Hyderabad
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Charminar
Charminar is Hyderabad's best known historical landmark. It was built in 1591 by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah. The original Charminar a huge construction in wood representing the tomb of the Muslim saint Imam Hussain was as charm to safeguard the city against the outbreak of cholera in the late 16th century. When the epidemic subsided, the Charminar was rebuilt in stone and mortar at the same place where the original structure was built. It is an elegant rectangular edifice of four grand arches facing towards the four cardinal points.
Each side of it is 100 ft and pitch of the arch is 50 ft above the ground. The minor height is 180 ft. The remarkable architecture was built under the supervision of Engineers and Architects of Arabia, Turkey, Persia and India. The teeming lanes that around the Charminar encompass one of the colourful bazaars in India. The famous Lad Bazar is also located here where the colourfully stone Bangles and other beautique are available.
Birla Mandir
A temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara sits on the Hill top of Kalapahad, over looking the Hussain Sagar Lake. The architecture is a balance of North and South Indian styles of Temple architecture. A breath taking view of the city can be seen from the top of the temple, a monument of grandeur and magnificence in marble.
Golconda Fort
This legendary fort once famous for its diamond market was the capital of the Qutub Shahi Kings who ruled the surrounding territories from 1518 A.D. to 1687 A.D. The fort originally belonged to the Kakatiya's who ruled the neighbouring areas from Warangal, their capital city. They ceded it to Bahamanis, who changed its mud construction into masony from the Bahamanis, Golconda passed into the hands of their successors, the Qutub Shahis.
Falaknuma Palace
The last Nizam of Hyderabad built the Falaknuma Palace, which housed the most expensive art objects, tapestries and carpets, in addition to the largest single-man collection of diamonds. Here the Nizam had received their Majesties, the late King George V and King Edward VIII of England.
Nehru Zoological Park
Located in Bahadurpura, it contains a sanctuary and zoo containing 1500 species of birds, animals and reptiles. A jeep safari takes you to the Lion Park, unique in Asia. There is also a Natural History Museum and a Nocturnal Birds' park.
Public Garden
Public Garden was developed in the region of Nawab Mir Mahaboob Ali Khan Asif Jah-VI. Many changes took place during the region of H.E.H. the Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Asif Jah-VII. The Public Garden is open to the open to the public free of charge and it is used as a recreation place by the citizens of the district. The important placesin the public garden are Health Museum, Ajanta Pavilian and Archeological Museum. The Assembly Building is also located in the Public Garden. There is also Jawahar Bal Bhavan and Auditorium at this place
Botanical Gardens
Hyderabad Botanical Gardens is the first Botanical Garden in Andhra Pradesh that is coming up in stages in Kotaguda Reserve Forest near the Hi-tech city, Madhapur. Lumbini Park situated near the Hussain Sagar, also popularly known as Tank Bund. The Public Gardens are one of the largest gardens in the city. One of the most recent and glamorous attractions of Hyderabad, NTR gardens spread over 34 acres is absolutely unique with large-scale use of fiberglass in the form of insects and fruits. Sanjeevaiah Park is a major recreation center located next to Hussain Sagar, at the end of Necklace Road, in Hyderabad.Indira Park is a recreation park for children, situated near lower Tank Bund. which offers boat rides. Snow World is the World's Biggest and India's 1st Snow Theme Park, behind Indira Park on Lower tank Bund Road. Artificially produced snow is using state of the art technology is an attraction.
Osmania University
Osmania University, established in 1918, is the seventh oldest in India, the third oldest in south India and the first to be established in the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad. Throughout its existence of over eight decades, it has shown remarkable progress and sustained an integrated development of all faculties. It has significantly contributed to the academic and economic development of not only the region but also of the Country. Its alumni have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally in various spheres of life and are spread far and wide around the world.
Salarjung Museum
The world famous Salarjung Museum displays around 35,000 antiques and art objects collected by Nawab Laser Jung III, Prime Minister to the Nizam of Hyderabad reputed to the World's largest one-man collection. The most important exhibits are Turban & Ivory chairs of Tipu Sultan, Aurangazeb's diamond studded sword veiled statues of Rebecca and Margaret Mephistopheles.
