temple has a special significance in many ways, some of them are
1) There is no Hundi in the temple
2) It is believed that Lord is miraculous in fulfilling the wishes and aspirations of devotees.All the devotee has to do is believe in God and do 11 pradakshinas and pray for her wish.Once it gets fulfilled they have to do 108 pradakshinas.
We can observe a lot of youngsters doing this for the widely acclaimed "VISA" stamping.
There is also a Lord Shiva's temple adjacent to the Lord Balaji's temple.
Timings of the Temple : 5AM - 8PM
The good thing is we visited the temple at around 5:30PM and by the time the pradakshinas got over it was around 7:30PM.At that point of time they have allowed us inside the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple and we were lucky enough to be very near to the deity and stay for some time.
They was also a call for volunteers to sell books(Rs5-Rs20/- each) and distribute Prasadam.
Overall it was a very good and happy experience, even though i had blisters on my feet that made me not to walk the following day(:-)). So I request all devotees to start early and do the Pradakshinas in a slow and study manner.Be careful with hot Sun as it may be the case if you go in the morning.
The temple is normally crowded and very crowded on Weekends and Holidays, but may be good if u go at 5-6AM.
These are some details about the route etc..,
Bus:6,5K,39-from Secunderabad to Mehdipatnam
Bus : 288D-from Mehdipatnam to Balaji Temple
Auto:20Rs(Sharing)
Distance:30KM(Approx.)
Road Condition:Good
Hope you too have a memorable trip.
