Would you believe there is a temple in India which fulfills your wish of getting a visa on your passport? Yes, there is one and for this very reason, the temple is nicknamed the Visa Temple. Situated in Chilkur in Hyderabad, this temple is officially called Chilkur Balaji Temple and is one of the oldest temples in Telengana. Sri Venkateswara Balaji deity is worshiped here however after a number of incidents of people praying to the deity for getting a visa stamp on their passport and their wishes coming true, this temple became famous as the Visa Temple.
The temple is in Chilkur and has over 75,000 to a lakh devotees paying a visit every week, with a major rush on Fridays and Sundays. If you are planning to visit this temple, be prepared to stand in a long queue especially on these days. There is no fee to visit the temple however if your sole purpose for coming here is to get a visa, you may have to come here again. Looking for a quick getaway from the city?
According to the rituals, people who want to get a visa visit the temple and offer prayers to the deity leaving with a promise of returning and taking 108 rounds or parikrama once they get their visa. And people say whoever wishes this and comes here will surely return because they will get a visa pretty soon.
With several students applying to US universities from Hyderabad, we can only imagine how many of them would come here to ensure their American Dream comes true. According to a 2015 report, the US consulate issued the highest number of US student visas in Hyderabad last year. Now we don’t know if it was a visit to the Visa Temple or pure merit that worked for these students, but chances are they may pay a visit just to get the deity’s blessings.