Over 25 lakh devotees worship Lord Balaji as pilgrim rush peaks at Tirumala in May

TIRUPATI: A record number of 25 lakh plus devotees offered prayers at the iconic Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala as pilgrim rush peaked at the hill town in May.

According to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) sources, about 25.46 lakh devotees worshipped at the Tirumala temple in the month of May as against a pilgrim footfall of 23.79 lakh registered in the same corresponding month last year.

Cancellation of VIP break Darshan coupled with the efficient pilgrim crowd management systems adopted by the TTD with the launch of the Integrated command control centre at Tirumala helped the TTD administration in facilitating Darshan for over 25 lakh devotees in a hassle free manner in May.

TTD Additional EO Ch Venkaiah Chowdary and his close team of officials also ensured that despite a surge in pilgrim rush, the outside queue lines were coordinated well within the stipulated timeframe, thereby reducing the inconvenience caused to the visiting devotees due to inordinate waiting time for Darshan.

In sync with the pilgrim rush, the Hundi collections also rose significantly at the Tirumala temple in the month of May. While the overall Hundi collection reported in May 2026 was ₹120.28 cr, the hill temple received a significantly lower Hundi collection of ₹106.8 cr in May last year.
Similarly, the count of devotees offering human hair (Talaneelalu) as part of fulfilment of their vows, also shot up drastically in the month of May.

According to TTD sources, about 12.19 lakh devotees got their heads tonsured and offered their hair at the Kalyanakatta tonsure centres in May as against 10.26 lakh tonsures reported in May last year.

With the pilgrim rush likely to continue till the culmination of the summer vacations, the Tirupati trust has already announced that the curbs on issuance of VIP break Darshan on recommendation letters will continue till July 15 in order to accord top priority to the common devotees visiting the hill town.