The Veerabhadra Temple at Lepakshi, about 120km southeast of Anantapur (and 15km east of Hindupur), is one of the finest examples of Vijayanagara-period temple architecture in South India, built in the sixteenth century during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya. The entire temple complex is carved from a single large granite outcrop, with mandapas (pillared halls), corridors, and shrines interconnected in a labyrinthine plan.
The ceilings of the main mandapa carry some of the best-preserved Vijayanagara mural paintings in existence — vivid, detailed scenes from the Puranas, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata executed in natural mineral pigments. The colours have maintained their vibrancy over five centuries. The complex also contains a massive monolithic Nandi bull, one of the largest in India, carved from a single rock and sitting in the open a short distance from the main temple entrance. Lepakshi is reachable from Anantapur by road in about two to two and a half hours; it deserves at least half a day.