The Charminar in Hyderabad, at the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, is a massive arch built by Mohammed Quli Qutab Shah. The famous monument of not only Hyderabad, but of South India, Charminar is an impressive square monument with four minarets. The travel icon of the Pearl city towering to a hieght of 180 ft., Charminar located in the centre of the old city, is a picture of beauty. Built in 1591 AD by the founders of Hyderabad in memory of the eradication of plague, the monument with its four minarets, profusely crafted leaves is an inerasable imprint on the minds of the tourists.

The arch is illuminated daily in the evening, an unforgettable sight to view. The city of Hyderabad, with its delightful blend of the past and the present, exhibits to the visitors an interesting skyline with modern buildings standing shoulder to shoulder along with the splendid 400 year old edifices. 

Charminar is always on the top of the attraction list of any tourist visiting Hyderabad. To say that Charminar is a major landmark in the city is to repeat a buzzword. The great monument is a synonym for Hyderabad and the pivot around which the glory and history of the city have developed. This beautiful massive structure in granite, lime, mortar and, some say, pulverised marble, was at one time the heart of the city. Apart from being the core of the city’s cultural ambience, it has become a brand name. 


The Architecture
Charminar is a square shaped structure with four towers in the four corners of the square, each of whose sides is 20 m in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which overlook four major passages and dwarf other features of the building except the minarets. Each arch is 11 m wide and soars 20 m to the top from the plinth. The minarets soar skywards by 24 m from the roof of Charminar. Each minaret has 4 storeys, each appears like a delicately carved ring around the minaret. Some Anglophiles call Charminar the Arc de Triomphe of the East. From the ground to the top, the minarets cover a length of 48.7 m. 

Reaching Charminar
Air : Hyderabd is well linked to the rest of India by air routes.
Rail : Hyderabad has well defined rail tracks which connects its to rest of India.
Road : There is a good network of roads in the state capital so travelling by road from the nearby states and cities won't be a problem.