Golconda Fort, Hyderabad

Golconda Fort, Hyderabad

Golconda Fort is one of the most wonderful monuments, located 11 km. from Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh. The name of Golconda originates from the telgu words "Golla" and "Konda" which means 'shepard's hill'. One of the most important features of this fort is that the sounds of hands clapped at the entry gate can be heard quite clearly at the top of the hill.

The 13th century Golconda Fort was built by the Kakatiya kings. The existing structure was later built by Qutub Shahi Kings into a massive fort with granite walls having eight gates and 87 bastions spread upto 7 kms, in circumference over a span of 62 years. Golconda Fort, popularly known in Telgu as "Golla Konda", which means "Shepherd's Hill", has an exotic story behind it. In 1143, on the rocky hill known as 'Mangalavaram', a shepherd boy came across an image and conveyed to the Kakatiya king, who was ruling at that time. The 10km long road from Golconda to outer Hyderabad was a fantastic market selling jewellery, diamonds, pearls and other gems, popular in all over the world.

One of the most interesting look of Golconda Fort is its system of acoustics. The sounds of hands clapped at the entry gate can be heard clearly at 'Bala Hissar', the highest point, a kilometre away, palaces, factories, water supply system and the famous 'Rahban' cannon, that was used during the last seize of Golconda by Aurangazeb, to whom the fort ultimately fell.

You can see two separate pavilions in outside of Golconda Fort, built on a rocky prominence the Taramathi Gana Mandir and the Premathi Nritya Mandir, both the legendary sisters Taramathi and Premamathi resided. Both gave their performance on a circular dais atop a two-storied structure, the Kala Mandir, which was visible from the king's durbar (king's court) on top of the Golconda Fort.

You can enjoy Golconda Fort with the sound and light, the show that brings the legend of Golconda to life. People gather to see and hear this show in the evening. The show has voice-over of Bollywood living legend Amitabh Bacchan. The show starts with a spectacular interplay of audio and visual effects. The timings of the show are different for winters and summers. In winters, that is from the months of November to February, the show starts at 6:30 pm. In summers, that is in the months of March to October, the show starts at 7:00 pm. 

The English version of the show is presented on Wednesdays and Sundays and the Hindi version is presented on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Apart form these, the Telugu version is presented on Thursdays. There is no show on Mondays. The duration of the show is about 55 minutes.