Magadi Bird Sanctuary

The Magadi Bird Sanctuary is a wetland tank near Magadi in Shirahatti taluk that fills each winter with migratory birds.

Magadi Bird Sanctuary, Shirahatti
Practical guide

Plan Magadi Bird Sanctuary

Who's going?Tailor Magadi Bird Sanctuary to your trip
Typewildlife
Nearest baseShirahatti
DistrictGadag
Best timeDecember to March, when the migratory…
Time needed1.5 to 2 hours
EntryFree
Places to visit2

Up to several thousand bar-headed geese and 130-plus species gather here from December to March; it is now a Conservation Reserve and a Ramsar site of international importance.

What to expect

Highlights

  • The wintering bar-headed geese.
  • The 130-plus bird species on the tank.
  • Its Ramsar-listed wetland status.
Getting there

How to visit

  • About 26 km from Gadag near Magadi/Shirahatti; reached by road with a vehicle.
  • Go at dawn or dusk, keep quiet and watch from a distance; carry binoculars.

Distance by road

  • Hubballi55 km
  • Koppal55 km
  • Bagalkot95 km
  • Hosapete90 km
  • Bengaluru420 km

Road km to Gadag; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.

Timing

Best time

December to March, when the migratory geese are present.

Weather in Magadi Bird SanctuarySeasonal guide

Live forecast loads in your browser.

Today at Magadi Bird Sanctuary
Sunrise6:20 am
Sunset6:05 pm
Golden hour best light5:05 pm–6:05 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:05 pm–6:30 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 260°
Moon tonight🌔 Waxing gibbous · 63%
Retreating monsoon. October and November still see spells of rain from the retreating monsoon, though it is usually lighter than mid-year. Conditions are generally good but worth checking.

Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.

Visitor notes

  • Do not disturb the birds or enter the water; keep well back from the flocks.
Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop

Stays, food & things to do near Magadi Bird Sanctuary

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Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary — Attraction
Top pick
Attraction
Kappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary
26.7 km · ~45 min by cab

This protected dry-hill landscape is visited only on currently authorised forest routes. Confirm entry, guide and fire-season restrictions before leaving town.

DirectionsView guide

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Ranked guides

Top experiences around Shirahatti

One more place around Shirahatti worth a day of its own.

wildlifeKappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary

26.7 km · ~45 min by cab

A range of dry-deciduous hills spanning the Gadag, Mundargi and Shirahatti taluks — notified as a sanctuary in 2019, rich in medicinal herbs, wolves, hyenas and blackbuck, with the Nandiveri math at its foot.

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Before you go

Magadi Bird Sanctuary — at a glance

TimingsBest at dawn and dusk
Best timeDecember to March, when the migratory geese are present

Entry: Free or nominal

Getting here

How to reach Magadi Bird Sanctuary

~26 km from Gadag near Magadi/Shirahatti; by road

Getting back

If you are travelling by bus or ferry, check the return service with the operator before setting out. Leave time to reach the stop or jetty after your visit.

Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.

Getting around Magadi Bird Sanctuary

If you need step-free access, contact the site before travelling. Ask about a level entrance, steps along the route, the nearest drop-off point, seating and accessible toilets.

If you need help at Magadi Bird Sanctuary
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).

Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.

Nearby

What’s near Magadi Bird Sanctuary

templeSomeshwara Temple, Lakshmeshwar

An 11th-century Chalukya Shiva temple in the walled compound of Lakshmeshwar (ancient Puligere), carrying scores of old Kannada inscriptions — a major centre of the Chalukyan temple country.

10.9 km · ~18 min by cab · straight line
heritageShankha Basadi, Lakshmeshwar

The Sankha Jinalaya at Lakshmeshwar, an 8th-century Jain basadi to Neminatha (whose emblem is the conch, shankha), built under the Chalukya queen Kumkuma Mahadevi and holding a monolithic Sahasrakuta pillar of a thousand Tirthankaras.

