Bahmani Tombs, Ashtur

A cave shrine to Narasimha reached by wading a few hundred metres through chest-deep spring water inside a low tunnel — an unusual and atmospheric pilgrimage, best attempted with care and local guidance.

A grand Persian-style college built in 1472 by the Bahmani minister Mahmud Gawan, once three storeys high with a library and lodgings, still clad in patches of brilliant blue, green and white tilework; one minaret survives after a lightning strike and gunpowder blast.

A round watchtower about 22 m high at the crossroads in the middle of the old walled town, once used as an observatory; a stair climbs to a viewpoint over Bidar.

The "sixteen-pillar" mosque inside Bidar Fort, one of the oldest and largest mosques of the Deccan, a long hall of arched bays behind a broad prayer court.

The great hilltop fort rebuilt by the Bahmani sultan Ahmad Shah I in the 15th century, ringed by a triple moat and long ramparts, enclosing tiled palaces such as the Rangin Mahal, the Solah Khamba mosque, the Tarkash Mahal and audience halls.

A major Sikh gurudwara built around a spring said to have appeared when Guru Nanak visited Bidar; its sarovar and white shrine draw pilgrims from across India, especially at Guru Nanak Jayanti.

The garden tombs of the Barid Shahi dynasty on the western edge of town — the domed mausoleum of Ali Barid Shah stands open to the sky in a formal char-bagh garden, floodlit in the evenings.

An old Shiva temple set beside a spring-fed tank on the edge of the town, its linga said to have been installed by Rama; a popular local pilgrimage spot, busiest at Maha Shivaratri.

Basavakalyan’s historic fort, also known as Basava Kalyan Fort, with surviving ramparts, gateways and court structures from the town’s long life as Kalyani.

A laterite-rock cave associated locally with Akka Nagamma; the reusable, geotagged photographs document carved sacred figures inside the Basavakalyan site.

The monumental seated image of Basavanna in Basavakalyan, a modern public landmark dedicated to the 12th-century Sharana thinker and vachana poet.

A living matha in Basavakalyan associated with Rudramuni Shivayogi; visitors should follow current worship, dress and photography directions at the entrance.