Golkonda Fort

lightOne of the most spectacular monuments of India, Golkonda fort is located 11kms west of Hyderabad.  This historic fort derives its name from the Telugu word “Golla Konda” which means Shepherd’s hill.  The fort stands on a 400 ft high hill and was initially built by the Kakatiya dynasty in the twelfth century.

It was originally a mud fort but was later reconstructed in stone. This was done by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali , the fourth Qutub king of the Qutub Shahi dynasty.  

This dynasty had ruled the kingdom of Golkanda from 1512. The fort was rebuilt for the purpose of defense from invading Mughals from the north. They transformed it into a mighty fort which has three imposing walls one within the other that rise to a height of over 12m.

front view

view from the fort

A deep moat surrounds the outer most wall covering a substantial area of the town with a circumference of 7km. Besides having walla ranging from a thickness of 17 to 34 feet, the fort also has 87 semi circular bastions which are 50 to 60 geet high.

in summer

This majestic citadel boasts 8 gates or Darwazas as they are known locally, the main gate being Fateh Darwaza which means Gate of Victory.The door is 13 feet wide and 25 feet high and is studded with steel spikes to protect it from charging elephants. All this rendered the fort impenetrable and made if one of the strongest forts of the Medieval Deccan.

gate

golkonda fort 2

Apart from its impressive exterior, there are quite a few attractions within the fort. One of the most impressive features of this fort is its acoustics system. By means of this system, a hand clap sounded at the fort’s main gate, the grand portico, can be heard clearly at the ‘Bala Hissar’, the highest point a kilometer away.

close up

The Golkonda fort is divided into four distinct forts. The exceptional architecture still shines through in each of the apartments, halls, temples, mosques and even the stables.The important structures inside the fort are the striking Silai Khana, a three-storied armory building, Nagina Bagh, guide lines, Akkanna-Madanna Offices, Ramdas jail, Darbar hall and a Masjib founded by Ibrahim Qutub Shah. Moreover, the fort also has an ingeniously evolved water supply system.

interior

Quli Kutub Shai tombs

Last but not the least, a visit to the Golkonda fort isn’t complete without the viewing of the Light and Sound show. It brings the legend of Golkonda to life.

light and sound show

Opening hours: 8:00am-6:30pm daily

Best time to visit: September to March

Entry Fee: Adult-Rs.120/- & Child-Rs.100/-

37 comments to Golkonda Fort

  • Mohamed Davood T

    Dear sir
    You didn’t show the flower pattern in the ceiling of the portico.This portico has a peculiar sound effect. If we clap our hands once,standing in the middle, then it will be echoed infinitely many times.If we change our position to one meter outwards, this infinite echo will not be heard!!! Another effect: any sound produced here, how ever low it may be,will be heard at the top!!!

  • ganesh

    Its really marvelous structure ….. Beautiful

  • V Raghavan

    A 360 degrees panoramic picture will add to the spectacular view of the fort. This is another place to be added to the list of ‘must-see’! Didn’t realize that it is so close to Hyderabad.

  • Jagdish

    I visited Hyderabad but due to lack of time I could not visit Fort. I will visit soon. And see the Grand Creations with my own eyes.

  • Khizar

    Very beautiful past

  • Sarvesh Basutkar

    Would love to See.

  • Ratilal V. Shah

    This fort is Unique. I would like to see it with all my senior citizen friends – planning to tour in September 2011.

  • Alpa Jain

    A diamond possibly bigger than Kohinoor was lost here.

  • sssaini

    DEAR , FROM TOP PLACE WHEN KING USED TO CLAP ALL THE GUARDS AT EIGHT GATES USED TO BE ALERTED BY SOUND OF CLAP. A HUGE TREE NEARBY THIS FORT ALSO COULD ACCOMMODATE HUNDREDS OF SOLDIERS IN ITS CAVITY IS WORTH TO VISIT

  • lua roseli

    wonderful pictures

  • SUBRAMANYARAJU

    IF POSSIBLE “LIGHT & SOUND SHOW ” CAN ALSO BE INCLUDED TO THE
    PRESENT TRAVEL GUIDE. THEN IT WILL BE MORE INFORMATIVE

  • Dhansukh Vaghella

    I not seen look like is very very articalal and I must to see next visit something induaul

  • Syed Mufakhar Ali

    I have visited this fort. found very nice and historical. At the day while we were visiting the fort there was a puja ceremony was performing by Hindus so the fort management not allowed us to visit more

  • N.S. Chatrath

    Yes, I have seen this fort. It is a good example of engineering. Its hidden water supply system made this fort a hard nut to crack. Due to its door designs the elephants of enemies could not hit the doors with force as they had to take a turn to hit the doors and that turn made them slow and thus the impact of hit was not enough to break down the gate systems. Moreover in case of a danger the clapping sound made from top or bottom of the fort was a means of communication from a distance in code language.

