These are two seperate locations but it’s possible to cover both in a day as they’re about an hour or so away from each other by road.

Terahalli: This is on the way to Kolar, a diversion just before reaching the town. A road leads upto the hills from where you get a view of the plains of Kolar. The hill is dotted with rocks of different shapes, reminiscent of the general landscape of Hampi.

In Terahalli village is a small temple complex, with a large sculptured gateway at the entrance. When we visited, preparations were going on to celebrate a village festival and the whole place bore a festive look with streamers going up all around the temple premises and outside.

Images

Lepakshi is a well-known temple in Andhra Pradesh. Well known for its ceiling frescos and beautiful paintings, it was built during the Vijayanagar empire and style (as seen in the architecture of the Vitthala temple in Hampi). The temple has long pillared courtyards around it, very similar to the temples you see in Hampi, with the central area containing the main shrine.

There is a monolithic Nagalinga, supposedly the largest of its kind in India in the interior court of the temple. A short distance away is a magnificent granite bull and it’s supposedly the largest sculpted Nandi bull in south India. This is another must-see.

The maintenance unfortunately leaves much to be desired and I do hope the concerned authorities wake up to the wealth of the temple and take some positive steps to restore the structure, the paintings and the frescos.

Images

Facts:
Both Terahalli and Lepakshi can be covered in a day. Terahalli is towards Kolar. There’s not much in terms of restaurants there, so packing picnic lunch, snacks, water is a good idea. There is a Kamats on the way at Hoskote.