Sound and Light Show Timings

1st Show English: 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
2nd Show Hindi / Telugu: 7:45pm to 8:45pm

Golconda Fort Address:

Golconda is a must see spots in Hyderabad without a mention. But before trying to understand its importance, let us try to take a sneek peek at how the name emerged in the first place. It is a well known fact that mountains were mostly habited by the Shepherds and in Telugu, being the local language, the shepherds were called Golla and the Hill that was habited by the Golla’s was called as Golla Konda, where Konda meant Hill in Telugu. Later it has slowly also got a name as Golconda as Gol meant round in Hindi language, owing to its round shaped hill structure.

During the medival period of Qutb Shah Empire,this Fort was the capitol of the kingdom in Southern India. This is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as it is still cherished as the source of few of the most Golkonda, also known as "Golconda", Gol konda ("Round shaped hill"), or Golla konda,(Shepherds Hill) is a citadel and fort in Southern India and was the capital of the medieval sultanate of the Qutb Shahi dynasty .The region is known for the mines that have produced some of the world's most famous gems, including the Koh-i-Noor, the Hope Diamond, Nassak Diamond and the Noor-ul-Ain. Golconda is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Do you want to know a little history about its heritage? Well, we have it for you!

Originally, Golconda was called as Mankal during the Kakatiya Dynasty times. And the purpose was to defend their territory from the western attacks onto the Kondapalli Fort which was the Capitol Palace. Almost standing at a height of 120 feet, this entire building is built with granite. When there is a 390 feet compound wall, then there is nothing that can penetrate the fortress.

The whole story went upside down when the Bahmani Sultanate has won over and the Golconda Fort has become the main Palace of the Kingdom in the south. The three succeeding Qutb Shahi Sutans have extended the Fort to another five kilometers into what we see today. Until the late 1590s, this remained to be the capital of Qutb Shahi Dynasty when it the capital was shifted to Hyderabad city.

But when it fell into the reigns of Aurangzeb who was then the Mughal Emperor, it slowly started losing its lustre and importance in Indian political matters by the time of 1687.

How magnificent is its architecture?

If it was not as magnificent as we say here, will it be listed in one of the most cherished archeological monuments treasure by the Archeaological Survey of India? Definitely not. The 4 monuments that stretch upto 10 kilometers have a massive boundary wall that has about 87 bastions among which few have cannons standing solidly, 8 entry ways and drawbridges are almost 4.

Coming to its interiors, there are quite a lot of Royal Chambers, very large Hallways, the Temples too along side the Mosques. You can also find the Magazines and stables all well planned around the Fortress.

The most famous Fateh Darwaza has sharp and long spikes to it so as to not get bulldozed down by the Elephants to open the Doors from the south east corner of the Fort. It is said that these doors also give out echoes oing to their architectural beauties. There is another place where visitors usually clap in order to hear themselves reverberating through the Fort walls. This was usually built to send messages from one corner to another. Anything spoke here would be heard at the Bala Hissar pavilion which stands at a kilometer distance and the highest point of the entire place. If in case there is an attack, the Royals were immediately announced from here itself.

The Diamond Chamber: Well, any Royal palace will always have a diamond story to it attached and this Golconda is no exception. It is famous for having a vault for its diamonds which has kept Kohinoor diamond as well.

These diamonds were brought from various mines such as Atkur of Krishna District, Kollur mine of Kollur district. These were first found and cherished during the time of the Kaktiya kingdom. Being the one and only diamond mine that was discovered in the country, it was very famous in India.

Apart from that, this Diamond history goes back to note that this was the trade market for Diamond trading during few hundred years ago. Even though there were many other mines that had diamonds around the corner but then the British during their era had believed that the best diamonds were found exclusively in Golconda mine alone.

They have taken back many Diamonds that belonged to India which were found in Golconda and the below is the list of the Diamonds to name a few.

• Daria-i-Noor
• Noor-ul-Ain
• Koh-i-Noor
• Hope Diamond
• Princie Diamond
• Regent Diamond
• Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond

The show of lights along with the sounds: The fort is gorgeous during the daylight with no-doubt. But the light that make the Fort look alive once again is what everyone must experience at least once if they prefer to experience Hyderabad to the fullest. The best part of this show is that it is made available in three languages namely Hindi, Telugu and English.

Near By Eateries

As it is outside the city limits, it is best to be sure that you can grab something around there. Some of the eateries that you can be sure of are Prince Hotel, Cafe Coffee Day & other Food joints are available around the corner.

Location Map for Golconda Fort Hyderabad