Even though bidar is located very close to Hyderabad, I never get a chance to explore this beautiful place. Most of the people don't know much about historic significance and heritage of Bidar. Historic monuments in and around bidar belong to bahamani era(1400) and Bidar Fort is one of the biggest fort in India. And the world famous Bidriware are made in Bidar which was awarded with GI status. We should thanks Karnataka tourism for protecting and maintaining these heritages structures.
Location:
Bidar(Karnataka State) is located at a distance of 130km from Hyderabad and 120 km from Gulbarga(Karnataka). It is located on the Hyderabad->Mumbai route near Zaheerabad. It is located close to Andhra-Maharastra Border.
How to Reach??
By Bus:
There are many buses available from Hyderabad <-> Bidar directly. For every 30mins there will be a express bus from Hyderabad->Bidar. It will take 3-4 hours to reach Bidar from Hyderabad. Also there is one KSRTC volvo from hyderabad, which starts @6AM. If you want to catch a bus to bidar, either you can go to MGBS or can go to BHEL. All the buses that start from MGBS will stop @ BHEL, Patancheru. Also there are many buses available from Gulbarga->Bidar. It will take 2-3 hours to reach bidar from Gulbarga.
By Train:
There are many trains from Hyderabad->Bidar. But the timings not convenient for a one day trip.
By Road:
From Hyderabad, you have to take the mumbai Highway till zaheerabad checkpost. From zaheerabad checkpost, take right turn. From zaheerabad, bidar is just 30km. Road condition is good, but its better to start early from Hyderabad, so that you can avoid local traffic.
Where to stay??
There are many decent hotels to stay in Bidar. I stayed @ Shiva International (near bus stand), and I can recommend this hotel for a short stay. Apart from this check these hotels:http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotels-g1236165-Bidar_Karnataka-Hotels.html. If you want pleasant stay , you can choose BlackBuck resort, which is maintained by Jungle Lodges(Karnataka). http://www.blackbuckresort.com/index.html
Places of Interest:
Time required to visit all the places???
If you reach bidar by 9AM, you can complete visiting all the places leisurely by 3PM. If you are planing to visit Bidar for the whole weekend, then you can stay@ Blackbuck resort and you will get a chance to explore wildlife apart from the historic places.
My Trip:
I booked KSRTC volvo from Hyderabad->Bidar, which starts from Hyderabad from @5AM and reach bidar @8AM. As I booked through online they charged me 200+rs, but for the people who directly boarded the buses without reservation got the ticket for just 120rs. So my advice is don't book ticket through online, if you are planning to go from hyd-bidar. But the bus timings are more convenient. I reached bidar @8am, took one hotel room for one hour near bus stand, got refreshed and started the trip. My First destination is Choubara. It is just a clock tower located in the center of old city market.
My next destination is Mahmud Gawan Madarasa. It was built during the 14 century, in completely persian style. I really liked the architecture, even now it looks so beautiful. If you bribe the watchmen, you can get a chance to go till the top of the madarasa. This is located just a few steps away from Choubara on the fort route.
Bidar Fort Entrance:
I visited many forts in India, Bidar fort is best among them. The fort wall, entrance block, was amazing.
Rangeen Mahal:
Once you enter the fort, rangeen mahal is located on the left side. Mostly the doors will be locked. If you bribe the watchmen, you can get inside the rangeen mahal. I offered him 50rs and entered the rangeen mahal. It was very old building, but the wall sculptures are too good.
Tarkish Mahal
After walking for few minutes from rangeen mahal, I entered the main courtyard of the fort. There is a museum located on the right side of the entrance. I went inside the museum and amazed to see the guns, knifes used by the bahamani's. Tarkish mahal is located opposite to the museum. I heard that we can go inside the tarkish mahal, but unofficially.
Solah Masjid:
Solah masjid is located next to tarkish mahal. Officially you can't get inside the masjid. It s also called as zanana masjid. It is one of the biggest mosque in India.
Gagan Mahal:
Gagan mahal was built by bahamani kings, but later baridi shahi rulers made certain alterations and additions in the plan of building. The palace has two courts, the outer one apparently used by the staff, guards of the palace and the inner one for the royal ladies.
Old Fort:
To reach the old fort, we have to go out side of the main court yard and go left passing the security checkpost.
It will take at-least 1 hour to cover all the ruined structures in the old fort. You can't go inside the building, as they were locked and can be opened only if you bribe security. This old fort buildings are famous for movie shootings.
Bronze Cannon:
Cannon is located on the north-eastern side. To reach this turret we had to pass through a small village. With the presence of lot of cattle I assumed selling dairy products is a source of income for this village. The cannon is positioned on a large turret. cannon weights around 33 tonnes. A similar system can be seen at Bijapur's Malik-e-Maidan.
Gurudwara:
This is located at a distance of 3km from Bidar Fort. It is very close to the bus stand. It is one of the must visit visit gurudwaras in India. Every year at-least 4 to 5 lakh people visit this place. Don't miss meal @Gurudwara.
After visiting gurudwara, I again went to the old city for buying bidriware. There are many shops in old city which sells bidriware. Prices are too high, so didn't dare to buy. After that I thought of visiting bahamani tombs which is located next to bus stand. But found that it will be closed in the afternoon. So I started back to Hyderabad. I didn't get a chance to visit narasimha jira, which is also a must visit place in Bidar.
Location:
Bidar(Karnataka State) is located at a distance of 130km from Hyderabad and 120 km from Gulbarga(Karnataka). It is located on the Hyderabad->Mumbai route near Zaheerabad. It is located close to Andhra-Maharastra Border.
