Hyderabad in 2 days: what to see, in what order

The four-arched gateway with four minarets that is the symbol of Hyderabad, built in 1591 by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah when he founded the city. Each minaret is about 56 m tall. A narrow stair climbs to the first floor, where you look down on the four roads and the bazaars that meet below.

One of the largest mosques in India, a few steps from Charminar. It was begun in 1617 by Muhammad Qutb Shah and finished under Aurangzeb in 1694. Bricks made with soil brought from Mecca are set over the central arch, which gives the mosque its name. The tombs of the Asaf Jahi Nizams are in a long arcade beside the courtyard.

The palace of the Nizams, the rulers of Hyderabad, built from the 1750s round two big courtyards with fountains. The Khilwat, the durbar hall, has a marble throne platform and 19 huge chandeliers. Other rooms show the Nizams' clothes, weapons, china and a line of vintage cars, including a 1912 Rolls-Royce.

One of the biggest one-man collections in the world, gathered by Salar Jung III, a prime minister of the Nizam, and shown in about 38 galleries. Best known are the Veiled Rebecca, a marble statue whose veil looks like real cloth, and a 19th-century English musical clock where a little figure comes out to strike the hour. There are also jade daggers, Mughal paintings and furniture from Europe.

A white marble temple to Venkateswara (Balaji) on Naubat Pahad, a hill above Hussain Sagar, built by the Birla family in 1976 with about 2,000 tonnes of Rajasthani marble. Steps climb past smaller shrines to the main one, and the terrace looks out over the lake and the city.

Hussain Sagar is the big lake between Hyderabad and Secunderabad, made in 1562. On a rock in the middle stands an 18 m Buddha carved from one block of white granite. Boats from Lumbini Park take about 15 minutes out, stop at the statue and come back. Tank Bund, the road along the east side, is lined with statues of Telugu heroes.

A huge granite fort on a 120 m hill on the west side of the city, the capital of the Qutb Shahi kings until Aurangzeb took it in 1687. The diamond trade made Golconda rich; the Koh-i-Noor is said to have come from mines in the region. Clap under the dome at the Fateh Darwaza gate and the sound carries up to the top of the hill. The path climbs past palaces, mosques and granaries to the Bala Hisar pavilion, with a view over the whole city.

The tombs of seven Qutb Shahi kings and their families in a walled garden near Golconda, built between the 1540s and 1680s. The domes sit on square bases ringed with arches, in grey granite once covered in coloured tiles. The Aga Khan Trust has spent years restoring them, along with the old step wells and a small museum.

A crafts village in Madhapur, near Hitech City, with stalls run by weavers, potters and artists from across India: Pochampally ikat, Kalamkari prints, Bidri metalwork and Nirmal paintings. There is a rural museum of village life, a small lake and an open-air stage for evening shows.

A 233 m cable-stayed bridge over Durgam Cheruvu, a lake hidden among the rocks between Jubilee Hills and Hitech City. Opened in 2020, it is lit with changing colours after dark, and the lake round it has walkways and boating.