Tirupati is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. The Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, set on a hill 3,200 feet above the plains of Andhra Pradesh, draws tens of millions of devotees each year — more than the Vatican or Mecca. The queues for darshan (viewing of the deity) can stretch for hours, sometimes an entire day, and the town's infrastructure is built around moving this extraordinary volume of people.
The temple's history reaches back centuries. The Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and the kings of Vijayanagar all endowed it with riches. Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar had statues of himself and his consorts installed at the portals, still visible today. The Maratha general Raghoji Bhonsle presented a large emerald that remains in the temple treasury. Since 1933 the temple has been administered by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages everything from accommodation to the famous laddoo prasadam — the sweet offering given to every pilgrim.
The town below the hill is noisy, crowded and thoroughly functional, but the experience of climbing the hill (either on foot along the ancient path or by bus up the winding road), joining the press of humanity in the temple, and emerging into the quiet of the hilltop is genuinely moving, whether you are a believer or not.