  • unninarayanan

    The beautifull monument of a dynasty ,,,,,,,

  • -Raju

    Nice place.In 1993,June I had visited the place.As an engineer I was amazed to see the water supply system.Ventilation, more amazing.

  • sharanu

    Fantastic place to visit……….

  • TapasBiswas

    I have seen this fort thrice. Its very beautiful. The magical Diamond technique is unique.

  • Sapthagireesan

    Breathtaking experience

  • a.n.basu

    Very good.a.n.basu

  • neelakuyil

    I visited the Golkonda Fort in 1969 with my mother. I have visited many forts (called castles in the UK and Europe)in this part of the world, but Golkonda excells in planning,utility, and all technical aspects, the finest being the acoustic wonder, viz., how the king or nawab could hear a tiny hand clap under the dome (main entrance from the drawbridge) sitting on this throne about a kilometer away. Then the cooled air that would caress the king on the throne and how he could escape in emergency to the Charminar 6km or so away! O, then drinking water supply through a viaduct. And many more! (There is already some mention of these things above)

  • Ramana Murthy

    I heard that there is a Light & Sound show being organised. The information about it reg timings will be highly appreciated. Thank you for the presentation.

  • g n sarma

    Sir,
    Government should take interest in keeping some recorded information at every stage so that visitors need not depend on guides and by pressing a button they can here the importance of that place. This will help who can not afford guides.

    G N Sarma

  • Ramkrishna Hardikar

    A historical & very artistic fort.Worth visiting.

  • Shangubi

    Wonderful.. Have visited and admired the art and the techniques used of echoing sounds…

  • saraswathi

    when i visit there it was memorable moment for me. very nice place who want be alone.

  • chathu

    wonderful and very nice to see.

  • R.V.SHAH

    This fort is wonderful. You should highlight other attractions of Andhra Pradesh.

  • Sil

    I have visited this place and one of the wonderful forts I have seen. Took bunch of photos to memorize the visit.

  • rohan ghadge

    thank you for all of your information. now this info will help us when we will visit this beautiful creation. after reading this my curiosity to see it has reached to very high stage..

  • Hina

    I have visited Golkonda last month,and would love to see it again ……… awesome palace……….

  • reza

    hello
    please send me your interactive emails.

  • reza

    hello goodmorning

  • N L Shraman

    पहिने भारत ताज सात, चीन दीवार बनाये।
    पेरू पिच्चू मच्चू इटली, कालीजियम दिखाये॥
    चीचम इटजा खड़ा मैक्सिको, जार्डन पेट्रा लाये॥
    उद्धार करे रिडीमर, ब्राजील सबको यही बताये॥

    1.भारत का ताजमहल, 2. चीन की दीवार, 3. माचू पिच्चू,
    4. रोम का कोलोसियम, 5. चिचेन इत्जा, 6. जोर्डन का ‘पेत्रा‘,
    7. क्राइस्ट द रिडीमर।

    7 जुलाई 2007 को विश्व के सात नए आश्चर्य घोषित किये गए हैं। इनका चुनाव फोन या इंटरनेट के ज़रिये विश्व के नागरिकों की राय लेकर किया गया। यह प्रतियोगिता 1999 में चालू की गई थी, इसके लिये मतदान 2005 में चालू हुआ था। पूरी दुनिया से क़रीब 200 मानव निर्मित कृतियों के नाम आये थे, जो कम होते-होते 21 बचे जिनमें से आख़िरकार 7 चुने गए। हालांकि कई देशों और लोगों ने चुनने के इस तरीक़े पर असहमति और विरोध जताया है। यह सच भी है कि मत देने के पीछे अक्सर लोगों की भावनाएं और अपने देश में बनी कृति से लगाव अधिक होता है, बजाय सौन्दर्य या अनोखेपन के मापदण्डों के। 7 जुलाई यानी 07-07-07 को चुने गये 7 आश्चर्य ।

  • saketh

    not nice information but beautiful pics

  • saswati

    Khuuuub bhalo ahaha in the first pic I want to sit on the chura and the
    3rd pic nature beauty……..I wish 2 visit this GOLKONDA FORT

  • Sankar Mukherjee

    Thank you so much for the beautiful information and wonderful pictures of the Golkonda Fort, one of the most spectacular monuments of India.

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