Kopada Veerabhadra Temple, Koppa
The temple the town is named for, in the middle of areca country.
Koppa town takes its name from this Veerabhadra temple, and it remains the settlement's centre of gravity — a working shrine with a steady flow of local devotees rather than a monument. Around it is quiet Malnad: areca gardens, tea, paddy in the valley bottoms, and a town that has been the taluk headquarters for a long time without ever becoming a tourist stop.
What to do here
- Attend the evening puja
- Walk the town market street
- Use Koppa as the base for Hariharapura and the Tunga valley
The place to understand what a Malnad taluk town is actually like, away from the visitor circuit.
History
The temple is the historic core of Koppa and its name is generally taken as the origin of the town's own. Veerabhadra worship is widespread through this belt of the Malnad, tied to the Veerashaiva tradition centred at Balehonnur.
Travel tips
About 75 km from Chikmagalur town. Koppa is the practical lunch and fuel stop for the whole Tunga valley circuit.
Please note
Do: remove footwear and leather. Do: dress modestly. Don't: photograph inside the sanctum. Don't: expect the temple to be open through the middle of the day.
Combine your trip
Places near Kopada Veerabhadra Temple, Koppa
Hariharapura Sharada Peetham
A Shankaracharya foundation on the Tunga that almost no visitor to Sringeri ever hears about.
Simhanagadde Jain Kshetra
The Jwalamalini atishaya kshetra — a Jain place of miracles, and the district's Jain centre.
TempleVidyashankara Temple, Sringeri
Fourteenth-century Vijayanagara stone, with twelve zodiac pillars that catch the sun month by month.
LakeBhadra Backwaters, N.R. Pura
The upper reach of the Bhadra reservoir — coracles, islands, and the tiger reserve on the far bank.