Hyderabad to Bidar, Karnataka - Road trip

[sagar]

There are so many places in India that we have not heard of and yet, they become a part of our travel memories. And to me this is definitely one of it.

 

Bidar Fort area 

 

When: Oct 26 2014

Drive: Ford Fiesta

Fuel Type: Petrol

Route: Hyderabad -- Zaheerabad -- Bidar

Distance: 120~130kms

Travel Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (excluding breaks)

Mileage: Avg. 14 kmpl (with AC)

 

Prelude:

It was on Sunday 26-October 2014, woke up around 9:00 a.m. after hitting the snooze button 4 times and finally dragged myself out of the bed. Waking up late certainly had its own disadvantages and I had a road full of traffic waiting for me. Skipped breakfast and left home by 10:00 a.m. to catch up with my group of friends and decide the days plan.

 

Finally 4 of us caught up at a common point in the Hi-tech city. Cursing the messed up city traffic on the road we have decided to escape the place and head out on a drive to a place which doesn't take more than 3 hours from the city premises into a nice weather that had just signaled an offset of monsoon and then Bidar came up first on our list.

 

Freezing on with the choice made, we set off to take the NH9 from the Hi-tech city at around 12 PM to Bidar which was about 120 kms away from our start point.

 

Route map to Bidar 

 

Execution:

The road at the Lingampally market and the BHEL junction was over crowded as usual which restricted our speed until we crossed Patancheru. But once we hit the toll road, the pointer touched 100 kmph and we felt relieved :cool:. As i skipped the morning breakfast, I couldn't ignore the pangs of hunger and decided to stop by a major town on the way called Zaheerabad to have our brunch.

 

We stopped by a decent family restaurant on the NH9 near Zaheerabad named "Mahindra Paradise".

 

The food was delicious, the place was neat & definitely recommendable. We devoured our lunch and left the place in an hour around 3:00 p.m. The ride further was pretty decent with limited traffic and good roads. The roads were slightly broken up near the villages but overall the NH9 was perfect for a drive under the clouds.

 

Maps suggested that a right turn at Zaheerabad to the State highway 4 would get us to Bidar. The road from the NH towards Bidar was not so great, but drivable. But the greenery around and the in-car music made us forget the woes about the road. Pretty soon a sign board welcomed us into the state of Karnataka and we entered a small forest area called Deva Vanam.

 

We further drove down into the Bidar town where the first road to the right led us to the old city - the fort area.

As we drove in to the city, the first monument seen is the 'Chaubara' (Clock Tower) which served as a watch post for the troops and a place to make announcements in the past and was later converted to a clock tower.

 

The Bidar fort is just 1.5 kms from the junction and the fort wall begins as you enter the town which led us to the fort by 4:00 p.m.

 

Gateway to the Bidar fort 

Fort walls surrounded us all along the fort road till the entrance

 

 

 

 

On both sides of the road we could see dilapidated buildings, ruins of the fort walls, small houses and courtyards. We walked in to the fort spread over a large area surrounded by huge walls and several fort gates. After crossing these gates, we entered into the main courtyard which has a huge lawn maintained by the ASI and a mosque called 'Solah Khamba' which gets the name from the 16 pillars that hold it and is covered with a majestic dome.

'Solah Khamba' Mosque 

View of the courtyard from the garden inside

We then walked out of the main courtyard towards the back side of the fort wall and found the isolated ruins around which were out of bounds and locked with chains, probably to prevent antisocial elements from using them as hideouts. Looking at the scale of things around, we felt it must have been a very impressive place in the past.

Remains of the Bidar fort

 

 

Exploring the Ancient Architecture in Bidar Fort 

We hadn't known that the Bidar Fort was one of the mighty forts of the Deccan until we actually explored it

 

All the drizzle down our walk & the bracing climate added an extra flavor and made it more memorable. 

 

 

We didn't have enough time to know more about it as it was already getting dark with a drizzle, calling us badly for a cup of hot coffee. And so we had walked out by the parking to a coffee stall outside the fort and sipped in a cup in that drizzling weather giving a sign of a perfect end to this trip. Without any further ado, after the Coffee we started to head back home around 6:30 p.m. and reached home by 9:00 p.m. without taking a break.

 

The drive was an absolute breeze and I thoroughly enjoyed cruising. It seemed like a perfect getaway from the noisy city to bring in some peace to mind. I can still assure you, it has been one of my most relaxed short drives off late !!!

 

[Naveen1]

Awesome pictures @sagar

Looks very different in Monsoon.

[uday]

Awesome Pics and what is the best time to Visit

[Gowtham]

uday said:

Awesome Pics and what is the best time to Visit

 

Except on April and May rest all seasons it is fine. Looks like above pics are taken during monsoon.

 

Place is little dry from February to June.

 

But it will be a perfect place to visit for a break fast drive. Fort opens at 6 AM. If you want to visit Bidar in the coming days.

 

• Start at 5:00 AM from Hyderabad. 
• You can find many breakfast places on the Highway.
• Zaheerabad to Bidar drive is very refreshing. You pass through thick vegetation.
• Reach Bidar by 9:00 AM
• Sight seeing till 12:00
• Drive back home

[vijay]

Guys any inputs about the resorts around Bidar?

I know that we can easily drive to this place and come back in half a day. But I am looking for a resort far away from the city.

[sagar]

Bidar has limited options for places to stay. The accommodation options in this region lack in luxury properties but you will find mid-range hotels and guesthouses around.. Blackbuck forest resort is one recommended option and can b considered for a family stay.