[citation needed] The city became a great Vaishnava centre during the time of Ramanujacharya in 11th century, from where Srivaishnavism spread to other parts of Andhra Desa.

Srikurmam Temple in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh bears the inscription, Tirupati Srivaishnavula Raksha.

During the early 1300s Muslim invasion of South India, the idol of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping.

With the growing importance of upper Tirupati, a village formed at the present-day Kapilatheertham Road area and was named "kotturu".

[31] Tirupati is surrounded by Srikalahasti towards the east, Puttur towards the south, Pakala towards the west and the Seshachalam hills (Tirumala) towards the north.

[citation needed] Swarnamukhi river originates in Chandragiri Hills and passes through the Tirupati City before reaching Srikalahasti in the east.

[30] At the 12 km (7.5 mi) point on the Tirupati – Tirumala ghat road, there is a major discontinuity of stratigraphic significance that represents a period of remarkable serenity in the geological history of the Earth.

About 178 species of birds from this national park have been identified which includes the globally threatened yellow-throated bulbul, grey-fronted green pigeon, critically endangered Oriental white-backed vulture, large hawk-cuckoo, blue-faced malkoha, yellow-browed bulbul, Indian scimitar-babbler and Loten's sunbird.

It hosts a wide range of animals such as deer, monkeys, lions, tigers, bears, elephants, peafowl, grey pelicans, marsh crocodiles, and starred tortoises.

Gurumurthy Maddela of YSR Congress Party is the sitting Member of Parliament for Tirupati (Lok Sabha constituency).

The elite commando force has been specially trained for in-house intervention, hostage rescue and in the Israeli combat technique Krav Maga.

[46] At Alipiri, a security zone was established to screen vehicles and pilgrims entering Tirumala, to safeguard the hills from terrorists and anti-social elements.

[55] PSK-Tirupati will cover Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh and will come under Visakhapatnam Passport Office.

[61] Balaji Institute of Surgery, Research and Rehabilitation for the Disabled (BIRRD) has 250 beds; it was established in 1985 by TTD to treat patients with polio myelitis, cerebral palsy, congenital anomalies, spinal injuries, and orthopaedic impairments.

[63] Established over 50 years ago, GMH serves pregnant woman from Chittoor, YSR, Nellore, Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh and few areas of Tamil Nadu.

[63] GMH was named "best hospital" under the "sterilization and institutional deliveries category" by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the year 2013.

[citation needed] The city celebrates all major Hindu festivals, including Sankranti, Ugadi, Krishna Janmashtami, Maha Shivaratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Deepavali, Rama Navami, and Kartik Poornima.

[78][79] Rathasapthami is another festival, celebrated in February, when Venkateswara's processional deity (Malayappa swami) is taken in a procession around the temple on seven different vahanas from early morning to late night.

The Lotus Temple belonging to International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is illuminated with lamps and paintings displaying themes from Srimad Bhagavatham.

The celebrations include offering prayers to Sri Krishna, Utlotsavam, Annamayya Kirtana alapana, Geetha Parayanam among others.

TTD also celebrates janmastami at Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshana Shala where prayers are offered to cows, horses and elephants.

It has a wonderful collection of Tirupati temple architecture and historical artefacts, such as ancient weaponry, pooja items and idols.

It exhibits rich collection of stone and metal sculptures of Hindu gods and other cultural vestiges retrieved from other historical places like Gudimallam, Gandikota and Yaganti.

[99] APSRTC is the state owned transport service, which operates buses to various destinations from Tirupati bus station complex.

[98] Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams runs free buses from the railway station and central bus stand to Alipiri for pilgrims.

Hence, direct buses from Tirumala to Chennai, Bengaluru, Jayanagar, Bangalore, Vellore, Kanchipuram are run by APSRTC Sapthagiri Express.

In addition to these, Tirupati also has Chandragiri, Yerpedu and Renigunta Junction railway stations to serve the needs of the people of the city.

[104] Tirupati Airport is located 15 km (9.3 mi) from the city centre and has daily flights to Coimbatore, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolhapur,Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Shirdi, Rajahmundry, Kalaburagi, Hubli, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.

[112][113] The city has Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) and IIT Tirupati which were allotted by Government of India to the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Started in 1949, Sapthagiri is a spiritual monthly magazine based at Tirupati and published in Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Tamil and Kannada languages.