Even though we’d been there quite often, some secrets of Golconda Fort stayed hidden from us on our previous visits. If you Planning a Trip to Jaipur then hire Top Call Girl in Jaipur?

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When someone refers to ‘Golconda Fort’ in Hyderabad, they usually mean the fort’s innermost fortifications (and if you’re wondering what to see in Hyderabad, this should definitely make your list). Even though the fort itself is much larger (and though the outer ramparts also have some incredible sights), the inner ‘Bala Hisar’ citadel is by far the most impressive part of the fort. The ruins of barracks, royal palaces, prisons, treasuries, mosques and temples climb their way up its steep granite hill, presided over by the royal court at the very top. Definitely one of the more interesting places to see in Hyderabad.

They say the Bala Hisar hill had earthen fortifications on it as far back as 2,000 years ago. But only once the rulers of nearby Warangal surrendered the fort to the Bahmani kings in the 1300s did Golconda Fort get defences built of stone and mortar. 200 years later, the governor of Golconda—Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-mulk—declared himself independent, and his dynasty continued building and improving Golconda Fort. Today, the fort’s outer wall is around 11 kilometres long, and the inside is still densely populated.

I hadn’t been to Bala Hisar in years, and when some relatives visited from out of town, it was the perfect opportunity to see it again. I thought there wouldn’t be anything new for me to see, but I was surprised to discover a few things I hadn’t seen before. And, after all this time, I saw even the familiar sights in a new light.

We got there just as it opened at 9:00 AM, so there weren’t as many people and the road in front wasn’t as crowded. The crossing at the gate was still relatively quiet, and the huge Abyssinian arches (locally called Habshi kaman) on either side loomed over it almost peacefully. It was already getting hot, though, so we hurried on to the gate.

Bala Hisar Darwaza, the fort’s innermost gate
The Bala Hisar Darwaza may be the innermost gate of the fort, but it’s built just as strong as the outer ones. The wooden doors are spiked, and the approach is angled, to stop elephants and battering rams from attacking them. The gateway arch is massive and tall, with arrow slits and a vent through which to pour boiling oil on the enemy. But the gate is also different from the others, because it still has the remains of intricate decorations, in both Hindu and Islamic styles.

After much photography, we walked through the gate and into Bala Hisar’s unique—and fun—communications system. This is a domed portico with incredible acoustics; if you stand in the centre and clap your hands, the sound is heard right at the top of the fort, a kilometre away. They say people used this system to send messages up the steep hill without having to climb it. I can believe that, though how they sent messages back down is still a mystery. If it sounds unbelievable, then this is definitely one of the ‘secrets’ of Golconda Fort that you should see (or hear) for yourself.

The Nagina Bagh garden
Through the ‘clapping porch’ we went, and towards the stone stairs leading up the granite hill. This took us past Nagina Bagh (‘jewel garden’), the citadel’s geometrical garden. It must have been beautiful in its heyday, and probably still looks lovely during the monsoon. But when we were there, it was a bit dry. More interesting was the long, vaulted hall next to it, partially below ground level. I’ve heard this described as both a barracks and an elephant stable. It’s probably the former, but the latter sounds more impressive!

Further ahead, we saw another series of vaulted halls. These were supposed to have been the administrative offices, presided over by the minister-brothers Akkanna and Madanna. The halls were impressive but a little forbidding. I doubt the clerks working there looked forward to Monday mornings.

Unexpected sights
Just before we started on the steep climb up the hill, I noticed a sunken archway off to the right. I didn’t remember that from my previous visits, so I decided to take a look. Walking past a large reservoir (with a strangely tilted arch sticking out into it), I got to the sunken arch. And then I realized that this was the Murda Darwaza (the ‘gate of the dead’), which I had heard a lot about but never seen.

They say that, when a royal died, they were carried through the gate and through an underground passage to the royal necropolis, over a kilometre away. Once they were buried, the passage would be sealed up to prevent their spirit from finding its way back. I had always thought this was just a story, but there’s obviously some truth to it, and I was delighted to have seen one of the more mysterious secrets of Golconda Fort myself.

Up the steep stairs
Having investigated the murda darwaza, I made my way up the stairs to join the rest of our group. After some huffing and puffing past reservoirs and other structures, we arrived at one of the citadel’s more interesting sights. This was the prison of Bhakta Ramdas, one of the kingdom’s prime ministers. The story goes that Ramdas stole a huge sum of money from the treasury to build a temple to Lord Rama, even though he knew he would be caught. He spent 21 years in this domed hall praying to Lord Rama, and when the king finally pardoned him, he gave him the nickname ‘bhakta’ (‘faithful’).

The prison was quite impressive, with its high ceilings and skylights, even though it was a granary before Ramdas arrived. But most interesting was the high altar near the entrance. Up a flight of stairs and near the ceiling was a broad shelf, with images of gods and goddesses carved into the stone blocks. They had recently been painted orange (or ‘saffron’, Hinduism’s sacred colour), but it was obvious that people had been worshipping there for a long time. Maybe Ramdas started the tradition?

The highest point of Golconda Fort and the surrounding countryside
Some more stairs led us past Ramdas’s prison and the granary next door, to another of the citadel’s famous sights. This was the Mahankali rock temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, and so old that it supposedly predates the 600-year old Golconda Fort itself. The temple, and the Ibrahim Mosque next door, still draw a steady stream of worshippers today.

Aside: For those not in the know, the goddess Kali is worshipped as a form of the mother goddess Parvati. According to one myth, Parvati needed to take the terrifying form of Kali to defeat a demon that none of the other gods could. The demon Raktabija (‘blood seed’) couldn’t be killed because, every time a drop of his blood touched the ground, another of him would appear. Kali finally defeated him by drinking all his blood, but this drove her into a frenzy of destruction. She finally came to her senses when her husband, Lord Shiva, threw himself at her feet and she stepped on him by mistake. Of course, this is just one of many stories about Kali.

Past the temple and the mosque, we finally got to the royal court, also called the Durbar Hall. This pavilion sits at the very top of the hill, and is the highest point in Golconda Fort and the surrounding plain. We were looking forward to the spectacular 360O views of the city from its terrace. To our intense disappointment, it was closed for renovation