Near Hyderabad
Weekend Getaways
The Deccan forts, the Godavari and the Nallamala hills.
2 places
Telangana
Hyderabad (Charminar & Golconda)
Hyderabad is two cities that do not entirely acknowledge each other, and the old one is the reason to come. Charminar is the centre of it, and the crowd around it is part of the experience rather than an obstacle. Climb it early. Around it, Laad Bazaar sells lacquer bangles by the metre, and the lanes behind Mecca Masjid are where the city eats. Chowmahalla Palace, a few minutes away, is the Nizams' court and it is quiet and largely empty of visitors. Golconda is the fort to give a proper half day. Go in the morning. The acoustics at the entrance genuinely work — a clap at Fateh Darwaza carries to the top of the hill, and it was a warning system, not a trick. The Qutb Shahi tombs next door are usually deserted and are the better half of the same trip. The biryani argument is not settled and never will be. Ask three Hyderabadis and get three answers; that is the correct outcome. October to February. May here is genuinely punishing, and Golconda is an exposed climb with no shade on it.
Telangana
Kuntala Waterfall
At 150 feet this is the highest waterfall in the state, dropping in two steps on the Kadam river in Adilabad district. After the peak rains the steps read as two separate falls side by side, and that is the version worth planning for. The road is motorable to the entry point and the walk down the steps takes about ten minutes each way, so this is a real day out from Hyderabad rather than a trek, and it is popular for that reason. Locals trace the name to Shakuntala, who is said to have bathed here. The Gondi reading is flatter: kunta means pond, and the falls gather from several.