How to Reach??
By Bus:
There are many buses available from Hyderabad <-> Bidar directly. For every 30mins there will be a express bus from Hyderabad->Bidar. It will take 3-4 hours to reach Bidar from Hyderabad. Also there is one KSRTC volvo from hyderabad, which starts @6AM. If you want to catch a bus to bidar, either you can go to MGBS or can go to BHEL. All the buses that start from MGBS will stop @ BHEL, Patancheru. Also there are many buses available from Gulbarga->Bidar. It will take 2-3 hours to reach bidar from Gulbarga.
By Train:
There are many trains from Hyderabad->Bidar. But the timings not convenient for a one day trip.
By Road:
From Hyderabad, you have to take the mumbai Highway till zaheerabad checkpost. From zaheerabad checkpost, take right turn. From zaheerabad, bidar is just 30km. Road condition is good, but its better to start early from Hyderabad, so that you can avoid local traffic.
Where to stay??
There are many decent hotels to stay in Bidar. I stayed @ Shiva International (near bus stand), and I can recommend this hotel for a short stay. Apart from this check these hotels:http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotels-g1236165-Bidar_Karnataka-Hotels.html. If you want pleasant stay , you can choose BlackBuck resort, which is maintained by Jungle Lodges(Karnataka). http://www.blackbuckresort.com/index.html
Places of Interest:
- Bidar Fort( Require atleast 2 hours to visit fully).
- Madarasa and Choubara.
- Gurudwara
- Bahamani Tombs
- Narasimha Jira Cave Temple.
- Old market where they sell Bidri crafts.
Time required to visit all the places???
If you reach bidar by 9AM, you can complete visiting all the places leisurely by 3PM. If you are planing to visit Bidar for the whole weekend, then you can stay@ Blackbuck resort and you will get a chance to explore wildlife apart from the historic places.
My Trip:
I booked KSRTC volvo from Hyderabad->Bidar, which starts from Hyderabad from @5AM and reach bidar @8AM. As I booked through online they charged me 200+rs, but for the people who directly boarded the buses without reservation got the ticket for just 120rs. So my advice is don't book ticket through online, if you are planning to go from hyd-bidar. But the bus timings are more convenient. I reached bidar @8am, took one hotel room for one hour near bus stand, got refreshed and started the trip. My First destination is Choubara. It is just a clock tower located in the center of old city market.
My next destination is Mahmud Gawan Madarasa. It was built during the 14 century, in completely persian style. I really liked the architecture, even now it looks so beautiful. If you bribe the watchmen, you can get a chance to go till the top of the madarasa. This is located just a few steps away from Choubara on the fort route.
Bidar Fort Entrance:
I visited many forts in India, Bidar fort is best among them. The fort wall, entrance block, was amazing.
Rangeen Mahal:
Once you enter the fort, rangeen mahal is located on the left side. Mostly the doors will be locked. If you bribe the watchmen, you can get inside the rangeen mahal. I offered him 50rs and entered the rangeen mahal. It was very old building, but the wall sculptures are too good.
Tarkish Mahal
After walking for few minutes from rangeen mahal, I entered the main courtyard of the fort. There is a museum located on the right side of the entrance. I went inside the museum and amazed to see the guns, knifes used by the bahamani's. Tarkish mahal is located opposite to the museum. I heard that we can go inside the tarkish mahal, but unofficially.
Solah Masjid:
Solah masjid is located next to tarkish mahal. Officially you can't get inside the masjid. It s also called as zanana masjid. It is one of the biggest mosque in India.
Gagan Mahal:
Gagan mahal was built by bahamani kings, but later baridi shahi rulers made certain alterations and additions in the plan of building. The palace has two courts, the outer one apparently used by the staff, guards of the palace and the inner one for the royal ladies.
Old Fort:
To reach the old fort, we have to go out side of the main court yard and go left passing the security checkpost.
Bronze Cannon:
Cannon is located on the north-eastern side. To reach this turret we had to pass through a small village. With the presence of lot of cattle I assumed selling dairy products is a source of income for this village. The cannon is positioned on a large turret. cannon weights around 33 tonnes. A similar system can be seen at Bijapur's Malik-e-Maidan.
Gurudwara:
This is located at a distance of 3km from Bidar Fort. It is very close to the bus stand. It is one of the must visit visit gurudwaras in India. Every year at-least 4 to 5 lakh people visit this place. Don't miss meal @Gurudwara.
After visiting gurudwara, I again went to the old city for buying bidriware. There are many shops in old city which sells bidriware. Prices are too high, so didn't dare to buy. After that I thought of visiting bahamani tombs which is located next to bus stand. But found that it will be closed in the afternoon. So I started back to Hyderabad. I didn't get a chance to visit narasimha jira, which is also a must visit place in Bidar.
Bidar has loads to offer for history buffs. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteVery informative and useful for first time visitors. Thanks for sharing. With Best wishes...Jagan
ReplyDeleteHi.. Nice information.. For a traveller.. Who is getting less time for outing...
ReplyDeleteLet me know. How was u r local transportation.. After reaching Bidar... Public transport only.. Or u hired any vehicle.. ??
I like your detailed study. You have mentioned train are available but timings are inconvenient. True. Thanks for detailed analysis of the place.
ReplyDeleteHi, Thanks a lot for the post. Informative and helpful.
ReplyDeleteplanning from long to be in Bidar, hope to be soon.