India is a country in which diverse categories of people lives from different religions that are Hindus, Muslims Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sikhs, Jains and more. We know that temples are used by Hindus for worshiping their God and it was built from the early days; Hindu Kings lived in ancient period believed that building temples would improve their dignity in their society. Temples built by the rulers also displayed their wealth and power. The temple architecture is broadly classified into three, Nagara, Dravidian and Vesara style. Most temples in south india which were built centuries ago, have Dravidian style of design. The Chilkur Balaji Temple resembles the Dravidian style of design.

The Chilkur Balaji temple is located on the banks of the lake Osman Sagar, which is close to Hyderabad. This temple is also known by the name Visa Balaji temple and it was constructed during the 13th century. The temple is known as Visa Balaji Temple because most of the people visiting this temple pray for getting their Visas for going abroad. The main deity of this temple is Lord Venkateshwara and later in 1963 the deity known as Ammavaru was placed here in order to commemorate the withdrawal of Chinese army after the war between India and China. This temple is among the oldest temples in Hyderabad, which was constructed during the time of Akkana and Madanna (relatives of Bhakta Ramdas). There is a myth behind the temple; the idol worshiped in this place was obtained from a jungle by a devotee who used to visit Tirupati every year. But once he was not able to visit Tirupathi and he was sad and dreamed about Lord Venkateshwara showing a place in the forest where he could find the idol of the lord. It is believed that this mythical story as the main reason for the formation of this temple. Many devotees visit this place every year and money is not accepted from them in this temple and no special provisions are available for the very very important persons visiting the temple. Maximum numbers of people visit the Chilkur temple during Annakota, Poolangi and Brahmotsavams.

Now let us see how to reach this temple, as told earlier this is situated on the banks of the lake Osmansagar in the Chilkur village which is in Hyderabad. The distance between Chilkur and Mehedipatanam is just 17 kms and buses to Chikur Temple are available from here. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation plays a vital role for the transport of the pilgrims from different parts of the state. The main specialty of this place is that it is located in a beautiful village that is Chilkur, so not only pilgrim but also tourists can be seen in this place.

Many books are available which tells us about the history of the Chilkur Balaji Temple, one of the famous among it is Chilukuru Kshetra Charita which was written by Bulemoni Venkateshwarlu.

Sundays, Fridays and Saturdays are the peak days during which the temple will be crowded by pilgrims and it will be opened from 6 AM to 8 PM. Another key feature of this temple is that there is no special darshan time to see the deity; the believers would see the god at any time after the temple is opened. The priest conducts the pooja at 6:30 AM and at 6:30 PM. People planning to visit Chilkur temple should plan their schedule accordingly.

These are some of the features of Chilkur Balaji temple which makes it different from other temples of Hyderabad. The ardent believers and also people who adore the calmness and purity of a village should experience the spirit and beauty of this village.