Karnataka Tours and Travel

The culture of Gulbarga is a mixture of Kannada, Marathi and Hyderabadi. Gulbargites take pride in Gulbarga culture and are seldom happy to stay away from their home town. The Gulbarga town was once the Bahamani capital from 1347 until it was transferred to Bidar in 1428. Thus, Gulbarga is a unique synthesis of those two cultures.

After the Bahmani capital was moved to Bidar in 1428, Gulbarga became a provincial capital. In the 16th century the city became part of the Bijapur sultanate. By the second half of the 17th century the region was incorporated into the Mughal Empire. The city came under the rule of the princely state of Hyderabad in the early 18th century. Along with the rest of Hyderabad, it was annexed by India in 1948. In 1956 Gulbarga was made a part of Mysore state (renamed Karnataka in 1973). More than a third of the city's residents are Muslims. Most of the remainder are Hindus.

With its unique culture, history and places of interest Gulbarga can be a special experience for the tourist. Gulbarga, the South Indian city, in northeastern Karnataka state, is located on the Karnataka Plateau. Climate is dry and cold in the winter, rains a lot during the monsoon and one of the hottest in summer. There are many shopping places, the biggest one is Super Market at the centre of the city (Close to the Appana kere (Lake)). Station bazaar close to the railway station is the second biggest market/shopping areas of Gulbarga. You can find almost everything that you would find in a big city like Bangalore in Gulbarga.

How to Reach Gulbarga
Air: The nearest airport is in Hyderabad (220 kms).

Rail: Gulbarga is served by a major rail line and is well connected by trains to Bijapur, Hyderabad and Bidar. Some of the trains from Bangalore to Delhi and Mumbai pass through Gulbarga.

Road: Gulgarga is connected by road to most places in south and west India. Some of these are: Hyderabad (220 kms) • Bangalore (600 kms) • Bijapur (160 kms) • Bidar (120 kms) • Basavakalyan (80 kms). Regular buses ply from Raichur.

Local Transport: Taxis and auto richshaws are available for getting around in the city.

Prime Attraction in and around Gulbarga
The city of Gulbarga is full of beautiful palaces, mosques, stately buildings and bazaars. You may start your tour in Gulgarga with the fort that was built by Raja Gulchand and later strengthened by Al-ud-din Bahmani. The Fort of Gulbarga is an amazing structure, with 15 towers and 26 guns. Inside the fort, is the Jama Masjid, built during the late 14th century by a Moorish architect who is said to have fashioned it on the lines of the great mosque in Cordoba in Spain. To the southern entrance of the fort is a group of royal tombs.

The other important monument in Gulgbarga is the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Durgah, a shrine of the Saint Banda Nawaz (1640), the great Sufi saint. This magnificent building in the indo-Saracenic style is the venue of an annual urus, attended by thousands of people, both Muslims and Hindus.

The Durgah Library houses almost 10,000 books in Urdu, Persain and Arabic. Also worth seeing are Sultan Hanan's tomb, the tomb of Ghias-ud-din, the fine mausoleum of Feroze Shah and his family, the Haft-Gumbaz outside the city, the elegant mosques, the well-kept lawns of Mahboob Gulshan and the Shrine of Shri Sharanabasaveshwara, a famous pilgrim centre standing near the Gulbarga talab. The other place of interest for the tourist is the cross-shaped bazaar with 61 arches.

Around Gulbarga is Jevargu, the popular Jain pilgrim center, about 40 kms from Gulbarga. It is situated on the bank of the Bhima River and has many Jain basadis. Humnabad is 52 kms from Bidar, a famous pilgrim center. It attracts thousands of devotees during the Veerabhadreshwara jatra, held for 7 days during Jan-Feb. The Narayanapura Dam is 120 kms from Gulbarga. The Krishna River cascades down here and is known as the Jaladurga Falls.