Of all the temples in Hyderabad, the one dedicated to Lord Balaji stands out. Chilkur Balaji temple is about 500 years old temple built on the banks of Osman Sagar in Hyderabad. As per the historical records, it was constructed at the time when Madanna and Akkanna, the uncles of devotee Ramadas, lived.

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The consecrated idol of the deity in the temple was self-born and found by a devotee of Lord Balaji dug under the earth in a forest.

So, what makes Chilkur Balaji temple special? Well, it is a wish-fulfilling temple known for granting wishes of its devotees, including wish for an overseas visa!

You read it right. Devotees who worship the presiding deity with the desire to get a foreign visa perform a wish-making ritual. The ceremony features 11 laps inside the temple and offering passports during prayers to invoke the blessings of God. Once the wish is fulfilled, the devotee has to return to the temple to make 108 laps as an offering of gratitude.

For this reason, Chilkur Balaji temple immensely famous in the state and, hence, has been rightly named ‘Visa Balaji Temple.’

So, how did it all began, you may wonder. The fact is, once upon a time, a group of college students worshipped at the temple in the hope of getting US visas. To their good fortune, their prayers were heard and, since then, it has become a trend to pray at the visa temple in Hyderabad for overseas visa. So much so, visitors are given pamphlets at the entrance of the temple as evidence to the authenticity of the temple.

What a relief for our visa-woes. No?