An Ideal 3 Day Hyderabad Itinerary

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Hyderabad is the capital of southern India’s Telangana state. It is one of the popular cities in India. Established in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Hyderabad remained under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty for nearly a century before the Mughals captured the region.

This city  of the Nizams is built along the banks of river Musi. If you have 2-3 days in Hyderabad, you can definitely cover quite a few things in the city in terms of sightseeing and can also relish some delicious Hyderabad cuisine. Here is your ideal Hyderabad Itinerary for 3 days.

Best 3 day Hyderabad Itinerary 

How to get to Hyderabad, India?

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is an international airport that serves Hyderabad, the largest city in the Indian state of Telangana. Flights from all major international and domestic airlines serve in this airport.

 Trip Details

Flight: IndiGo Airlines (domestic flight)

Stay at : TG Rooms Madhapur Madhapur (decent stay, 2.5 stars)

Get the packing list for India 

Read Travel Tales from India to fuel your wanderlust!

3 Day Hyderabad Itinerary

Hyderabad Itinerary Day 1

We arrived late in the afternoon on day 1 of our weekend getaway! After a quick stop at our hotel, we headed to view one of the iconic tourist spots in the city – Hussain Sagar (Lake)

Hussain Sagar is a heart shaped lake built by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah in the 1500s. It is spread across an area of 5.7 square kilometers and is fed by River Musi.

A large statue of the Gautama Buddha stands on Gibraltar Rock in the middle of the lake. It is quite a scene to view this statue from across the road, in the evenings.

This is an image from the pedestal on which the statue of Buddha stood. You can see the 24 chakra/wheel in the middle.

After a visit to the Lake, we went out for some drinks and dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, followed by some local cuisines (biriyani take away)

There are tons of places in Hyderabad where you can have a relaxing and relishing dinner.

Hyderabad’s nightlife is decent as well – Liquids, Bottles and Chimney, Kismet, Altitude, The Club, Rain, etc are a few names to dance away your night!

Hyderabad Itinerary Day 2 

After a quick breakfast, we started our second day in Hyderabad.

This day was packed with sightseeing adventure. First we headed to the Golkonda Fort.

Golkonda Fort was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Golconda which flourished in the 14th to 16th century. The kingdom of Golkonda rose into prominence in the 1100’s. Legend has it that a shepherd boy found an idol in the area and then king built a mud fort around it and it came to be known as Shepherd’s Hill.

This area eventually became a heated battleground between many dynasties. In the end Islamic Bahmani Sultanate won and made the fort a seat for their capital.

The Mughal prince Aurangzeb started to lay siege on the fort of Golconda, with the intent of claiming Hydebarad, the wealthy capital of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. The fortress proved to be as impregnable as its reputation claimed. Until now (after almost 800 years), the fort still stands as one of Hyderabad’s greatest architectural wonders.

One can view the entire city from the top of the hill. There are ample areas to walk around and great areas to relax, sit around in the gardens.

One of it’s greatest engineering marvels is the fantastic acoustic effects: one clap at a certain point below the entrance dome can be heard at the highest point of the pavilion almost a kilometer away.

People usually spend around 2 hours in the fort. There are photography events conducted here as well.Golconda Fort Timings: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM IST To enter the fort you are required to pay a minimal Golconda fort entry fee of Rs.5; it is Rs. 100 foreign tourists. You have to pay extra if you are planning to take your camera inside.

Next we headed to the Taramati Baradari. 

Taramati Baradari is a historical pavilion built as part of Ibrahim Bagh, a Persian style garden built during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah.

Entrance to Taramati Baradari

There is a love story associated with Taramati Baradari. It is believed that the then Sultan (prince) was smitten by a courtesan’s voice and he built this structure so that he can hear her singing from the Golkonda Fort (located about 1.6 kilometers away). That courtesan’s name was Taramati.

Enter the hall through any of its 12 doors and imagine the young Taramati singing here in the 17th century. 

Taramati Baradari pavilion has 12 doorways and was constructed to allow cross ventilation. Currently, the open pavilion also includes an air-cooled theatre with capacity of 500 people, open-air auditorium with capacity of 1600 people, a banquet Hall with capacity of 250, and multi-cuisine restaurant.

We spent about 2 hours here, lazying around and taking pictures.

After that we went to Laad Bazar to get a glimpse of the local Hyderabadi market and to eat more of the famous Biriyani

Laad Bazar is a famous market area in Hyderabad. Its located near the Charminar (which is my stop for tomorrow). Laad Bazar is known for its bangles, pearls and other jewellery

I mentioned about “biriyani”  a few times in this blog post. Its a rice dish, made with meat (chicken or goat), yogurt and spices. You should try the authentic biriyani from Hyderabad (there is vegetarian biriyani available too)

Hyderabad Itinerary Day 3

Final day in Hyderabad. And we left the best for the last.

Charminar!

The fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah built the Charminar in 1591.

The English translation of the words Chār and Minar means “Four Towers”. The towers on four corners are ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches that open into the streets. Charminar’s architectural style is Islamic and the structure is made up of limestone, granite and marble. You can go to the upper floor of the charminar by taking 149 winding steps leading to the top. There is a mosque located on the second floor as well.

There are many theories as to why the Charminar was built. However, it is widely accepted that Charminar was built at the center of the city, to commemorate the eradication of plague. Many believe it was built to commemorate the beginning of the second Islamic millennium year.  

The event was celebrated far and wide in the Islamic world, thus Qutb Shah founded the city of Hyderabad to celebrate the event and commemorate it with the construction of this building.

Last Update : Nov 06 2018

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