We drove to Puttaparthi couple of weekends back. This post is more about our preparations for the trip rather than the trip itself.The first thing we did was to search the net for the route. We got quite a few links including google maps, tourism department site, travel operator sites and blogs. We went through few blogs and google maps for the route. But we weren’t sure whether the road would be good and where exactly we needed to take important turns. Then we came across a couple of blog sites where all the details were given along with photos of important roads and toll gates. Armed with the information we started off on our journey. Needless to say that we had a good trip. We took 3.5 hrs to reach our destination from South Bangalore.
On our way we visited a newly constructed temple in picturesque surroundings (see pic). The temple is located around 8 kms away from Parthi. It has a Lord Shiva on the first floor and Lord Rama in the ground floor. There is a huge Hanuman idol in front landscaped with lovely flower bushes. We reached Parthi at almost 9am and immediately tried for Darshan. One trouble we faced was car parking. Parking inside Prashanti Nilayam is allowed only for those who have been allotted rooms inside the complex. Since we were yet to book our accommodation, we had to search for a place to park. Once cannot park in front of the complex since it is filled with shops. Also parking inside the bus complex is not allowed. We had to go further ahead to park our car. This time we were able to visit surrounding places like Chaitanya Jyothi Museum, Gayathri mandir, etc.
My take-away from the experience is whenever one is planning a trip one of the reliable sources of information is travel blogs. Check the date of the post to ensure that it is latest. Also check multiple blogs to ensure that the information you have is complete and up-to-date. I am already looking forward to my next trip.
