BharatSangraha

Rayalaseema · Deccan Inland Plateau

How to reach

By air

  • Tirupati International Airport, Renigunta (TIR) — The region's busiest airport by a wide margin, driven almost entirely by pilgrimage traffic.
  • Kadapa Airport (CDP) — Regional connections to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Visakhapatnam.
  • Kurnool (Orvakal) Airport (KJB) — Opened in 2021, serving the northern uplands.
  • Sri Sathya Sai Airport, Puttaparthi (PUT) — Built for the ashram; service is intermittent.

By rail

  • Tirupati and Renigunta Junction (TPTY / RU) — The pilgrimage terminus and the junction feeding it from every direction.
  • Guntakal Junction (GTL) — A major junction on the Mumbai–Chennai and Hyderabad–Bengaluru routes, and the practical rail hub of the western districts.
  • Dharmavaram Junction and Anantapur (DMM / ATP) — For the Anantapur dryland, Lepakshi, Penukonda and Puttaparthi.
  • Kadapa (HX) — For the Kadapa basin, Gandikota and Ontimitta.
  • Nandyal and Kurnool City (NDL / KRNT) — For Belum, Mahanandi, Ahobilam, Srisailam and the mango belt.

By road

NH 44 — the Hyderabad–Kurnool–Anantapur–Bengaluru corridor, the region's main axisNH 40 — Kurnool through Nandyal and Kadapa towards Chittoor, the cross-region linkNH 716 — the Chennai–Tirupati approach used by most pilgrims from the south-eastThe Srisailam ghat road through the Nallamala, closed to night traffic through the tiger reserveThe two one-way ghat roads up to Tirumala, one for ascent and one for descent

By water

No navigable rivers; the Penna and its tributaries are seasonal and run in deep bedsBoat services on the Srisailam and Gandikota reservoirs when water levels allow

Getting around

State buses reach every mandal headquarters, and the Tirupati–Tirumala route runs continuously. Tirumala can also be climbed on foot from Alipiri — roughly 3,550 steps and three to four hours, which a large number of pilgrims do by choice. Gandikota, Belum, Ahobilam and Lepakshi all need a hired vehicle from the nearest town; Ahobilam's upper shrines need a walk on top of that.

How to reach Rayalaseema by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (9)