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City of Pearls Walking Tour: Historic Charminar Views & Chowmahalla Palace Visit
4.9
44 Ratings
Hyderabad
Experience the rich history and vibrant culture of Hyderabad on a 4-hour walking tour. Explore the iconic Charminar, stroll through the bustling Chudi Bazaar, and visit the majestic Chowmahalla Palace. Optional add-ons available.
Experience the rich history and vibrant culture of Hyderabad on a 4-hour walking tour. Explore the iconic Charminar, stroll through the bustling Chudi Bazaar, and visit the majestic Chowmahalla Palace. Optional add-ons available.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Charminar - Walk around the Charminar and explore the architectural features that make it unique. Then, explore the Charminar with your guide and climb to the first floor for an up-close and personal encounter with the most iconic of Hyderabad’s monuments. The excellent views from the Charminar allow you to get amazing photographs of the city of…
- Charminar - Walk around the Charminar and explore the architectural features that make it unique. Then, explore the Charminar with your guide and climb to the first floor for an up-close and personal encounter with the most iconic of Hyderabad’s monuments. The excellent views from the Charminar allow you to get amazing photographs of the city of Hyderabad - on a clear day you can see the Golconda fort and the Falaknuma palace.
- Minar Bangles - Walk with your guide through the Chudi Bazaar, where craftsmen are busy making the shiny colorful bangles Hyderabad is famous for. Watch as they handcraft each bangle, placing every single shining stone in place with nimble fingers. Try your hand at bargaining for a good price to get an unforgettable souvenir.
- Mecca Masjid - Peep into the Mecca Mosque, where the Nizams of Hyderabad are buried.
- Chowmahalla Palace - At Chowmahalla Palace, see the seat of power of the Nizams of Hyderabad. One of the best-preserved palaces of the Nizams, you get a taste of how the royals lived and ruled. Walk among the palace buildings, see paintings, photographs, household items, weapons and the cars used by the royals of Hyderabad.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Bottled water
- Tea and coffee
- Local guide
- Bottled water
- Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (if option not selected)
- Any personal expenses
- Shopping for bangles, clothes or other souvenirs
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (if option not selected)
- Any personal expenses
- Shopping for bangles, clothes or other souvenirs
Additional Information
Enjoy sweeping views of Old Hyderabad from the Charminar and walk through history at the Chowmahalla Palace. This 4-hour, small group tour takes you up one of the best preserved monuments from the time Hyderabad was built in 1591 CE
- the Charminar. Take a walk through the picturesque Chudi Bazaar, filled with hundreds of shops selling the shiny and…
Enjoy sweeping views of Old Hyderabad from the Charminar and walk through history at the Chowmahalla Palace. This 4-hour, small group tour takes you up one of the best preserved monuments from the time Hyderabad was built in 1591 CE
- the Charminar. Take a walk through the picturesque Chudi Bazaar, filled with hundreds of shops selling the shiny and colorful Hyderabadi lac bangles and clothes. Visit the Chowmahalla Palace from which the Nizams ruled Hyderabad for over 200 years. Additional options include transportation, entry fees to monuments, and meals.
- Dress comfortably and conservatively - covered knees and shoulders for both men and women is recommended
- Wear comfortable walking footwear
- If you have opted for the Hotel Pickup & Drop-off you will be picked up at your place of stay at 8:00 AM in an airconditioned car and driven to the starting point of the walking tour. At the end of the walking tour, your air-conditioned car will drop you off at your place of stay.
