Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh’s capital city, Hyderabad has the atmosphere of an Arabian Nights fairy tale. Whimsical palaces, erstwhile stately homes and crowded bazaars filled with shops selling Hyderabadi pearls, incense and copper utensils characterise the city, while in the distance looms Golconda Fort. The city’s historical connection traces itself to the rulers or Nizams whose wealth was legendary. Rooms full of jewels and currency notes, a garage full of gleaming Rolls Royce’s are all now part of history, but a unique culture lives on, colouring the city with its distinctive charm. The Epicurean tastes of this most exalted royal house of princely India gave rise to a fabled cuisine based on painstaking preparations and slow cooking. Much of Hyderabad’s old town can be covered on foot. The city’s important landmarks include Charminar, a 16th century gateway, the Salar Jung Museum which exhibits priceless treasures alongside trivia that made up the personal collection of the owner, Mecca Mosque and Golconda Fort. Nagarjunakonda is the site of ongoing excavations which have revealed Buddhist temples, stupas and monasteries.

Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh was founded in the late 6th century by Qutab Shahi dynasty line of Kings known for their beautiful monuments and mosques, Medieval Indian, Saracenic, Mughal and Colonial architecture which, create an architectural richness rarely found in other parts of the country.

Places Of Interest:
Birla Temple, Hussain Sagar, Indira Park, Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Osmania University, Qutub Shahi Tombs & Golconda Fort, Nehru- Zoological Park, Public Gardens, Race Course, State Central Library, Tank Bund, Asmongarh, Khajana Museum, Planetarium, State Archaeological Museum, Salar Jung Museum.

Excursions:
Mir Alam Tank- 8 kms, Raymond's Tomb- 12 kms, Himayat Sagar- 22 kms, Osman Sagar- 22 kms, Yalagirigutta- 69 kms, Kolanupak- 80 kms, Bidar- 136 kms, Nagarjunasagar and Nagarjunakonda- 149 kms.

Reach -
By Air: Well connected with all major towns.
By Rail: Well connected with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras and other major cities.
By Road: Aurangabad- 548 kms, Bangalore- 568 kms, Bombay- 735 kms, Madras- 704 kms, Tirupati- 651 kms, Panaji- 698 kms.
 

Nagarjunasagar - the tallest and biggest masonry dam in the world accross the river Krishna, is about 150 kms, away from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad. It creates the third largest man-made lake in the world. Nearby Nagarjunakonda is known for its extensive ruins of Buddhist Stupas, Viharas and a university that flourished under Acharya Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist savant, scholar and philosopher who migrated to Nagarjunakonda from Amaravati to spread the message of the Buddha.

Interestingly excavations conducted here have also revealed Brahmanical temples, which reveal the friendship that existed here centuries ago between the two faiths. Now though the actual site of the excavations have been flooded with the waters of the migty river, the relies of the ruins have been reconstructed and kept in an Island Museum, the largest of its kind in the world and are in an excellent state of preservation-thanks to the efforts of the Archaeological Survey of India. Today Nagarjunakonda along with Nagarjunasagar attracts many tourists from South East Asian Countries and also from all over India.