Lepakshi

The Veerabhadra temple at Lepakshi was built in the 1530s under the Vijayanagar rulers, and it holds three things that draw visitors. The hanging pillar in the main hall does not rest fully on the floor: cloth can be passed under most of its base, the result either of design or of settling, and it is said to have been dislodged by a colonial engineer investigating it. The ceiling carries the largest surviving Vijayanagar mural, a fresco of Veerabhadra several metres across. A short distance away stands a Nandi carved from a single granite boulder, about five metres high and eight long, among the largest monolithic Nandis anywhere.

What you actually see

• The hanging pillar - a column not fully resting on the floor.
• The ceiling fresco - the largest surviving Vijayanagar mural.
• The monolithic Nandi - a five-metre bull cut from one boulder.
• The unfinished kalyana mandapa - a marriage hall left incomplete.

When to go

October to March; the plains are severely hot from March. Mornings are best for the murals, which are dim. The site is quiet and easily done as a day trip from Bengaluru.

Honest expectations

The ceiling frescoes are faded and poorly lit. The hanging pillar is roped and cloth-passing is now restricted. There is limited interpretation and few facilities.

Nearby

Hindupur lies southwest; Bengaluru is south.