Hyderabad

Hyderabad, which is almost 500 years old, is the capital city of Telangana. It is located on the Deccan Plateau. The city has an average altitude of about 500 m above the sea level. Most of the regions have rocky terrain.

Originally, the city of Hyderabad was established on the southern banks of the river Musi. Now, the so-called original Hyderabad city is called as the historical Old City. The Old City is the dwelling to the Charminar and the Mecca Masjid. Many constructions – government buildings and landmarks – are going on in the city center, particularly on the south side of the Husai Sagar Lake. The fast development of the city, along with the development of adjoining city Secunderabad and adjacent municipalities, has resulted in the creation of a huge and densely populated metropolitan region.

With various software firms, call centers, and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies being set up during the early 1990s, Hyderabad has become one of the key areas for such information technology (IT) and IT-enabled service set-ups. Many pharmaceutical companies like Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Divis Labs, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hetero Drugs Limited, Matrix Laboratories, and Vimta Labs are located in the city.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS

  

Charminar

Charminar, an excellent blend of the Indo-Islamic architecture, is one of the places that will come to mind when one plans to visit Hyderabad. It is a square-shaped structure standing as a witness to the glory of Qutub Shahi dynasty. The structure is 56 meters high and 30 meters wide. There are four minarets standing on the four corners of Charminar, each minaret having double balconies. The balconies offer a breathtaking view of the surrounding. These minarets are crowned with small, bulblike copulas.

There are four grand arches facing the cardinal directions and major roads emanate from the arches, along the four cardinal directions. On the top floor is located a small mosque. There are 45 prayer spaces and people throng to this mosque for the Friday prayers. One should not miss the beautiful view of Charminar when it is illuminated.

Golkunda Fort

The Golconda Fort is situated due west of Hyderabad. The fort was founded as early as the twelfth century by the Kakatias. The Qutub Sahi kings converted this fort into a mighty fort with granite walls and ramparts that extend to around 5 kilometers in circumference. The perimeter of this massive fort measures around 11 kilometers, with 15 to 18-foot-high walls. There are as many as 70 ramparts besides 8 huge gates.

Golconda was once the market city for its diamond trade. Darya-e Nur, meaning 'sea of light', measuring 185 carats and housed now in Iran, was mined here. Many other famed diamonds—including the Kohinoor Diamond, Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond, the Hope Diamond, and the Regent Diamond—are believed to belong to the mines in this region.

Highlight of the fort is a light-and-sound show. The timings of the show are different during summers and winters. During November–February, the shows begin at 6:30 pm, and during March-October, the shows begin at 7 pm. On Wednesdays and Sundays the shows are presented in English; on Tuesdays, Fridays, and on Saturdays, in Hindi; and on Thursdays, Telugu.

Purani Haveli

Purana Haveli is the main residence of Mahbub Ali Pasha, the Nizam VI. One of the neo-classical structures, it is a sprawling complex built during the mid-nineteenth century. That the Nizam lived a lavish life can be seen from the Massarat Mahal, situated on the eastern wing of the building. It houses the Nizam’s wooden wardrobe, a giant 73-square-meter room having two closets and an elevator. The two closets are of two levels, and the mechanical elevator is used to reach the top level of the closets.The Nizam’s museum is also found in the Purana Haveli. Purana Haveli is open between 10:30 am and 5 pm, except on Fridays.

Salar Jung Museum

Salar Jung Museum is located on the southern side of the river Musi. It is the third most prominent museum in India domiciliating the largest one-man aggregations of antiques in the world. This museum is very famous throughout India for its well-known collections of materials belong to various civilizations starting from first century.

The museum is a majestic treat to the cognoscenti with an accumulation of more than 43,000 art materials and 50,000 books and manuscripts. The collections contain Children Art, European Art, Far Eastern Art, Indian Art, and Middle Eastern Art along with a gallery of founders and uncommon manuscripts section.

Hussain Sagar Lake

Hussain Sagar Lake was built in 1562 by Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. The lake was built on a tributary of Musi River and is located in the midst of Hyderabad city. The main Tank Bund links Hyderabad and Secunderabad, which are famously called the twin cities.

The bund is laid with a broad road with well-maintained lawns and houses 33 statues of famed personalities of Andhra Pradesh state. A 16-meter-tall, 350-tonne, monolithic Buddha statue is on the middle of the lake. Lumbini Park, which houses the Buddha statue, has a musical fountain. There is a Lower Tank Bund road, which mainly serves to decongest the traffic.

