It was the Qutb Shahs in the 16th century who made Golconda into the massive fortress whose substantial ruins we see today. The mighty citadel is built on a 120m-high granite hill, surrounded by crenellated ramparts of large masonry blocks, with another ring of crenellated ramparts, 11km in perimeter, outside it. Morning visits are best for relative peace and quiet.
By the time of the Qutb Shahs, Golconda fort had already existed for at least three centuries under the Kakatiyas and Bahmani sultanate, and was already famed for its diamonds, which were mostly mined in the Krishna River valley, but cut and traded here. The Qutb Shahs moved to their new city of Hyderabad in 1591, but maintained Golconda as a citadel until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb took it in 1687 after a year-long siege, ending Qutb Shahi rule.
Golconda's massive gates were studded with iron spikes to obstruct war elephants. Within the fort, a series of concealed glazed earthenware pipes ensured a reliable water supply, while the ingenious acoustics guaranteed that even the smallest sound from the entrance would echo across the fort complex.
Guides charge at least ₹600 per 90-minute tour. Small ₹20 guide booklets are also available. Inside the citadel gate, an anticlockwise circuit leads through gardens and up past mostly minor buildings to the top of the hill, where you'll find the functioning Hindu Jagadamba Mahakali Temple and the three-storey durbar hall, with fine panoramas. You then descend to the old palace buildings in the southeastern part of the fort and return to the entrance passing the elegant three-arched Taramati Mosque.
Golconda is about 10km west from Abids or the Charminar: autorickshaws charge around ₹400 return, including waiting. Buses 65G and 66G run from Charminar bus stop to Golconda via GPO Abids hourly; the journey takes about an hour. Bus 142K goes from Koti bus stop via GPO Abids about every 90 minutes.
