Chowmahalla Palace

The Chowmahalla Palace is situated in Charminar. It was the dynasty of Asif Jahi who made this palace as their seat. The palace used to entertain the official guests and also the royal visitors.

Architecture

It was Salabat Jung in the year 1750 who took upon himself to construct this palace. However, it was only in 1869 that it could be completed. The palace had two courtyards – southern courtyard and the northern courtyard. Both of these courtyards had beautiful palaces such as the durbar hall, fountains and gardens.

It was in the southern courtyard that there were four palaces namely: Afzal Mahal, Mahtab Mahal, and Tahniyat Mahal. It is the Aftab Mahal palace which is considered to be the palace’s oldest part. The palace was built in the neo-classical style. From all of the palaces the Aftab Mahal is one of the grandest. It comprises of two stories which has been constructed in European style.

In the northern courtyard one can find Mughal arches and domes. It houses the Bara Imam which is a long corridor consisting of rooms situated on the east side which was once used as the administrative wing. Opposite to the Bara Imam is the Shishe-Alat which was considered to be a guest room for the officials. This guest room is undoubtedly the heart of the Chowmahalla Palace. It was said to be the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty.

How to Reach

In order to  reach Chowmahalla Palace by air the nearest airport is some 20 kms way. You can also reach there by train as Hyderabad is its nearest railway station. It can also be reached by road from Hyderabad is well connected by all the major road.

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