HYDERABAD WITH NAGARJUNASAGAR IN 4 DAYS

At a distance of 4 km from Nampally Railway Station, Charminar stands in the heart of the old city and is the most important monument in the city. Charminar is one of the top places to visit in Hyderabad city and a grand heritage site in Telangana state. Along with Golconda Fort, Charminar is the prime tourist places to visit in Hyderabad.

The Charminar was constructed in 1591 by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah to mark the end of an epidemic of plague in Hyderabad city. Since the construction of the Charminar, the city of Hyderabad has almost become synonymous with the monument. It is located near the bank of the river Musi. Charminar is derived from two distinct words Char and Minar, which means four towers. It is a massive and impressive structure with four minarets.

Charminar is constructed in Indo-Islamic architecture. Marble, limestone, mortar and granite .....

At a distance of 5 km from Nampally Railway Station and 1 km from Charminar, Chowmahalla or Chowmahallat Palace is a magnificent palace belonging to the Nizams of Hyderabad. It is one of the top attractions you must include in Hyderabad packages. The palace was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad. The palace remains the property of Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah, heir of the Nizams.

The name 'Chowmahallat' comes from two Urdu words, Chow (four) and Mahallat (palaces) means Four Palaces. While Salabat Jung initiated its construction in 1750, it was completed by Asaf Jah V, between 1857 and 1869. Extending from the Laad Bazaar on the north to the Aspan Chowk Road on the south, the palace originally covered 45 acres but only 12 acres remain today. This palace is one of the top tourist places to visit in Hyderabad city. It was the place where the Nizams entertained their official .....

At a distance of 4 km from Nampally Railway Station & 15 km from Charminar, The Salar Jung Museum located near Afzal Gunj is one of the best museums in India. This is also one of the most visited among Hyderabad tourist places. Situated on the southern bank of the Musi River, this museum houses the collections of Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, commonly known as Salar Jung III, Prime Minister of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad. The museum has a collection of over 50000 items for exhibition.

There are 38 galleries in the Museum spread across three buildings- Central Block, Eastern Block and Western Block on two floors. The collection of the museum and the library were transferred from Diwan Deodi to the new building in the year 1968 and two more buildings were added in the year 2000. The Veiled Rebecca made with Italian marble is one of the main attractions of the museum including Musical Clock, Marguerite & Mephistopheles .....

At a distance of 3 km from Nampally Railway Station, Lumbini Park is located near the Tank Bund on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake. The Lumbini Park has been named after the birthplace of Buddha and it lies just opposite a famous Buddha statue. The boats to reach Buddha statue start from Lumbini Park.

The park was developed as part of the Buddha Purnima project of the state government in 1994. It is one of the most beautiful parks in the city of Hyderabad and one of the best places to visit in Hyderabad city. In 2007, it was one of the targets of the 25 August 2007 Hyderabad bombings that killed 44 people.

The Lumbini Park has become an ideal place of relaxation and a place of amusement. The key features of the park are the fantastic floral clock, the cascading artificial waterfalls and the dancing musical fountains. The Park offers the opportunity to watch one of the greatest laser shows currently .....

At a distance of 3.5 km from Nampally Railway Station & 0.5 km from Lumbini Park, Buddha Statue has been placed on the rock of Gibraltar in the placid waters of the Hussain Sagar. The Buddha Statue is the world's largest single-stone statue of Buddha with a height of 72 feet (including base) and the weight of 450 tons. This is one of the prime attractions in Hyderabad city.

During his visit to New York, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao (1983-89) saw the Statue of Liberty and inspired to build a similar structure of Gautama Buddha in the famous Hussain Sagar Lake. Erected as part of the Buddha Poornima project in 1985, this monolithic statue was erected out of a white granite rock. It was carved by 200 sculptors for two years. After 5 years and the expenditure of $3 million, the statue stood at 58 feet and weighed 350 tons, making it the world's tallest monolithic .....

At a distance of 11 km from Nampally Railway Station, Golconda Fort (also written as Golconda Fort) is situated towards the western outskirts of Hyderabad. The fort is one of the prime places to visit in Hyderabad and also an important heritage site in Hyderabad city. Along with Charminar, Golconda Fort is the prime tourist places to visit in Hyderabad.

The word 'Golconda' originated from Golla Konda which stands for Shepherd's Hill in Telugu. Golconda Fort was first constructed as a mud fort by the rulers of Kakatiya Dynasty in the 13th century. The fort was rebuilt and strengthened by Pratapa Rudra of the Kakatiyas. It was further strengthened by the Musunuri Nayaks, who defeated the Tughlaq army occupying Warangal. The fort was ceded to the Bahmani Sultanate as part of the treaty in 1364. It was later re-built with granite by initial Qutub Shahi kings, which took about 62 years to complete. Golconda .....

At a distance of 10 km from Nampally Railway Station & 1 km away from the Banjara Darwaza of Golconda Fort. Qutub Shahi Tombs are the burial ground of the 7 kings of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. The tombs are very popular for their unique architecture and grand structures. Qutub Shahi Tombs are one of the best among Hyderabad tourist places and a major heritage site in Hyderabad city.

Planned and built by the Qutub Shahis themselves, these tombs are said to be the oldest historical monuments in Hyderabad. The tombs are built in Persian, Pathan and Hindu architectural styles using grey granite, with stucco ornamentation. These tombs are standing at the center of a garden known as Ibrahim Bagh, containing ponds and planted pathways.

There are more than 30 tombs in the enclosure besides some open air tombs. The tombs vary in size from small to large. The tombs are domed structures built on a square base surrounded by pointed arches, each tomb are quadrangular and rise from 9 to 15 .....

