Hyderabad – It’s not just about the Biryani

Upon arrival, a representative from our side will drop you to your accommodation. Check in.

Lunch is scheduled to be at the elegant Ohri’s Tansen restaurant in Necklace road, which is extremely famous for their authentic Hyderabadi cuisine and the royal decoration. Alongside the Hyderabadi dishes, the ambience is really wonderful.
Soon after finishing lunch we would pay a visit to the Hussain Sagar Lake and immerse ourselves in the cool and peaceful surrounding and also watching the sunset. There is a large monolithic Gautama Buddha statue in the centre of the lake. After that, we will leave for Lumbini park, named so as a tribute to Gautama Buddha. It’s an urban park, located beside Hussain Sagar lake and is amazingly beautiful. Here we’ll have some Hyderabadi snacks. Then we would do some boating here before visiting the famous boulevard, Necklace Road.

We would then retire to our accommodation for dinner of some the light Hyderabadi dishes like the very famous Hyderabadi khichdi and double ka meetha.

The next day, the car will pick us up around 7:30 a.m. from our hotels and take us to relish on roti and Khorma which is the normal daily breakfast of most Hyderabadi households.

After a heavy breakfast, we would go to Jamal Market Shopping complex and then visit the Salar Jung Museum, providing us glimpses from the Medieval period including collections of sculptures, paintings, carvings, textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, metallic artifacts, carpets, clocks, weapons and furniture from around the world.

We’ll then go for lunch around 2:00 p.m. We would have lunch at Hotel Shadab, which is a restaurant which locals visit for the amazing meals. We’ll order the “mutton biriyani” which screams in taste. It is one of the most iconic biriyani places in Hyderabad.

Post our biriyani, chicken 555 and faluda lunch, we would visit Charminar. This structure is the most famous monument in Hyderabad and is renowned worldwide. The word “Char Minar” means four minarets in English. It is one of the most recognized monuments in India. It was built in 1591. Charminar has been a historical place with a Mosque on the top floor for over 400 years and also known for its surrounding markets. It is where many famous festivals are celebrated, such as Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr. Post our visit to this historical place we’ll go to another place of historical significance, namely Chowmahalla Palace, which is at a stone’s throw distance from Charminar (if you go by car it will hardly take you 7 minutes to reach). Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallatuu (4 Palaces), is a palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad state. It was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad while they ruled their state. There we will visit the courtyard, the clock tower, the council hall & Roshan Bangla.

We’ll go to have our evening time snacks around 6 p.m. from Nimrah Bakery which is legendary for its Chai-Biscuit. We would order Irani Chai and a wide assortment of biscuits including- Osmania Biscuits, Tie Biscuit, and Chand Biscuit.
After a quick tea break at Nimrah bakery, we would feast on kebabs from Kebab-i-Janhangiri. We would fill our mouths and minds with the super yummy “Sheekh Kebab” and “Tala Hua Gosht” (both made out of beef). Hyderabad’s Old City is a food lover’s paradise. It’s teeming with humble, unassuming road-side shops and run-down restaurants selling delicious kebabs, biscuits, biryanis, and more at bargain prices. Whether you are looking for a hearty breakfast, a quick evening snack, or a full meal, Old city has got you covered.

Post the evening snack session, we would go to Makkah Masjid. Makkah Masjid or Mecca Masjid is a congregational mosque in Hyderabad. It is one of the largest mosques in India with a capacity of 20,000. The mosque was built between the 16th and 17th centuries and is a state-protected monument. The last landmark for the day would be Laad Bazaar, which is an ancient market, extremely popular for bangles.

For dinner, we’ll have chicken 65 and Warqa Paratha from Akbar Fast Food Centre. We’ll pack these items along with Jauzi Halwa, Badam Halwa, and Laddoo from Hameedi Confectioners.

The next day we would pack our bags for yet another fun packed day. We would visit some very interesting places on this day.

Our early morning cabs will first take us out for breakfast before leaving for the exciting day out. Breakfast will be done at Pragathi Tiffin Centre, located just beside Pragathi college. The place is not only extremely cheap but portion sizes are also big. We shall order dosa and idli meal from this place since the breakfast shop specializes in these dishes only.

