Top 3 Temples In Andhra Pradesh Pilgrimage Tours

By Author: Ninad Chaudhari
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Andhra Pradesh is a southern state known for its holy shrines. This state has several revered places of worship. Each faith is respected and appreciated with some sacred temples, masjids and monasteries. No wonder pilgrimage tours are such an important part of Andhra Pradesh travel. Let’s explore some of the many important Hindu shrines in Andhra Pradesh.

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a famous Vedic temple of Lord Vishnu, near the town Tirupati. Venkateswara, the residing deity in the temple, is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This is one of the richest pilgrimage centres as it is worth more than 500 billion rupees. However, Tirupati tour packages are also extremely popular. This temple is the most visited place of worship as more than 30 to 40 million devotees visit the temple to take darshan and seek blessings.

So, Tirupati tour package includes several temple activities such as eating prasadam, tonsuring hair as an offering to God, donations, etc. In addition, there are certain other paid services where devotees can get a chance to witness and participate in rituals performed on the main idol. These ...
... rituals are an important element of the visit. At times, devotees also visit other temples in the region such as Srinivasa mangapuram, Sri Govenda Raja Swami temple, Sri Kokanda Rama Swami temple, etc.

Ramappa Temple and Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal are very important temples in Andhra Pradesh. Ramappa Temple is also known as Ramappa Gudi or Ramalengeswara temple. This temple of lord Shiva dates back to 1213 and it is named after the sculptur; Ramappa. The sculpted deity; Ramalingeswara is another form of Shiva.

While there are almost 25 temples in the region, the Thousand-Pillar temple is a true masterpiece and an important pilgrimage tour. Dedicated to three deities; Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Surya, this temple is believed to be the epitome of 12th century Kakatiyan architecture. The concept of this creation is that in spite of 1000 pillars, any man standing in any temple can see the God in another temple without any obstruction of view. The well-carved pillars in this temple and the Hindu mythology in Ramappa temple’s roof amply display the aesthetic soul of this creation. Devotees visit the ruins of these glorious temples to express devotion and seek blessings.

Some of the other popular temples in Andhra Pradesh are Amaravati temple, Arasavalli temple, Bhadrachalam temple, Birla Mandir, Raghvendra Swami temple, Mahastupa, Mecca Masjid, etc. Though, these temples are not as popular, you should definitely consider visiting them on your Andhra trip.

Ninad Chaudhari works as a Web UI Designer / Developer with Cox & Kings. Ninad is an ardent photographer and likes going on Pilgrimage tours in India and pursue his passion. He recently visited Tirupati on a tour package by Cox & Kings and his albums are replete with pictures of this tour.