Husain Sagar Lake
In 1562, Ibrahim Qutb Shah built Husain Sagar Lake, a large artificial lake, 1562 AD and is the connecting point of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. In the lake on an island there is a larger -than -life size statue of the Buddha. Boats take tourists across the lake to the island, on which the statue rests.
Macca Masjid
Macca Masjid situated very near to Charminar. It is one of the largest and most impressive mosques in South India. A unique feature of Macca Masjid is its massive door arches and colonnades which were carved from single slab of granite. The Macca Masjid was started by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah in the year 1614 and completed by the Mughal Emperor Arranges in 1687.The University was founded in 1917 by Sir Akbar Hydri, Home Secretary to the Nizam Government who later became Prime Minister of the State in 1934. The University was shifted to the present campus in 1939 at College of Arts. The architecture is a blend of Hindu(Ajanta) style and Perso-Arabic style. The University also has beautiful picturesque landscape garden.
Warangal
The city of Warangal is located in northern Andhra Pradesh State. In the past, it was the ancient capital of the Kakatiya dynasty in the 12th century AD. The beautiful lakes, temples, wildlife, exquisite antiques and relics makes it a populat travel destination and invite innumerable tourists to explore it.
Warangal was ruled by the Prola Raja of the Kakatiya dynasty, who established the place in the 12th century AD. Warangal was earlier known as the Worakalli, the capital of the Adeva Rajas of Tuluva andhra or Telengana in the 8th century AD. Earlier, warangal was known as Orugallu or Omtikonda due to the presence of a massive boulder like hillock situated near the swayambhu Siva Temple. It was also referred to as "Ekasilanagaram".
Nagarjuna sagar
Another famous destination is the Nagarjunasagar, which is located 150 km from Hyderabad. With world's tallest masonry dam across river Krishna, Nagarjunasagar is a popular tourist destination of South India. Apart from this, other worth visiting attractions are the island museum of Nagarjunakonda and the beautiful waterfalls of Ethipothala.
Ramoji Film City
The Ramoji Film City is located about 35 kilometers from the Hyderabad city. A tour to the Ramoji Film Studio will tell you why is it acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the largest film studios in the world. The studio lives upto its name of a "city" as it is spread over a vast area of around 2500 acres. You feel as if you have entered a new city all together with hills, gardens, lakes, and at the same time flanked with spotless modern buildings.
Mahavir Harina Vanasthali
Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park is situated in Vanasthalipuram, which is around 15 kilometers from the city. Mahavir Harina Vanasthali Wildlife Sanctuary in Hyderabad has been named after the holy Jain saint 'Lord Mahavira'. It was established in 1975 on this renowned saint's 2500th birth anniversary. This sanctuary was once the exciting 'Shikargarh' or hunting ground of one of the Nizam rulers. It has now been converted into a protected national park under the law. The park is in full bloom during monsoons when beautiful flowers of different colors blossom all around. This Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park is home to the endangered Black Buck deer. An estimated 400 deer roam around the National Park fearlessly.
Yadagirigutta Temple Nalgonda
The place was named Yadagirigutta after a hermit called Yadavarishi who religiously meditated to be blessed by Lord Narasimha, who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Temple of Yadagirigutta is situated at a height of 300 feet on a hill, in Nalogonda district of Andhra Pradesh. The temple is famous and attracts a huge number of local devotees and outsiders.
It is said that Lord Narasimha was satisfied with the hermit's devotion and materialized in five different forms. The five different forms are Jwala, Yogananda, Lakshminarasimha, Gandabherunda and Ugra. As legend goes, the first form of Narasimha was so fiery that the yogi wanted him to appear him in a peaceful form. He then appeared in the form of Yoganarasimha, but the yogi is still not satisfied and he wanted to see him with his counterpart i.e. Goddess Lakshmi. So Narasimha appeared with goddess Lakshmi on his lap. It is said that these three Narasimha forms were so fiery that the hermit could not endure it. Hence, they are worshipped inside the cave.
