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.
