2 Days Itinerary Travel Guide to Hyderabad

Hyderabad is the place of Nizams in South India that is culturally rich and one of the most developed cities in India in terms of financial, health care, and IT industry. The city is nestling amidst the Deccan terrain and Eastern ghats.

So, I planned this weekend a short 2-day trip to Hyderabad from Pune, India. The distance from Pune to Hyderabad is around 550 km by road and 598 km by rail.

Since the plan was made at the last minute so I couldn’t take the flight obviously because the flight cost was high. But if you plan early, you can look out for deals on Makemytrip or Goibibo.

(Note: If you book through them, I may earn a few brownie points, which will help me to run this blog.)

But honestly, these two are the best for flight and hotel bookings in India. I always book my hotels and flights via them. You can also earn points that you can redeem on your next booking.

Anyways, so initially, my husband tried to convince me for a road trip, which takes around a maximum of 9 hours from Pune city to reach Hyderabad.

But after many discussions, the reverse happened and I convinced him to take the train instead.

So, we booked our train seat on SHATABDI EXPRESS via IRCTC and got it at an excellent deal that includes the meal.

So, on 1^st January, at 5:50 am we boarded on our coach and set the 8-hour long journey. I was pretty excited because I never traveled before on the Shatabdi Express.

I heard about their excellent train service, so I was quite interested in experiencing the journey.

Of course, this post isn’t about Shatabdi express review, so I wouldn’t bore you.

I just want to share that if you ever plan your trip from Pune to Hyderabad, if your time permits then do try the Shatabdi express rail service. They are indeed the best in terms of cleanliness, meals, and overall experience.

Travel Guide to Hyderabad

As I didn’t have much time to cover all the places to visit in Hyderabad, I picked the sites that I intend to go for a long time.

To save my time and energy, I booked a self-driven car from Revv for 2 days to explore the city as much as I can.

On day 1

Like I said earlier that Hyderabad is a city that is culturally and traditionally rich. It has preserved the ancient forts and tombs of the Nizams of Hyderabad.

So, if you are truly inclined towards knowing the history of these Nizams, you can hire a local tour and start exploring the city.

Since I have read about the history of this amazing place during my school days so I didn’t feel about hiring anyone.

So, on day 1 of my tour of the city, I went to –

IKEA

You must be knowing about IKEA, one of the world’s largest furniture and home accessories retailer. In India, IKEA opened its first outlet in Hyderabad last year.

I have a great fondness towards IKEA. During my US days, I bought all my furniture from them, and I genuinely like their contemporary designs and affordable items for the home.

So, if you are like me, a visit to IKEA in Hyderabad would be made your day.

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Golconda Fort

There is a significant history lies behind the Golconda fort, built by the Qutb Shahi dynasty, the fort is built on a 400ft high hill from where the entire Hyderabad city can be seen.

While in ruins today, but the government is trying to preserve the historical spot and makes it into a popular tourist spot.  

The entry fee is nominal only 25 rupees for the Indians and 200 rupees for the foreigners.

You can also visit the light and story-telling show that tells everything about the Golconda fort. It starts at 6:30 in the evening and runs for 1 hour.

I enjoyed the fort viewing more than the evening show. As it was getting late, so I had to leave the show in the middle.

Lumbini Park

Lumbini Park is a beautiful urban park located alongside Hussain Sagar. It is a man-made lake where a huge Buddha Statue is placed in the middle of the lake which can be reached by boats.

Not only this, but you can also enjoy the evening musical fountain show that attracts the majority of the tourist in this park. The park looks alluring in the sunset.

(Note: I would say if you can then ignore going to the Lumbini park on weekends, as it gets too crowded especially after afternoon.)

I would recommend taking a stroll alongside the water, lots of food vendors, and stalls get lined up where you can enjoy the evening snacks.

Paradise Restaurant

You can end your first day of travel to Hyderabad by having a delicious lip-smacking ‘Nizam Biryani’ at dinner in the famous ‘Paradise restaurant.’

Paradise is an ancient restaurant in Hyderabad. Today, they have chains of restaurants spread across the Hyderabad. They are mainly known for their delectable wide range of ‘Biryani.’

In fact, several celebs have visited this restaurant and tasted their food.

I had a fantastic dinner at Paradise and would love to revisit them.

On Day 2

Because I had only one day left to explore the city now, I preferred to skip the famous Ramoji Film city as it takes time to cover the entire tour.

Ramoji Film city

Here are a few things about the Ramoji Film city. It is one of the largest studios in India. Several Indian films have been made here.

It takes almost 2-3 hours to see the entire studio.

I couldn’t spare more time, so I drove directly to the Charminar.

Charminar

Charminar represents the beauty of Hyderabad. It has four arches on each side and four towers at the height of 56m. It was built by Qutub Shah during the Qutub Shahi Dynasty.

The Charminar is situated in the Old Hyderabad city, well-connected by roads to all parts of the city.

Generally, it remains extremely crowded after the afternoon. So, if you want to have a good look of it, I would suggest you to go in the morning as early as possible.

If you want to do some shopping from the locals, then the evening would be the best time to visit the Charminar. As you will see, the entire area is covered with local shops of bracelets, necklaces, garments, Hyderabadi shoes, and other local products.

So, after I took a few good shots of Charminar, I moved forward towards the Salar Jung Museum.

Salar Jung Museum

This museum is home to many artifacts. Here, you could see the galleries each exhibiting various objects of that century and their kingdoms. By looking at those relics, you would understand how luxurious these Nizams were.

There are galleries of Indian textile, paintings, manuscripts, Egyptian art and sculpture, and so on.

(Note: The museum remains closed on Friday)

Conclusion:

The rest of the day, I explored the city and its market. If you are driving, you can drive around the other places in the city like HiTech City, where all the multinational big IT company office buildings are located.

You can drive through Jubilee hill road, where most of the Telegu celebs live in their big mansion and bungalows.

There isn’t much to visit in Hyderabad, but above mentioned are the must-visit places of Hyderabad for 2 days.