Natural Arch, Tirumala hills, a notified National Geo-heritage Monument,[1][2][3] is a distinctive geological feature 1 km (0.6 mi) north of the Tirumala hills temple, near the Chakra Teertham in Tirupati district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

[4][5][6] Mythology related to the arch, linked to the famous Tirumala hills temple of Lord Venkateswara, has three versions.

According to one version, the arch resembles the hood of a serpent, a conch (Sanskrit: Shank) and a discus (Sanskrit: chakra) – all symbols of worship in Hindu religion – and considered to be the source of the Idol of Lord Venkateswara or Lord Balaji at the Tirumala hill temple.

[7] The third version is that Lord Vishnu, known as Balaji or Venkateswara (the central deity of Srivaishnava tradition) at the Tirumala temple town, is supposed to have put his first foot down at a place called Padalu or Sreevaripadalu (శ్రీ వారి పాదాలు)(Telugu language: Divine foot prints) which is the highest point of Tirumala hills, the second step at the location of the arch.

Formation of the arch is attributed to intensified weathering and erosion of stream action that has withstood the torque of nature.

[14] The sedimentary thickness of the Cudappa basin is of the order of 12 km (7.5 mi) with volcanic sequences in the form of sills and dykes.

[15] Specifically, the arch's origin is attributed to two schools of thought namely, a) it could be the effect of a wave action from oceanic transgression or intensified climatic settings and corrosion and b) it may have been naturally carved out of quartzite.