Bijapur was, by some non-fact-checked estimates, the most populous city in India (and consequently one of the world’s most populous cities) for a brief period during its prime in the mid-17th century. This is interesting because I knew literally nothing about it before going other than it was supposed to have some nice Islamic tombs. My wife hadn’t even heard of it. That Bijapur was the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty which ruled a huge chunk of South India was news to me! (I’ve since learned considerably more about the Deccan sultanates and am pretty embarrassed at how little I knew before, but visiting Bijapur was a good jumping off point.) It was also news to me that Bijapur’s iconic Gol Gumbaz had one of the largest domes in the world for hundreds of years (and it is said to have inspired Mumbai’s GPO building).
Whether or not you’re especially interested in the history, you should find Bijapur’s architecture to be noteworthy and interesting because in addition to being grand and beautiful it has a unique fusion of Islamic and South Indian Hindu styles, which is very noticeable even to the untrained eye (I saw this attributed to the influx of artisans from the defeated Vijayanagar empire as well as a general syncretism of the sultanate, at least for parts of its history).
Other than a few outstanding monuments and a vast collection of more minor ones in the city of ruins that has been overtaken by a busy small town, Bijapur is mostly charmless, and it’s not a place to plan an entire trip around unless you’re a huge history nerd. However, it’s totally worth a detour if you’re going in that direction, and it’s worth being clubbed in with some nearby places. Going from Bijapur to Badami to Hampi, or the reverse, is very easy and highly recommended. We did this starting from Kolhapur and met someone on the same itinerary starting from Goa. You can see more photos from this whole trip in my wife's Instagram stories.
We went in February 2023 and were told that Bijapur will get an airport in late 2023, but as of publishing this in July 2024 there is still no airport but it is said to be almost ready. I don’t know how regular flights will be and where you can fly from, but it could make such an itinerary much easier depending on where you’re coming from. If there are flights from where you live, I’d definitely recommend Bijapur as a great weekend trip, even if you don’t have time to club it with anything else.
We spent two nights in Bijapur with one full day to explore, and that was enough time for us and should be enough for most people. You can’t see everything in one day, but I don’t think you’d want to unless you have some really deep interest in history.
What to do
We just had a rickshaw driver give us a full day tour, I think it cost around 1300 inr, and I largely left the choice of sites to his discretion. Few visitors will want to see everything and at a certain point you’ll reach your capacity.
The two must-see sites are the Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza. Gol Gumbaz (the tomb of Mohammad Adil Shah) is astonishingly massive and pictures truly do not do it justice. It’s from the same era as the Taj Mahal, and the dome is around twice the size in diameter. Of course it doesn’t compare in its beauty, but it is still quite a sight to behold.
Go as early as possible if you want to appreciate the acoustics. Apparently you can whisper at one end of the dome and hear it at another. Unfortunately if you don’t go early in the morning it is packed with people making loud noises and it’s torture to even stand inside at the top of the dome (though it’s still totally worth climbing up, you get great views outside).
The museum at Gol Gumbaz is also recommended, there are a lot of artifacts and artworks from the Bijapur sultanate inside, and the Bijapuri art is distinctive and interesting.
Ibrahim Roza (the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, father of Gol Gumbaz’ builder Mohammad Adil Shah who apparently wanted to outdo his father’s tomb) is also really amazing. The scale isn’t impressive but it’s more ornate and beautiful than Gol Gumbaz, perhaps partly because Gol Gumbaz wasn’t actually finished, though I’m not sure what the finishing touches were supposed to be (I also wondered how these would compare to the higher profile Mughal tombs up north if they received the same restoration budgets, or if they were more weathered to time for some other reason such as the climate or building materials).
I found out after visiting that two people standing opposite each other at a certain point in the mosque and tomb can hear each other perfectly despite a large distance between them. I also found out after that if you pay the caretakers they might take you in the lower passageways of the tomb. I never take the local guides at these kinds of places but maybe this would be a good place to do so. But I enjoyed a relaxing late afternoon stroll through it, with time to just sit in the shade and enjoy the atmosphere. Unlike Gol Gumbaz it was not overcrowded when I went, and I found the place to be kind of magical.
