Rajitha S By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: As the summer vacations are well into its week, apart from lavish holidays at several destinations in India and abroad, temple tours are also on the to-do lists of many. One of the most preferred temple-tourism destination of Hyderabadis is the Chota Char-Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand that covers Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, the pass that opens during summer. Some of the highly preferred travel agencies who plan these trips tell us that there has been an increase in the number of pilgrims from Hyderabad as compared to last year.

Almost 50 per cent of the pilgrims who take the yatra are from the Telugu States. One of the reasons for the increase during summer is that there is not much awareness about the pass being open also during September to November. Global Connect Hospitality, one of the organisers of the Yatra for Hyderabadis has seen a 20 per cent rise in the numbers compared to last year.

“It is widely known that the Char-Dham pass opens during these months. But not many are aware that it is open before winter too and it is far more pleasant and beautiful. The cost of the trip, accommodation and other amenities will be lesser as the rush is not as much during the later months,” explained Gaurav Bharadwaj from Global Connect. After 2013 floods which had lakhs of pilgrims trapped in Himalayan valley, improvements are being made by Uttarakhand Tourism.

“It is the main source of income for Uttarakhand government, so they have ensured safety of the pilgrims by assigning special teams. We also suggest tourists to choose summer and the pre-winter months and avoid the rainy season,” informed Janardhan Reddy from SVR Travels who has seen a rise of 25% pilgrims compared to last year.Security has been enhanced along with the local amenities while pilgrims are walking through the trail. 108 has also trained para-medicals in first response training and also first aid.

TS working towards giving a facelift to temple tourism

Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation has also been working to give a facelift to temple tourism in the state. The temple tour package to start from April 7 -- The weekend trip will begin every Saturday at 7:30 pm from Basheerbagh and 8 am from Yatri Nivas -- Return will be on Sunday at 10:30 pm -- Accommodation is included and will be at Haritha Hotel, Kaleshwaram. -- Package cost starts at `1999 and people can book online at www.tstdc.in

‘Bhadrachalam, Yadagirigutta most sought after pilgrim centres in TS’

Telangana Tourism department has also upgraded a few pilgrim centres in the recent past. According to officials, Bhadrachalam and Yadagirigutta are the most sought after pilgrim centres in the state. Besides this, the recently completed Kaleshwaram project is also being promoted as a pilgrimage site. Besides this, there is a huge rush of people travelling to Tirupathi during summer vacations. “At least 50% of the bookings we get is to Tirupati. It is likely to increase in the coming days,” said a travel agent at Nampally.