11.2 km · ~19 min by cab · straight line
wildlifeBinkadakatti Zoo

A small state zoo and deer park at Binkadakatti on the edge of Gadag, opened in 1972 in a dry-scrub reserve — spotted deer, blackbuck, birds and a green picnic stop for families.

23.7 km · ~40 min by cab · straight line
templeTrikuteshwara Temple, Gadag

A Kalyani-Chalukya Shaiva complex in Gadag town enshrining a three-linga (trikuta) pedestal, famous for its adjoining Saraswati shrine with intricately lathe-turned stone pillars — a masterwork of 12th-century Deccan carving.

26.2 km · ~44 min by cab · straight line
wildlifeKappatagudda Wildlife Sanctuary

A range of dry-deciduous hills spanning the Gadag, Mundargi and Shirahatti taluks — notified as a sanctuary in 2019, rich in medicinal herbs, wolves, hyenas and blackbuck, with the Nandiveri math at its foot.

26.7 km · ~45 min by cab · straight line
templeVeeranarayana Temple, Gadag

An early-12th-century Vishnu temple in Gadag town, linked to the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana, where the 15th-century poet Kumaravyasa is said to have composed his Kannada Mahabharata (the Karnata Bharata Katha Manjari).

26.9 km · ~45 min by cab · straight line
heritageBrahma Jinalaya, Lakkundi

The oldest and largest temple at Lakkundi, an early-11th-century Jain basadi dedicated to Mahavira and built by the poet-patron Attimabbe — a landmark of the Chalukyan "city of 101 temples and 101 wells".

29.0 km · ~48 min by cab · straight line
templeNanneshwara Temple, Lakkundi

A compact Chalukya Shiva temple at Lakkundi, considered a stylistic forerunner to the grander Kasivisvesvara that stands close by — finely proportioned and richly moulded.

29.0 km · ~48 min by cab · straight line
templeKasivisvesvara Temple, Lakkundi

The marquee of Lakkundi (c. 1087 CE) — a twin temple whose Shiva and Surya sanctums face each other across a shared mandapa, its walls a lacework of Kalyani-Chalukya carving blending Dravida and Nagara styles.

29.1 km · ~48 min by cab · straight line
museumLakkundi Archaeological Museum

An ASI gallery in Lakkundi displaying sculptures, hero-stones and inscriptions recovered from the town’s scores of Chalukya temples and stepwells — a useful key to the whole heritage cluster.

29.3 km · ~49 min by cab · straight line
templeDoddabasappa Temple, Dambal

A Western Chalukya Shiva temple at Dambal (c. 1124 CE) built on a rare 24-point stellate plan, its polygonal star-shaped vimana ringed by bands of carving and fronted by a large Nandi.

29.4 km · ~49 min by cab · straight line
templeManikeshwara Temple, Lakkundi

A Chalukya Shiva temple at Lakkundi paired with the ornate Musukina Bhavi stepwell, one of the finely carved kalyanis for which the old capital is famed, with niched shrines around the water.

29.7 km · ~50 min by cab · straight line

All 2 places to visit in Shirahatti →

On the map

Where Magadi Bird Sanctuary is

Good to know

Magadi Bird Sanctuary — frequently asked

When is the best time to visit Magadi Bird Sanctuary?

December to March, when the migratory geese are present.

What are the entry fee and timings at Magadi Bird Sanctuary?

Entry: Free or nominal. Timings: Best at dawn and dusk.

How do I reach Magadi Bird Sanctuary?

About 26 km from Gadag near Magadi/Shirahatti; reached by road with a vehicle. Go at dawn or dusk, keep quiet and watch from a distance; carry binoculars.

How much time do I need for Magadi Bird Sanctuary?

1.5 to 2 hours.

What else is near Magadi Bird Sanctuary?

Nearby you can pair Someshwara Temple, Lakshmeshwar (10.9 km), Shankha Basadi, Lakshmeshwar (11.2 km), Binkadakatti Zoo (23.7 km), Trikuteshwara Temple, Gadag (26.2 km).

Image credits

Photographs: Bijoyv, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wikimedia Commons.