Giri Pradakshina: Ten years of oil, for the feet that walk the Simhachalam hill
Devotees in Visakhapatnam are preparing traditional herbal oils to assist participants of the annual 32-km Giri Pradakshina pilgrimage. Volunteers have spent a decade providing this service to help walkers manage muscle fatigue and blisters during the long trek.
Why it matters
Highlights community-driven social service and the preservation of traditional medicinal practices during large-scale cultural events.
Thousands of devotees will walk barefoot on the annual Giri Pradakshina around the foothills of the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (July 28, 2026), setting out from the ‘ Tholi Pavancha’, the first of the steps leading up the hill. Along the 32-km route, volunteers will work through the day and night to keep them moving, with stalls offering water, buttermilk, tea and snacks.
Near the Sivalayam at NAD Junction here, a group of Shri Satya Sai Baba devotees has spent the past few days on a service it has offered for a decade: preparing traditional herbal medicated oils to be massaged on the aching feet and muscles of devotees who walk the trail.
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