Location
Chairminar JUNCTION POINT
Gulzar Houz Circle
We will be waiting just in front of Nimrah Cafe and Bakery
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(44 Ratings)
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Monica_s
Dec 17, 2024
The walking tour around... - The walking tour around the old cityis worth taking. Ramu, the guide, was very knoledgeable about each of the places visited. I enjoy savouring the city bust and the people. The buildings are incredible
Review provided by Viator
Nadiak888
Dec 6, 2024
Eager to please - I booked last minute and appreciated that Navin and his team responded quickly and accommodated my schedule. John, my guide, was eager to please. As a solo female traveller, having the hotel pickup and drop-off and guide at my side throughout the trip were important to me to feel relaxed and deal with any hiccups (like the ATM not accepting my card, or random man asking for pictures). My recommendations for other travellers considering the City of Pearls tour is to go for it. If you're going to get a hotel pick-up, consider asking for the guide to come with the driver to pick you up - some drivers don't speak English and havingnthe guide there for the ride gives some extra time to ask questions and hear more about Hyderabad. Navin recommended eating a hearty breakfast before the tour to fuel up for all the walking. I would suggest instead to have whatever you normally have for breakfast, as you should have the opportunity to fuel up on delicious chai and cookies at the start of the tour. I went on a Friday as that was the only day available in my schedule. I suggest booking a different day if you have the flexibility, as some attractions are closed or not accessible on Fridays. The alternative that we did (British Residency) was a good substitute but I suspect the regular itinerary would be the way to go. And my last recommendation is don't be shy to ask John (or your guide) for anything. He's eager to please and can give good recommendations if you want to find a good biryani, try a custard apple, or take care of haggling for prices on your behalf and much more.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Holgere320
Nov 8, 2024
Excellent! - I very much enjoyed the tour in the old city of Hyderabad and learn about the history of the city, the laad bazaar and the Nizam rulers. The tour guide John was really great and guided me well through the streets and the bazaar. I very much liked climbing up the Chaminar and have chai tea and cookies at the local bakery. I had an excellent time during the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jet06222695159
Nov 7, 2024
Wonderful - Had a lovely stay everything was amazing our checkin was very fast and they given us a neat room all the staffs are very polite receptionists are very friendly and they describe us about the membership it is very good
Review provided by Tripadvisor
836daltonm
Nov 5, 2024
City of Pearls Walking Tour Experience - While in Hyderabad on a business trip I had a Sunday free and decided to book the City of Pearls walking tour. I chose to include the transportation to and from the hotel and highly recommend this option. My guide joined myself and the driver in the car and received extra tidbits of historical information as we drove to the drop off. The driver and my guide Mohan were extremely professional. Mohan is very knowledgeable and I felt safe and supported with him during the tour. The site seeing was excellent and it was cool to experience the raw Hyderabad. Recommend anyone with time to book this tour and enjoy the experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolinemaggie
May 28, 2023
Fantastic Tour of Hyderabad with a Wonderful Guide - I was in Hyderabad on a work trip and had some free time on the weekend to explore the city and decided to book this tour. I was very glad I did - Navin was an exceptional guide and super friendly!
His knowledge and passion for Hyderabad history is unmatched and I learned so much in such a short period of time. He also provided some wonderful local recommendations and tips. I will recommend this tour to my colleagues who will visit Hyderabad in the future and to anyone who wants to learn more about this city, culture and history! Thank you again, Navin!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fonzhero
Oct 10, 2022
Time well spent. - Currently in Hyderabad for two weeks with work from the UK but really only had Sunday to do something of my choosing so it had to be good. I wanted to see old Hyderabad, learn some history and experience a less corporate part of the city. This tour ticked all my boxes and exceeded my expectations. Navin really knows his stuff and it is super interesting. Explains it all really well. He knows all the good spots/angles for the best photos. Nice friendly guy. I opted for hotel pick and drop off and that all went smoothly. Driver was a nice chap also. Wish I had more time to do another one of his tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scottsa9229fv
Aug 22, 2022
Awesome experience - One of the Best! - Hyderabad is a beautiful melting pot of different cultures and Navin is an expert in navigating the beautiful city. He is truly a gifted tour guide. Highly reccomended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M8904qgannak
Sep 23, 2024
Nice trip - It was a very nice trip and a nice guide. The only sad thing was that both Mecca Masjid and Chowmahalla Palace was closed due to a Friday. So I wasn't able to see this.
But the guide did some other presentations instead. But still this was a little bit sad.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chuckwb3322yx
Dec 9, 2024
Not worth the time or money - Here are the reasons I cannot recommend this tour:
I booked the tour several weeks in advance, but it was not until I was in the car with the tour guide that I was told that the Chowmahalla Palace and Mecca Masjid were closed on Fridays. Maybe the tour should not be offered on Fridays, or maybe they should notify you before you book a tour on a Friday that these two major attractions will not be included.
From the first few minutes I was in the car with John, the guide, he was relentlessly selling me on going to a pearl jewelry store after the tour to get the best quality and deals. Despite repeatedly telling him I was not interested buying pearls, he continued to propose that we go to buy pearls after tour.
I received a confirmation email for the tour that recommended having a hearty breakfast for the walking tour. However, our very first stop was a café where we were coerced into eating a variety of local cookies and drinking chai tea.
For a walking tour, we spent a lot of time in cars—from the hotel to the walking tour area, from the walking tour area to the British Residency (the very disappointing replacement for the palace that was not worth the time or effort it took to get there) from the British Residency to the souvenir store, from the souvenir store back to the hotel. Not much walking; a lot of riding.
In case you’re wondering, I did not let John take me to buy pearls—after the very aggressive salespeople in the souvenir store, I was done and insisted that John take me back to the hotel.
For five hours and $120, I do not feel like I got to see very much of Hyderabad, and I did not have a very pleasant experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
