History and Significance of Alipiri Srivari PadalaMandapam Tirupati

Alipiri Srivari Padala Mandapam or Alipiri is located at the Foot of Lord Venkteshwara. Alipiri means Resting place.Alipiri Padala Mandapam is at a distance of 4 kms from both Tirupati Railway Station and Busstand.  There is a Free bus facility organized by TTD to reach Alipiri Padala Mandapam. Devotees who wish to go to Tirumala by walk can use this Free bus facility to reach this devine place. Devotees can find Garuda Statue right infront of the Seven Hills.

Alipiri Srivari Padala Mandapam

Alipiri Padala Mandapam is also called as The Gateway to Tirumala. In olden days Devotees used to go to Tirumala by foot from Alipiri Padala Mandapam as there is no other option. Devotees from all the places used to take some rest, cooked their food and eat and then they started climbing the steps. Now a days the entire foot steps way was covered and protected from Sun and Rain. Lights are also provided for devotees who wish to climb on Nights to vist the god.

At Alipiri you can find the famous Srivari Padala Mandapam which is dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara Swamy at Alipiri. The deity is also called as Padala Venkateshwara Swamy.  As per Legend  Lord Venkateshwara Swamy at Tirumala after Ekantha Seva will come to visit his consort Sri Padmavathi Devi at Tiruchanor down the hill through Alipiri Foot Path and will leave his footwear here and hence this name is very much famous for Padala Mandapam.  Padalu refers foot. Devotees before starting their journey to tirumala will first carry  Srivari Padukalu ( Footwear worn by Lord Venkateshwara himself ) on their heads.

Devotees can find Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple in the Alipiri Premises. This Temple lies to the east of Srivari Padala Mandapam and the diety is facing towards the west. We can find dedicated Andal ammal deity also along with Sri Lakshmi Narayana.  Devotees can also find Sri Vinayaka Swamy Temple (Shakshi Ganapati Temple) which lies on the second ghat road leading from Tirupati to Tirumala.Devotees will offer prayers at this temple before starting their yatra.

The Total Steps count is around 3550. The Total distance from Alipiri Padala Mandapam ans Tirumala is about 12 kms. It will take 4-5 hours time to reach Tirumala. TTD will issue Free Darshan tickets quota of 14,000 per day. Alipiri Padala Mandapam is open for 24 hours so that Devotees can start their journey any time.  Devotees can find four Gopurams on the way from Tirupati to Tirumala. 

At Alipiri Srivari Padala Mandapam all the festivals including Ratha Sapthami and Vaikunta Ekadasi are celebrated with utmost devotion. Metlotsavam is the special festival which will be held at Alipiri Srivari Padala Mandapam once in three months which is organized by Dasa Sahitya Project of TTD in which group of devotees will go to Tirumala by singing spiritual and Devotional Songs.

At Galigopuram TTD will take fingerprints of Devotees  by using Bio-metric System and provides free Darshan Tokens issued by TTD.  With this token Devotees can avail free accommodation, Free tonsuring ,Free Meals at Madhavam along with Free Darshan of Lord Venkateshwara. TTD provides free anna prasadams to devotees at Gali Gopuram. Devotees will also find lot of refreshments including Tiffens, Tea and cool drinks through out their way of travel.