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Lord Venkateswara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga.  Hence the place has also got the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntham and Lord here is referred to as Kaliyuga  Prathyaksha Daivam. 

The Tirumala Hills are part of Seshachalam Hills range. The hills are 853m above sea level. The Hills comprises seven peaks,  representing the seven heads of Adisesha. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. 

The temple lies on the seventh peak –Venkatadri, on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. Hence the temple is also referred to as "Temple of Seven Hills". Tirumala town covers about 10.33 square miles (27 km2) in area.

The Temple is constructed in Dravidian architecture and is believed to be constructed over a period of time starting from 300 AD. The Garbagriha (Sanctum Sanctorum) is called Ananda Nilayam.

The presiding deity, Lord Venkateswara, is in standing posture and faces east in Garbha griha. The temple is one of the eight Vishnu Swayambhu Kshetras.

It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received and wealth. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world.

During Kali Yuga, Narada advised Rishis who were performing Yajna to decide who could be given the fruits of yagna among Trimurtis.  Bhrigu was sent to test  the Trimurtis. The sage who had an extra eye in the sole of his foot visited Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva and went un-noticed in both these locations. 

At last, he visited Vishnu and the lord  did not notice Bhrigu. Getting angered by this act, sage Bhrigu kicked Lord Vishnu in the chest, to which Vishnu did not react and instead apologized to the Sage by massaging his feet. 

During this act, He squashed the extra eye that was present in the sole of Bhrigu's foot. However Lakshmi found it as an insult and had left Vaikuntam to Earth and reached Kolhapur and started meditating.

Lord Vishnu bore human form as Srinivasa, left Vaikuntam, in search of Lakshmi, reached Tirumala Hills and started meditating. Lakshmi came to know about the condition of Srinivasa and prayed to Siva and Brahma. 

Siva and Brahma then converted themselves into Cow and Calf and Goddess Lakshmi had handed over the cow and calf to Chola  king ruling over Tirumala Hills at that time. The Cow would provide milk to Srinivasa daily while it was taken for grazing that resulted in less milk for the cowherd.

The cowherd trying to investigate the cause, followed the cow and discovered to his utter shock that the cow was emptying her udder over the ant-hill. In his anger, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow but accidentally hit Lord Vishnu who rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow’s life. 

On seeing Lord Vishnu bleeding, the cowherd fell down and died. On the death of the cowherd, the cow returned to the king with blood stains on her body, bellowing in the presence of the Chola King. An anxious king followed the cow to the scene of the incident, the ant-hill, where the King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground.

The king prayed for mercy after which Srinivasa told him that the King would take next birth as Akasaraja and would perform marriage of his daughter Padmavati with Srinivasa.

Lord Srinivasa went to His mother Vakula Devi on Tirumala hills and stayed there for a while. After the curse, the Chola king took rebirth as Akasaraja and he had a daughter named Padmavati who was born in the Padmapushkarini situated at present day Tiruchanur. 

Lord Srinivasa married Padmavati at present day Narayanavanam and  returned to Tirumala Hills. After few months, Goddess Lakshmi had come to know about the marriage of Srinivasa with Padamavati and went to Tirumala hills to question Srinivasa. 

 It is said that the Lord srinivasa turned into stone idol right when He was encountered by Lakshmi and Padmavathi. Lord Brahma and Shiva appeared before the confused queens and explained the main purpose behind all this - The Lord's desire to be on the 7 hills for the emancipation of mankind from the perpetual troubles of Kali Yuga. 

The silk Peethambaram that He wears is 21 yards in length and weighs 6 Kilo Grams.

The Salagrama Gold Chain that He wears weighs 12 Kilo Grams. The Surya Kadari weighs  5 Kilo Grams. The golden Kavachams that cover His feet weight 375 Kg.

The stone idol of the Lord is very smooth; the impact of the chisel on the surface of the stone idol had not left any mark on the surface and it is without any imperfection!

The idol maintains itself at 110 Degrees Fahrenheit! The hill temple is at an altitude of  about 3000 feet  above mean sea level. During the winter season,  Abhishekam is performed to the idol at 4.30 AM using cold milk and water. At the end of the Abhishekam, the priests wipe the idol with silk cloth and then they find  water droplet appearing on the idol!

There are 1180 stone inscriptions in the temple. Out of this, around 50 are in Telugu and Kannada, wile the remaining 1130 are n Tamil.

Dwarams and Prakarams

There are three Dwarams (entrances) which lead to Garbhagriha from outside. Mahadwaram also known as padikavali is the first entrance which is provided through Mahaprakaram (outer compound wall). A 50 feet, five storied Gopuram (Temple tower) is constructed over this Mahadwaram with seven Kalasams at its apex. Vendivakili (Silver Entrance) also known as Nadimipadikavali is the second entrance and is provided through SampangiPrakaram (Inner compound wall). A three storied Gopuram is constructed over Vendivakili with seven Kalasams at its apex. Bangaruvakili (Golden Entrance) is the third entrance which will lead into Garbhagriha. There are two tall copper images of the Dvarapalakas Jaya-Vijaya on either side of this door. The thick wooden door is covered with gold gilt plates depicting the Dasavathaaram of Vishnu.

Pradakshinams

Circumambulation around Sanctum sanctorum in the temple or deities is called Pradakshinam. There are two circumbulation paths in the temple. The first one is area between Mahaprakaram and sampangiprakaram. This path known as Sampangipradakshinam has many Mandapas, Dwajasthambam, Balipeetam, Kshetrapalika sila, prasadam distribution area etc. The Vimanapradakhinam is the second pradakshinam, which circumbulates Ananda Nilayam Vimanam. This path has sub-shrines dedicted to Varadaraja and Yoga Narasimha, Potu (main kitchen), Bangaru Bavi (golden well), Ankurarpana Mandapam, Yagasala, Nanala (coins and Notla (Paper notes) Parkamani, Almyrah of Sandal paste (Chandanapu ara), cell of records, Sannidhi Bhashyakarulu, Lords's hundi and the seat of Vishvaksena.

Anandanilayam vimanam and Garbhagriha

Garbhagriha is the Sanctum sanctorum where the presiding deity Venkateswara resides along with other small deities. Golden Entrance leads to Garbhagriha. There are two more doors in between Bangaruvakili and Garbhagriha. The deity will be in a standing posture with four hands one in varada posture, one placed over thigh and other two holding Shanka and Sudarshana Chakra. The deity is decorated with precious ornaments. The deity bears Goddess Lakshmi on the right chest and Goddess Padmavathi on the left. Pilgrims are not allowed to enter the Garbhagriha (beyond Kulasekharapadi (path)).

Ananda Nilayam Vimanam is the main Gopuram constructed over 'Garbhagriha. This is a three storied Gopuram and has single Kalasam at its apex. It was covered with gilt copper plates and covered with a golden vase. There are many deities of gods carved over this Gopuram. On this Gopuram, there is a deity of Venkateswara known as "Vimana Venkateswara" which is believed to be exact replica of deity inside Garbhagriha.