Raichur District, Karnataka
Distance: Around 409 km from Bangalore
How to reach there: By train on the Guntakal – Bombay line, by bus, private vehicle or by air.
Trains that goes via Raichur:
1014 +LOKMANYA TT EXP *BANGALORE CY JN 15:20 RAICHUR 23:24
2429 +RAJDHANI EXP BANGALORE CY JN 20:20 RAICHUR 02:49
2627 +KARNATAKA EXP BANGALORE CY JN 19:20 RAICHUR 03:09
6340 +MUMBAI EXPRESS *BANGARAPET 20:30 RAICHUR 05:52
6513 +BASAVA EXPRESS YESVANTPUR JN 16:45 RAICHUR 00:49
6530 +UDYAN EXP BANGALORE CY JN 20:05 RAICHUR 05:01
6592 +HAMPI EXP BANGALORE CY JN 22:20 RAICHUR 07:43
Journey time: 8 – 9 hours
Route: Bangalore – Anantapur – Raichur
Where to stay:
1. Hotel Nrupatunga
Station Road, Raichur – 584 101,
Karnataka
– Located around 1.5 km from Raichur railway station
website: http://nrupatunga.com/
2. Hotel Sarvesh
Vidyaranya Road , Gangavati,
Raichur – 583 227
3. Priya Hotel
Station Road
Raichur
Where to eat:
You can try Ashoka, Dildar, Nrupathunga Hotel, SLV Hotel etc
Language spoken: Kannada, Hindi, Urdu
Raichur has a very rich history and there are lots of manuscript in various language like Sanskrit, Prakrit, Kannada, Arabic and Persian to support this. Recorded history goes back to 3rd century BC when Raichur used to be a part of the Maruyan empire during the time of Ashoka the great. Raichur has changed hands many time starting from Mayuran kings to Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Kadamba, Chalukyas of Badami, Pallavas, Rashtrakutas, Muslim sultanates and finally to the British.
Raichur used to a be a part of the Hyderabad under Nizam. But after re-organization of the states in 1956, raichur was included in the then Mysore sate, now renamed Karnataka.
What to see:
In and around Raichur city:
1. Hutti gold mines: Hutti gold mines are located in Hutti around 80 km from Raichur city. Hutti Gold Mines Company LTD which runs the operations here was actually formed as Hyderabad Gold Mines Company Ltd by Nizam of Hyderabad. After re-organization of states it was transferred to Karnataka and renamed. The mines are mainly located in the Hutti-Muski range. It is located in Lingsugur taluk around 16 km from Lingsugur town.
2. Thermal Power Station at Shakthinagar: Raichur Thermal Power Station is situated about 20 km north of Raichur. There are 7 units of 210 MW capacity each. The annual generation is around 10,000 Million Units. Roughly, 7 Million Tonnes of coal are received every year.
3. Raichur fort: According to inscriptions on wall, the fort was built by one Raja Vitthala by order of Raja Gore Gangayya Raddivaru, minister of the Kakatiya queen Rudramma Devi, in the year 1216. The later part of the fort was built by muslim rulers which has lot of inscriptions in Arabic and Persian on its bastions and gateways.
Citadel – Also known as Bala Hisar in local language is located on one of the highest hills towards the north western side of the fort. One can see there gun, minarets, a small mosque, Panch Bibi Dargah, ruins which resembles old Hindu temples.
4. Ek-Minar-ki-Masjid: This is a mosque where the roof is supported by only one pillar. It is built in Persian style and is identical in form with the Chand Minar at Daulatabad erected in 1445 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani and the minaret of the famous college of Mahmud Gawan at Bidar built during 1472. It is located near by Raichur fort on the left hand side of the road.
5. Fort Jami Masjid: The fort Jami Masjid is situated on the other side of the road.
6. Ramagadde: Ramagadde is a beautiful island in the river Krishna located around 20 km from Raichur city. Mythology says that Shri Ram of Ramayana stayed here. There is a Veerashaiva temple.