Hyderabad
Hyderabad's most impressive sight, this monumental fort lies on the western edge of town. In the 16th century the Qutb Shahs made Golconda a fortified…
Must-see attractions in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad
Hyderabad’s principal landmark and city symbol was built by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the founding of Hyderabad and the end of…
Hyderabad
The subject of one of India's most ambitious heritage projects, these magnificent domed granite tombs form part of a huge archaeological park that is…
Hyderabad
This opulent 18th- and 19th-century palace compound, the main residence of several nizams, comprises several grandiose buildings and four garden…
Hyderabad
The aristocratic Paigah family, purportedly descendants of the second Caliph of Islam, were fierce loyalists of the nizams, serving as statespeople,…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This stunning Buddhist complex is 40km west of Vizag and occupies a rocky outcrop about 300m long. Sankaram is also known by the names of its two parts,…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This stunning four-storey cave temple was probably originally carved out of the hillside for Buddhist monks in the 2nd century AD, then converted to Hindu…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
The stunning Ramappa Temple, about 70km north-east of Warangal, was built in the early 13th century, and is the outstanding gem of Kakatiya architecture…
Hyderabad
This is perhaps the most famous dargah (Sufi shrine) in Hyderabad, the resting place of two Sufi saints. Qawwali singers and musicians gather here every…
Hyderabad
This noncommercial 'inclusive cultural space' is an open centre that hosts plays, films, musical events, exhibitions, organic markets and lectures; some…
Hyderabad
This palatial Palladian residence, built in 1803–06 by James Achilles Kirkpatrick, the British Resident (official East India Company representative) in…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Legends about the hill itself and the surrounding area appear in the Puranas, and the temple’s history may date back 2000 years. Devotees flock to…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This historic site was the earliest centre of Buddhism in southern India, with the nation's biggest stupa, 27m high and 49m across, constructed in the 3rd…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This former monastic compound, on a hilltop overlooking a vast expanse of forest and paddy fields, is well off the beaten path and makes a very scenic…
Hyderabad
Out on the city's northeastern fringes, the dramatic rock mound of Moula Ali hill has long-distance views, cool breezes and at the top, up 500 steps, a…
Hyderabad
The Purani Haveli was a home of the sixth nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan (r 1869–1911). He was rumoured to have never worn the same thing twice: hence the 54m…
Hyderabad
This mosque is one of the world’s largest, with 10,000 men praying here at major Muslim festivals, and also one of Hyderabad's oldest buildings, begun in…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This ruined fortress, 25km northwest of Vijayawada, was built around 1360 by the Reddy kings, and passed through a succession of later rulers, including…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This temple’s Naga-lingam (a phallic representation of Shiva) is crowned with a seven-headed cobra. Check out its unfinished Kalyana Mandapam (Marriage…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Warangal’s fort, on the southern edge of town, was a massive construction with three circles of walls (the outermost 7km in circumference). Most of it now…
Hyderabad
The 1594 Badshahi Ashurkhana (literally Royal House of Mourning) was one of the first structures built by the Qutb Shahs in their new city of Hyderabad…
Hyderabad
Set magnificently on a plinth in the Hussain Sagar, a lake created by the Qutb Shahs, is a colossal stone statue of the Buddha (18m tall). The Dalai Lama…
Hyderabad
This sprawling museum is in a fanciful Indo-Saracenic building constructed by the seventh nizam as a playhouse for one of his daughters. It hosts a…
Hyderabad
The ethereal Birla Mandir, constructed of white Rajasthani marble in 1976, graces Kalapahad (Black Mountain), one of two rocky hills overlooking the lake…
Hyderabad
This vast collection was amassed by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan (Salar Jung III), who was briefly grand vizier to the seventh nizam. The 39 galleries include…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
The thoughtfully laid-out Nagarjunakonda Museum has Buddha statues and some superbly detailed carvings depicting local contemporary life and the Buddha's…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
The holy town of Sri Kalahasti, 37km east of Tirupati, is known for its Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple, dedicated to Shiva. There's been a temple here since…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This Buddhism heritage park, featuring a recreation of the huge Amaravathi stupa, is 8km north of the dam. It's been under construction by the state…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
The 1000-Pillared Temple, constructed in the 12th century, is in a leafy setting and is a fine example of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture. Unusually,…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This small museum has a fine collection of intricate stone sculptures from the adjacent site and other pieces from across the state, most dating from the…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
The ramparts and ruined remains of this fantastical-looking 12th-century Chalukyan hill fort sit on what resembles a gargantuan stone egg on the eastern…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
At the Chandragiri Fort complex, the palace area contains nice gardens and the Raja Mahal, a heavily restored Vijayanagar palace reminiscent of Hampi…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Bavikonda was a hilltop Buddhist monastery with massive rainwater tanks and a natural well. It flourished from around the 3rd century BC to the 3rd…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
At the centre of Warangal fort are the partly reassembled remains of this huge Shaivite temple, with four handsome, large torana gateways standing at its…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Illuminated with fancy lighting, the huge million-year-old limestone Borra Caves are 38km before Araku town and can be combined with a visit to the Araku…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This scenic hilltop site, once a large monastery, merits visiting for those interested in Buddhism or archaeology. Its name comes from the nine cisterns…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This museum has extensive exhibits on the tribal peoples of eastern Andhra Pradesh, including full-scale mock-ups of hunting, ceremonial and other scenes,…
Hyderabad
On the east side of Patthargatti, the (mainly) wholesale vegetable market of Mir Alam Mandi has all kinds of fresh produce sold by market traders. There…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Small museum inside the Araku Valley Coffee House. The origin of coffee in East Africa and its cultivation in the Araku Valley are explained. Most local…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This giant 38m statue of a seated Buddha is located on the edge of town, on the site where the Dalai Lama spoke in 2006. Its base is hollow, and when you…