Beyond those two major sites, I definitely recommend the Jamia Masjid, which has a stunning prayer niche. Near there is the very beautiful Mehtar Mahal, also strongly recommended to see, apparently it was built by a sweeper with leprosy who Ibrahim Adil Shah II gave money to (no idea if this is true). Note the parts on the stone balcony carved to look like wood, I thought that was really cool. Continuing in order of what I most recommend, there’s the Malik-E-Maidan, an insanely massive cannon with an image of a lion eating an elephant. Near there is a cool watchtower called Upli Burz which you can climb up. After that, I’d say you can drive around and see stuff from the road, nothing is so impressive that you have to see it, but it’s worth driving through the citadel and seeing the Asar Mahal (apparently strands of Mohammad’s hair are inside, there are also some apparently great artworks inside the rooms but the caretaker didn’t show them to me, women aren’t allowed in but the best views are across from it anyway), Gagan Mahal, and some of the other stuff in the area. I also liked the Barah Kaman, which is very unfinished but apparently was supposed to be even grander than the Gol Gumbaz. There is much else to see, but I felt satisfied with what I saw and felt neither the need for an extra day of exploring or a busier single day.
Where to stay/eat
We stayed at Sabala Heritage Homestay which I definitely recommend, it’s on a nice, green property and has great local food from homegrown produce (highlights were an extraordinarily good mixed greens dosa with an exceptional chutney for breakfast one day and an outstanding crisp sesame holige for dessert one night, I regret that I couldn’t have more meals there!). Rooms were 2800 with breakfast, meals were 250 inr each per person. They also run an NGO that makes local handicrafts, and they have a small store on the property. It’s about a ten minute drive from the center of town. Other than that it’s just generic hotels, and nothing especially luxurious. People who want more creature comforts may opt for one of those, but I think most people would be happy with the rooms here, and it was nice to stay somewhere with character in a town that otherwise mostly lacks it as far as anything modern goes.
We only had one meal outside of our homestay at the excellent Hotel Hallimane near the Gol Gumbaz. Great North Karnataka village style banana leaf thali at lunch.
I didn’t go to Bijapur expecting a good food trip but it turned out to be one!
Recommended reading
There’s a lot to read about the Bijapur sultanate and the Deccan sultanates in general, of which I knew very little about. For me, three great pieces stood out, I highly recommend all of these as a primer. All are engaging reads, covering not just the history but also the art and culture of the sultanate, and the FiftyTwo piece also explores how Bijapur fits into modern Karnataka.
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/06/25/renaissance-sultans/ (William Dalrymple, paywalled but I found an illicit copy here, don’t snitch, if this doesn’t work then here is an abridged version)
I also read a few shorter pieces by Manu Pillai that are less essential but still fun and worth reading:
(On the religious and cultural identity of the Adil Shahis)
(On the Nujum al-Ulum)
https://lifestyle.livemint.com/news/talking-point/the-sultan-who-painted-his-nails-111645286302538.html (An excerpt from Manu’s book, on Ibrahim Adil Shah II’s Hindu influences)
I don’t know of any books specifically on Bijapur (there is this guidebook, I liked the Hampi one from the same series well enough that I’d consider getting more for places I travel), but on my list is Manu Pillai’s general Deccan book Rebel Sultans.
I also recommend clicking around through the Met’s catalogue on the Deccan sultanate exhibit. A lot of it is from Bijapur, and it’s readily apparent how different it is from other art in India from that period (some of the articles noted a more fantastical nature than the Mughal art, and I felt it seemed more… East Asian somehow?). See here for an example, and here are some pages from the Nujum al-Ulum. Some have audio guides, see here. Don’t miss going to Bijapur’s museum (on the same lot as the Gol Gumbaz) where you can see some artwork and artifacts from the sultanate, though clearly the best stuff is elsewhere.
I don’t know of any films or fiction about Bijapur. There was of course the classic literature of the era, I’m not sure what has been translated, in any case I admit I don’t have the fortitude to read that stuff. Overall the Deccani sultanates seem largely absent from popular culture.
Ibrahim Adil Shah II composed music, but where can one listen to it?
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