At a distance of 1 kms from Nampally Railway Station, AP State Museum located with in Public Gardens is the oldest museum in Hyderabad. With very good collection, it is one of the important museums in the state.

Built in 1928 by the Nizam VII, the museum building itself is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, wanted to preserve the cultural heritage of the state and also took steps to extend the treasure trove act of the British ruled dominions to his state and also created the Department of Archaeology under the stewardship of Dr. Ghulam Yuzdani in 1915. From then onwards the department played an active role and conducted several extensive explorations and excavations.

The museum contains a Buddhist gallery, Brahmanical & Jain gallery, Bronze gallery, Arms & Armour gallery, Numismatics gallery, Ajanta gallery and more. Adjacent to the State Museum is the Contemporary Art Museum.

Timings: 10:30 AM to 5 PM, Closed on Fridays

Entry .....

At a distance of 2.5 km from Nampally Railway Station, Birla Mandir is a magnificent marble temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara. The temple stands on 280 feet high hillocks called Kala Pahad & Naubat Pahad in the center of Hyderabad city. This is one of the most popular tourist places in Hyderabad.

Dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara (Balaji), the temple is made of white marble brought from Rajasthan. This is one of the must visit tourist places in Hyderabad city. The temple was constructed by Birla Foundation in 1976, which has also constructed several similar temples across India, all of which are known as Birla Mandir.

This temple is a wonderful blend of Nagara and South Indian temple architecture. A Rajagopuram built in the South Indian style greets the visitors. The tower over the main shrine of Lord Venkateshwara called the Jagadananda Vimana is built in Dravidian style, while the towers over .....

At a distance of 3 km from Nagarjuna Sagar Bus Station, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is built on River Krishna between the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the main places to visit in Nagarjuna Sagar. The dam offers breathtaking views when the gates are open in peak monsoon season (around Sep). This is another popular attraction not to miss in a Hyderabad tour packages.

The Dam was completed in 1966 and it has a height of 124 m and a length of over 1450 m with 26 crest gates. The lake created by the dam is the third largest manmade lake in the world. The dam can store up to 11, 472 million cubic meters of water in the reservoir. There is a viewpoint at a distance of 4 km from the dam that offers a panoramic view of the amazing landscape. It is one of the earliest irrigation and hydro-electric projects in India. The dam .....

At a distance of 17 km from Nagarjuna Sagar Bus Station & 8 km from Boat Launch Station, Anupu is a site of Buddhist excavations reconstructed to perfection with extreme care and great effort. During the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the ruins of an ancient Buddhist university were excavated along with several monasteries. These ruins are collected and few structures are reconstructed at 80 hectare Anupu by Archeological Survey of India. It is one of the best Nagarjuna Sagar tourist places.

There are three main structures at Anupu - Ancient University, Amphi Theater and Harati Temple. The reconstructed stupas at University have circular brick or rubble walls, which have cladding of limestone slabs or plaster. The Simhala Vihara has two halls, one encircling a Buddha image. The Chaitya Halls and monasteries had limestone column set in to brick and stone walls.

The Amphi Theatre is a magnificent structure with stepped columns on both sides and a big play ground in .....

At a distance of 14 km from Nagarjuna Sagar, 176 km from Hyderabad & 177 km from Vijayawada, Ethipothala waterfalls are striking falls on River Chandravanka (a tributary of River Krishna), towards the down flow of Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. This is one of the best tourist attractions to visit near Hyderabad & a popular waterfall around Hyderabad city. It is one of the prime places to visit in Nagarjuna Sagar and also one of the top Tourist places in Telangana.

Ethipothala is a famous waterfall formed by the mountain streams which falls from a height of approximately 70 feet into a lagoon. Three streams namely Nakka Vagu, Tummala Vagu and Chandravanka Vagu combine to form this waterfall. The name Ethipothala has been derived from the Sanskrit word 'Etitaposthal' meaning the place for penance. It is believed that saints have performed .....

At a distance of 23 km from Nagarjuna Sagar Bus Station & 14 km from Boat Launch Station, Nagarjuna Konda is a small island in Nagarjuna Sagar Lake which houses the excavated remains of the Buddhist civilization of 2nd century. This is one of the major historical sites to visit around Hyderabad and among the top Nagarjuna Sagar places to visit.

It is one of India's richest Buddhist sites and now it lies in the backwaters of Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. Nagarjuna Konda was once the capital of Ikshvaku Kingdom and was called Vijayapuri. It was named after Acharya Nagarjuna, a renowned Buddhist scholar, philosopher who lived here in the 2nd century AD and composed the initial sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. The revered Buddhist monk was heading the community of Buddhist priests for nearly 60 years in the 2nd century. He found the Madhyamika School which studied and developed the teaching .....

At a distance of 1.4 km from Panagal Bus Station, 4 km from Nalgonda Bus Station and 104 km from Hyderabad, Chaya Someswara Temple is a wonderful temple located at Panagal in Nalgonda district of Telangana. This is an interesting pilgrimage and historical site to visit from Nalgonda & Hyderabad.

Sri temple was built during 11th - 12th centuries by Cholas. The temple got the name as it is believed that the formation of relentless shadow (Chaya in Telugu) of a pillar falls over the main deity of Shivalingam throughout the day. This amazing temple, engineered by the Kunduru, testifies the fantastic creative thinking and scientific knowledge of its architects. The complex houses three deities - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva facing three different directions connected by common mahamandapa. The temple also demonstrates wonderful sculpture and art work.

The temple is known for its architecture. One of the garbhagrihas situated in the .....