Bike Trip to Lepakshi

Long time back, a friend had mentioned that he’d be going on a one day trip to Lepakshi. Due to the circumstances at that time, I couldn’t join him. I decided to make that trip the last weekend, Saturday, the 21st of June.

We didn’t have any specific details on our minds – we wanted to be back before it got dark. I’d done some R&D before we’d left, and found that there was a village en-route, where a colony of Painted Sorks would be nesting. I also got to know that they’d be flying out in July. I wanted to make this trip, badly.

Off we went, started from Bangalore at around 7:30 AM. We carried two bottles of water, a few chocolates, some snacks, and of course, our cameras. Crossed Hebbal without much issues – 7:30 AM is hardly the time for traffic jam, continued down the road, took a break somewhere in the outskirts of Bangalore – my friend needed batteries for his camera, and we had to get some breakfast. Continued down the road, we saw Devanahalli and the new fly-over built for the airport. The road, was so far, excellent. Didn’t have time to stop and take a quick look at the airport, so we continued. Crossed the diversion to Nandi Hills, and after this, all traffic (whatever few vehicles were there on the road) seemed to vanish. Continued, crossed Chikaballapur, and crossed the Andhra Pradesh RTO Checkpost. We were directed to take the left turn at a “circle” by a localite. Unfortunately, there was no sign of a circle, and the truck traffic around ensured that I missed spotting the left turn. We went about 10 – 15 KMs into Andhra, and asked an elderly gentleman who said that we had to retrace our route – to the checkpost and take a right turn there. We finally made it to the checkpost, and this time, there was no missing the road off the highway. Checked with some folks nearby, and they confirmed that this was the road to take.

About 5 KMs into the not-so-great road, I spotted a statue of two birds. This would be the road that I’d have to take to get to Veerapuram, where the storks would be nesting.

Entrance to Veerapuram – Statue of Painted Storks:

I and my friend were pretty excited, taking photos of the statue, and a boy who was waiting for a bus, came over to me and told me that the village is around 9 KMs inside – He spoke Telugu, a language which I understand, but can’t speak. I asked him if the birds were there in Tamil, and he nodded his head. Excited, we continued down the road. Nearing 7 KMs, I could see a lot of birds flying in the air. They looked like eagles from far away. When we entered the village, we were shocked! All the birds that were flying were the storks. We were under the impression that we’d have to “spot” the birds. It couldn’t have been more wrong.

The birds were everywhere. Young ones that had got off their nests were walking all across the roads, and from what we noticed, the villagers didn’t seem to mind them being around. They treated them like any other normal bird – hen or crows. We spent a lot of time there, and saw the storks. I was awestruck – I didn’t know what to do. The fully grown ones are brightly colored, and the younger ones are shades of gray. I finally had the mind to get my camera out and started shooting:

Some of the photos:

Painted Stork resting on a tree:

Family of Storks:

Young one drying out its feathers:

Adult Painted Stork:

Young stork flapping wings:

Perching on tree:

Young stork on the streets:

One more:

Through our visit at Veerapuram, this kid, Suresh, was with us.

He showed us around, and got permission for us to climb the stairs to the terraces of people’s house. The people didn’t seem to mind us. They were smiling and allowed us to go upstairs, stand there, and take photographs. Some even pointed out the right places to go for getting a good view of the birds.

Finally, it was at around 1 PM, more than an hour after we got to Veerapuram, we decided to leave.

Off to Lepakshi. It’s a temple dedicated to Veerabhadra, and you can get more info (better written) on Wiki.

Some photos:

Marriage hall:

Seven headed serpent protecting the Shiv Lingam:

Alternate view:

Photography is very much allowed as long as it is not used for commercial gain. Hiring a guide would be suggested as he’d be able to explain in detail as to what the temple is about.

We started from Lepakshi at around 3 PM, stopped by to get a look at the statue of the Bull that was at the entrance of the town. Stopped en-route for a late lunch, and finally were back in Bangalore at around 6:30 PM. The weather was great, and it was a well spent weekend.

To summarize, here are the details:

Route from Bangalore : Take Hebbal Road, go through Jakkur, Yelhanka, Devanahalli, continue on the same road, cross Chikaballapur, continue. Immediately after RTO Checkpost, take the left off the highway (ask if you’re not sure). Continue on this road till you see the statue on the left of the road – Take this road to get to Veerapuram (Board says it’s 9 KMs – It’s more than that – maybe 10-11 KMs). Best time to visit would be December to July. Trace back to the main road, and continue. Lepakshi should be around 10-15 KMs from Veerapuram.

Distance : Approximately 150 KMs.

There are no good restaurants around Lepakshi. Carry some food, or plan on having a late lunch.