Budha Statue

The Buddha Statue is the world’s largest single-stone statue of Buddha, which is made of a white granite rock. It is 22 metres (72 feet) in height and 450 tonnes (4,50,000 kilograms) in weight. It is located in the center of the lake on the rock of Gibraltar in the tranquil waters of the Hussain Sagar Lake. It was a contribution of the Buddha Poornima Project held in the year 1985.

The statue was carved by 200 artisans for more than two years. The statue has been shipped to Hyderabad in November 1988, after some initial troubles, the Buddha statue was raised up on 12 April 1992. The atmosphere ponders peace and perseverance. A visit to the Buddha statue by boat would be an unforgettable experience.

Lumbani Park

Lumbini Park is situated a few yards from the famous monolithic Buddha statue of the Hussain Sagar Lake. Lumbini Park is part of the Buddha Poornima Project, and is named after the birthplace of Buddha. A large 'clock' designed using flowering plants at the entrance welcomes the visitors.The park is a serene landscape decorated with seasonal flowering plants, rocks and cacti. Children have a lot to be entertained here, including the musical fountain and water cascades. The musical fountain dances to the tunes of popular Hindi and Telugu numbers. The park is open to visitors on weekdays, except on Mondays.

Osman Sagar Lake

Osman Sagar Lake is situated about 20 km away from Hyderabad. It is commonly known as Gandipet. The important attractions of this lake are Elless World, Ocean Park, and Treasure Island. This lake is crowded in all the seasons. The water body was made by building a dam on Moosi River in the year 1920 by Mir Osman Ali Khan. The lake supply water to the cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Osman Sagar Lake covers an area of 46 square km. The environment here is very pleasing and the decorated gardens with a swimming pool are additional attractions to this lake. There is no any specific time to visit this place. It could be visited at any time of the day. It is open for the public - no entrance fee!

ISKCON Temple

ISKCON Temple is located at Nampally in Hyderabad. It is one of the famous temples constructed by the ISKCON organization. The main deity of this temple is Lord Krishna. Other deities of this temple are Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri Jagannatha Baladeva-Subhadra, and Sri Radha Madana-Mohana.

The temple is usually crowded on Krishnashtami since thousands of devotees visit this temple. The temple has been kept under strict watch by the police personnels. Many metal detectors have been set up at the gateways by which no frisking was executed.

Usual programmes are performed on daily basis. On Sundays special programmes are performed. The temple also distributes the Krishna Prasadam to nearly 1,000 devotees every month. Bhakti Vrksha facilitates devotees to get personal attention and guidance on how to exercise bhakti yogas and sustain good association.

  Mecca Masjid

The construction of Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad employed 8000 masons working round the clock for 77 years. The Masjid is one of the oldest, and biggest, mosques in the entire country. This mosque is located 100 meters from the Charminar. The myth is that bricks used for the construction of this masjid comprised of bricks from Mecca.

The masjid houses a 75-foot-high hall, which has dimensions of 220 feet by 180 feet. Belgian crystal chandeliers adorn the mosque. The structure started withering and cracking, making the government announce the region to be traffic free.

Birla Mandir

The various Birla mandirs constructed across the country were built by the industrialists Birlas. Sri Venkateswara, or Lord Lakshminarayana, is the deity of these temples. Strangely, however, these temples are known by the family that undertook the noble cause. The Birla Mandir in Hyderabad is built on the 280-foot-high hillock of Kalapahad. Birla Mandirs are constructed entirely using marbles. It is believed that it took 2000 tonnes of white marbles brought from the Indian state of Rajasthan to complete this holy place.

The intricate marble carvings blending the South Indian architecture, Utkal temple architecture and Rajastani architecture is simply amazing. The view from the highest level offers the viewer a spectacular view of the Hussain Sagar Lake and the Public Gardens and Lumbini Park.

The temple is open between 7 am and 12 noon and between 3 pm and 9 pm.

HOW TO REACH

BY RAIL - Secunderabad, one of the twin cities with Hyderabad, is a major station with the head quarters of Southern Railway. Nampally railway station is well connected to all major railway stations in India.

BY AIR - Hyderabad International Airport, Rajiv Gandhi International Terminal, is well connected to many important cities abroad. Domestic terminal, N T Rama Rao domestic Terminal, connects to all major cities in India. All private air travel providers operate services from Hyderabad. The both airport are located side by side and are located at Begumpet, about 20 km away from the heart of the city. Taxi services cost about Rs 350 from Airport to Hyderabad city.

BY ROAD - Andra Pradesh state owned buses connect Hyderabad city with all cities in the state and the neighboring states. Hyderabad is a hub of deluxe, super deluxe, A/C and Volvo tourist buses. Hyderabad is connected by these superb buses to many cities, including Bangalore, Chennai, Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada.