South India · Karnataka
Kalaburagi, Karnataka
About Kalaburagi
- Inland
Where it is
Kalaburagi, formerly Gulbarga, is a city in the Kalyana-Karnataka region of north-eastern Karnataka, on the Deccan plateau in the basin of the Bhima River, near the borders of Maharashtra and Telangana.
History
The region was ruled by the Rashtrakutas, whose capital Manyakheta lay nearby, and later by the Chalukyas and Kakatiyas. In 1347 Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah made Gulbarga the first capital of the Bahmani Sultanate, which enlarged its fort and built its mosque and royal tombs before moving to Bidar in the 15th century. Later part of Hyderabad State, the city joined Mysore State in 1956 and was renamed Kalaburagi in 2014.
People
Kannada and Urdu are the main languages, with Marathi, Hindi, Telugu and Lambadi also spoken. The dargah of the Sufi saint Khwaja Bande Nawaz and the Sharana Basaveshwara temple both hold large annual fairs, and the surrounding farms grow more tur dal than any other part of Karnataka.
Known for
- Gulbarga Fort and its Jama Masjid
- Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah
- Sharana Basaveshwara Temple
- Haft Gumbaz royal tombs
- Tur dal, the pigeon pea
Did you know?
The 14th-century Jama Masjid inside Gulbarga Fort is unusual among Indian mosques: instead of an open courtyard, its central space is roofed over with dozens of small domes.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.