Hyderabad Hotels, Travel Guide for Hyderabad

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Hyderabad Hotels and Travel Guide

Hyderabad was spun into a city with the yarn of love. The tale runs in the land of fancy but is probably true. It’s about a young Muslim prince and his love for a nubile Hindu girl – about a relationship that develops in spite of caste, class and religious divides. About a town that grew into a city called Bhaganagar (named after the girl called Bhagamati, or ‘the lucky one’). The prince became King and shifted his capital to the town of his beloved (of course, there are more prosaic reasons but we won’t get into that!).

It’s evident that this is a city that’s been loved and cared for. The wide roads and public parks in the garrison town of Secunderabad, the leisurely pace of Hyderabadi people who still have the time and the gentility to offer adaab and to cook up a slow simmering storm in flavourful cauldrons do this special city real proud.

SHOPPING:

Pearls - Hyderabad's chief claim to international fame rests on two things, the Charminar and the pearl market. Both the Qutab Shahi rulers and the Nizams loved pearls and diamonds. They patronized this trade in a big way. At one time pearls were imported from Basra; now Japan is the chief supplier of raw material. The flourishing trade in pearls at Hyderabad attracts tourist and connoisseur alike.

Bidriware - Hyderabad is also famous for Bidriware, a type of encrusted metalwork where one metal is inlaid or overlaid on another metal. The design is inlaid by hammering in strands of wire in engraved grooves in linear design or pieces of chiseled out pattern in metal are inserted in exact cut out surface and then hammered in. Later, a permanent black color is imparted to the alloy surface by chemical process which leaves the inlaid designs brilliant and unaffected. Lastly the object is washed, dried and given an oil massage for finish.

Kat Saris - For women, Hyderabad holds yet another shopping opportunity?those irresistible saris in striking colors. The patterning is done by resist-dyeing or tie-dyeing the yarn before it is put on the loom for weaving. The other popular variety of saris is from Siddipet, Dharmavaram, Narayanpet and Gadwal. These forms of weaving require experience since patterns are created by changing the color of the yarn during weaving. Also typical of the state is Kalmakari?the hand painted fabric, and Nirmal painting, using dyes to create memorable scenes from the Mahabharat and the Ramayana.

CLIMATE:
Hyderabad is fairly warm throughout the year and does not receive much rainfall in the monsoon. Temperatures do, however, marginally come down in winter and December nights are quite cool over here. Though the climate is suitable for visit anytime of the year, the best season is between October-February. June to November are monsoon months and these months are loaded with rains and are accompanied by lovely weather. The temperature is 42 degrees during summers and in winters it may fall to a minimum of 12 degrees

EXCURSIONS:

Warangal - 200 km from Hyderabad. Once the heartland of Telugu culture, the capital of Kakatiya rulers, Warangal is endowed with great architectural beauty and natural surroundings.

Nagarjunasagar - 150 km from Hyderabad. A river valley settlement to a Buddhist university and the capital of Ikshavaku kingdom - Nagarjunasagar is one of the greatest tourist attractions of South India. Today, Nagarjunasagar houses the world's tallest masonry dam, across River Krishna.

The unique island museum of Nagarjunakonda, where artefacts of the Buddhist Tradition are preserved, and the beautiful waterfalls of Ethipothala are the major attractions of Nagarjunasagar, besides the dam and the luxury cruise in the River Krishna.

Yadagirigutta - Located atop a rocky hill, 67 km from Hyderabad the1 famous Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple of Yadagirigutta is one of the famous shrines of Andhra Pradesh.

The Charminar - Hyderabad
The Charminar - Hyderabad

The Mecca Masjid - Hyderabad

Toli Masjid - Hyderabad

Keesaragutta - A historic temple village, 35 km from Hyderabad, Keesaragutta was once the capital of the great Vishnukundin dynasty. The famous temples of Ramalingeswara and Lakshminarasimha attract devotees from all over the state and the country.

Basar - Located 240 km from Hyderabad on the banks of the mighty Godavari River, in Adilabad district, Basar has the only Saraswati temple in South India.

The temple attracts pilgrims from all corners of Andhra Pradesh as well as other parts of India, who get the "Aksharabhyasam" (learning to write the first letter) done for their children.

Pochampally - Located in Nalgonda district, 35 km from Hyderabad, Pochampally village is famous throughout India for its goreous, hand-woven silk and cotton sarees.

Attractions and Places to Visit in Hyderabad

The Charminar - Charminar, the hub of the city, has four wide roads radiating in the four cardinal directions. The four minarets command the landscape for miles. The structure is square, each side measuring 100 feet, with a central pointed high arch at the center. The whole edifice contains numerous small decorative arches arranged both vertically and horizontally. The prominently projected cornice on the first floor upholds a series of six arches and capitals on each façade, rising to the double-story gallery of the minarets. The projected canopy, ornamental brackets and decoration in stucco plaster add graceful elegance to the structure. The minarets, their domed finials rising from their lotus-leaves cushion, rise to 180 feet from the ground.

The Mecca Masjid - Near the Charminar stands the Mecca Masjid, begun by Muhammad Qutb Shah in 1617 and completed by Aurangzeb in 1693. It is a grand edifice with a huge courtyard which can accommodate nearly ten thousand men at prayer. The minarets look rather stunted in comparison with the grandeur of the whole massive structure. A particular stone brick in the mihrab is believed to have been brought from Mecca.

Other Mosques - The other two mosques-the Jami Masjid and the Toli Masjid are small and modest structures. Muhammad Quli Shah built the Jami Masjid in 1592, after founding Hyderabad. Musa Khan, a supervisor of works at the Mecca Masjid, levied a damri for every rupee spent on the building of the Mecca Masjid. With these collections he built the Toli Masjid, near the Purana Pul.

How to Reach Hyderabad

By Air: Hyderabad, which is well connected to all major cities of India. A few international flights also touch Hyderabad directly.

By Rail: Secunderabad, which is well connected to all major cities of India.

By Road: The city is easily accessible by road since it lies at the intersection of two major national highways: NH 7 (Nizamabad Road, Medchal Road) and NH 9.