We’ll reach Golconda Fort around 11 a.m. after an hour-long journey from Pragathi Tiffin Centre. is a citadel and fort in Southern India and was the capital of the medieval sultanate of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (c.1512–1687). Golconda’s outer wall encompasses 11 kilometers. There are four forts, a number of temples, mosques, stables, royal apartments, bastions, gardens — the works. Entry into the fort is guarded by spiked gates, the 15 to 18 feet high walls deterring the most determined of diamond burglars. Speaking of much-coveted rocks, the Daria-i-Noor, Koh-i-Noor, and Hope Diamond are believed to have been unearthed at the Golconda Mines. While the mines may be inaccessible today, a really fun feature of Golconda you can still witness first hand is the acoustic design. From the Bala Hisar pavilion, at the apex of the hill, you can clearly hear handclaps at the entrance of the fort (a warning signal in case of invasion). Nearby heritage sites include the Qutub Shahi Tombs and Taramati Baradari (a royal music hall), where you can catch the occasional classical music concert.

We would also watch the light and sound show to tread into the past and understand more about this very popular place to visit in Hyderabad. Before leaving this place, we’ll make sure that we buy Sheermal — (a sweet flatbread, and a Hyderabadi favorite) — paired with local kebabs from the area, at several eateries dotted outside the fort.

For lunch, we’ll go to Karim’s – The Original from Jama Masjid Delhi 6, Tolichowki. We’ll order Butter chicken, Khameeriroti, Taftan and Shahi tukda which are among the best of all food served in the hotel.

After a heavenly meal, we will go to visitB.M. Birla Planetarium and Science & Technological Museum. With periodical sky shows throughout the day, the theme is varied teaching us about various elements of the universe, such as comets, meteors, the cosmos, the eclipses. With its startling sound quality and the amount of information disseminated, Birla Planetarium and Science Museum is one of the places that a visitor should not miss in Hyderabad.

After having some Irani Chai and buns from any local tea shop and then go to visit Shilparamam. The four main attractions in this region are Rural Museum, Boating, Recreational Area and the Rock Museum. We will also do some shopping here. A rural set-up to give you a feel of ethnic Indian village feeling amidst the busy village life! This is exactly what Shilparamam is. A place, which gives you a feel of authentic village nativity in the busy capital city of Hyderabad. A must-see place when in Hyderabad, Shilparamam is an arts and crafts exhibition hub, in the form of a village set up.

For dinner, we would go to Ohri’s Dhaba where we’ll order Non-veg thali which includes- lacha paratha, chicken curry, chicken biryani, gobi matar sabji, papad, raita, Veg-tikka, and Rasmalai. Thali is served with a complimentary drink of frozen coke.

Head back to the accomodation for the night.

Day 4 will be about visiting Ramoji Film City. There will be a guided tour of Ramoji Film city including – Fundustan (Child play area), Borasura & Rain Dance, Ramoji Movie Magic – Action Theatre, Filmy Duniya, and Extravaganza show and Entertainment shows at Eureka- Spirit Show, Stunt Show & Dome theatre Show and Extravaganza show. Adventure park at Fundustan and shopping places at Eureka.

We’ll also visit the different film sets, hear about the different movie shootings and interesting stories about different actors and actresses. This will take up the entire day and since outside food is not permitted within the premises, we’ll have our food there itself.

While returning around 6 p.m., we’ll have some food at some local hotel and then return to the accommodation via cab.

In the morning we would visit the Nehru Zoological Park. It is situated near the historically important Mir Alam Tank, which is 200-year old and is the first multi-arch masonry dam in the world. Nehru Zoological Park is one of the largest zoos of India. It is run by the Forest Department, Government of Telangana, the zoo has been named after Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the country. What makes Hyderabad zoo an amiable place for both visitors and inhabitants are the open enclosures in which animals are kept. These open enclosures have been created to resemble natural habitats. A wide variety of exotic animals have been successfully bred in this zoo park as well.

Adding to the overall experience are the extensive range of activities to do in Hyderabad Zoo Park. Various Safaris, such as lion safari, bear safari, and bison safari, along with toy train makes the visit all the more exciting. Butterfly Park, Jurassic Park, aquariums, etc., also let you explore the wildlife in a fun yet educational manner.

We would have our breakfast at Fiza Hotel & Bakers. This place is famous for a wide assortment of breakfast items. We would have our lunch at Bawarchi, who serve amazing and finger licking sumptuous biriyani, because how can we end a trip to Hyderabad without having biriyani for one; last time?

Post our lunch, we’ll be dropped to our accommodation for one last time to do some packing. From there everybody will be dropped off to either the Airport for the flight back home.