[3] It is widely known for the birthplace and deathplace of the Indian spiritual leader and guru Sathya Sai Baba and his ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam.

A local legend says that a cobra snake cursed the village after being hit by a cowherder, which caused the proliferation of anthills in this area.

[citation needed] Puttaparthi has a railway station named as Sri Sathya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam.

[10] The Railway station was inaugurated and became functional on November 23, 2000; Sathya Sai Baba's 74th birthday.

Travel time between the Rail station and Puttaparthi is approximately 15-25 minutes through various modes of transportion; cabs, autorickshaws and APSRTC buses.

The town is connected directly by train to Bangalore, Secunderabad, Chennai, Vishakapatnam, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bhuvaneshwar and Kolkata.

The airport was inaugurated on November 24, 1990 to serve the Super Speciality Hospital for emergency situations.

"[12] It is owned by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust and is spread over 450 acres (1.8 km2) of land, housing a runway that is 2,230 metres long.