Kanakagiri Utsava (festival) is an annual festival held at Kakakagiri Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple in Gangavathi taluk of Koppala district.
Kanakagiri Utsava is celebrated during February-March month (as per Hindu calendar’s Krishna Paksha in Phalguna month). Kanaka Giri translates to Hill of Gold and Kanakachalapati temple is the main temple in Kanakagiri and centre of Kanakagiri Utsavâ.
Major attractions during Kanakagiri Utsava
- Rathothsava or car festival, where temple chariot is taken out in a procession is the major celebration during Kanakagiri Utsava.
- Jatre or Fair: Temple festivities are accompanied by large fairs which villagers and children look forward to. Fairs involve giant wheels, joy rides, sweets and food stalls besides lots of shopping opportunities.
- Garudothsava
- Sports competitions, held in nearby college grounds, often include championships on Volleyball, Wrestling, Kabaddi and Mallakamba (a competition to climb up a slippery pillar)
- Rangoli competition
Nearby: Gangavathi (23 kms), Hemagudda fort (20 kms) and Hampi & TungaBhadra Dam (48 kms) can be visited along with Kanakagiri.
How to reach: Kanakagiri is 378 kms from Bengaluru and 50 kms from Koppala city. Gangavathi railway station is 23 kms away. Jindal Vijayanagara airport in Bellary is 60 kms away. Taxi can be hired in Koppala, Bellary or Gangavathi to reach Kanakagiri.
Stay: Hotels are available in Gangavathi, 20 kms from Kanakagiri.