Hyderabad

Charminar, Golconda and the Old City over three days

Three days fits Hyderabad's monuments comfortably. Give the first to the Old City: the Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Chowmahalla Palace and the bangle shops of Laad Bazaar. Spend the second at Golconda Fort and the Qutb Shahi Tombs, and keep the third for the Salar Jung Museum and the Falaknuma Palace.

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah built the Charminar in 1591 to mark the founding of the city and the end of a plague. The four-sided arch rises 56 m with a minaret at each corner. Just south-west stands Mecca Masjid, begun in 1614 and completed under Aurangzeb in 1693; it holds up to 10,000 worshippers.

Chowmahalla Palace, built in the 18th and 19th centuries, was the seat of the Asaf Jahi Nizams. Its Durbar Hall has 19 Belgian crystal chandeliers, and the restoration won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific heritage award in 2010.

Golconda Fort, about 11 km west, crowns a 120 m granite hill. It has four drawbridges and eight gateways and fell to Aurangzeb in 1687. Two kilometres away, the Qutb Shahi Tombs group 21 domed granite monuments, where seven of the dynasty's eight rulers are said to lie. Stay at Golconda for the evening light and sound show.

The Salar Jung Museum and Hyderabad's Nizam-era palaces

The Salar Jung Museum holds one of India's largest private collections: about 43,000 art objects and 50,000 manuscripts and books gathered over some 35 years by Salar Jung III. Exhibits range from the 2nd century BC to the early 20th century, including a fruit knife used by Nur Jahan and Aurangzeb's sword.

The museum stands on the south bank of the Musi River, a short drive from the Charminar. Allow at least three hours, and check the weekly closing day before you go.

Falaknuma Palace sits on a hill about 5 km from the Old City. Built over a decade in the 1880s, it was the home of the sixth Nizam, Mehboob Ali Pasha. After almost a century of neglect it was restored as a heritage hotel, and non-guests can visit on booked tours or for a meal. The Paigah Tombs, near the Charminar, contain 27 marble tombs of a noble family linked to the Nizams and date from the late 18th century.

Dum biryani, Ramadan haleem and Irani tea

Hyderabad is a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, and its signature is dum biryani, rice and marinated meat cooked slowly in a sealed pot. During Ramadan the Old City fills after sunset with stalls selling haleem, a slow-cooked stew of wheat, lentils and meat.

Biryani is served everywhere from Old City institutions to restaurants in Banjara Hills, usually with mirchi ka salan, a chilli curry, and raita. Irani cafés, a legacy of Persian migrants, serve sweet milky tea with Osmania biscuits from early morning.

Telugu cooking from the surrounding state brings rice, lentils, tamarind and more chilli than the Mughal-influenced Deccani dishes. Finish with qubani ka meetha, a dessert of stewed dried apricots.

Clear November to February skies and Hyderabad's hot season

The best months to visit Hyderabad are November to February, when skies are clear, highs are 28–32°C and nights drop to around 13°C. From March the heat climbs to an average of 39°C in May. The monsoon arrives in June and lasts into October, with August the wettest month at about 204 mm.

Hyderabad's position on the Deccan Plateau, at about 500 m, makes its winters noticeably cooler than coastal Chennai or Mumbai. Fog is rare and air quality is usually better than in northern Indian cities.

The monsoon brings green hills and lower temperatures around 30°C, but heavy downpours can flood underpasses and slow traffic. For walking tours of the Old City, pick an early morning in the dry season.