The story of Golconda Fort is the story of Hyderabad, the prequel of what is today an ever-growing city with global impact. Let’s rewind the clock a few hundred years to the 12th century AD when the Kakatiya Dynasty first fortified Shepard’s Hill (Golla-Konda). Built on a granite hill, the first structures were made of mud and predictably didn’t hold too well against invasion. By 1364, the fort had changed hands, so to speak, from the Kakatiyas to the Munusuri Nayaks, to the Bahamani Sultans. Breaking away from the Bahamani Sultanate, Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk quickly established the Qutb Shahi dynasty, restrengthening and expanding the structure into the granite fort we see today. Fast-forward a century, to the year 1687, after eight years of being under siege by the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, the fort fell to the Mughal Empire.
Golconda’s outer wall encompasses 11 kilometres, with each successive ruling dynasty adding to the fort's architecture. There are four forts, several temples, mosques, stables, royal apartments, bastions, gardens — the works. Entry into the fort is guarded by spiked gates, the 15- to 18-foot-high walls deterring the most determined diamond burglars. Speaking of much-coveted rocks, the Daria-i-Noor, Koh-i-Noor, and Hope Diamond are believed to have been unearthed at the Golconda Mines.
While the mines may be inaccessible today, the acoustic design is a fun feature of Golconda that you can still witness first-hand. From the Bala Hisar pavilion, at the apex of the hill, you can clearly hear handclaps at the fort's entrance (a warning signal in case of invasion). Nearby heritage sites include the Qutub Shahi Tombs and Taramati Baradari (a royal music hall), where you can catch the occasional classical music concert.
