What You Will Do
The Kingdom of Diamonds tour goes beyond the conventional understanding of the Golkonda Fort (which is not a fort at all) and the Qutb Shahi tombs (which transcend our ideas of a necropolis). We explore the two destinations together - one a city of the living, and the other a city of the dead, each adding meaning and completeness to the other in the rich and prosperous world of the Qutb Shahi rulers.
We place the kingdom in its local and global context to bring about an understanding of how it was a crossroads of trade between the East and the West, and we connect the material remains we see today to specific events and stories that happened in the well-documented past.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Itinerary
1
Golconda Fort
2 hours
Golkonda was the capital city of the Qutb Shahi kingdom, which ruled this area in the 16th and 17th centuries. Explore life in the kingdom that was famed the world over for its diamonds. Walk through the stone bazaars which once buzzed with trade and commerce, being the world's source for diamonds, as well as a crossroads for trade between Arabia, China, Europe and the different parts of India.
Find out how the strong fortifications helped make this city a center of trade. Stand in the 'killbox' and experience what it would have been like to attack the fort - which has never been taken in a military action!
Climb up to the top and stand in the Diamond Keep - the cool and breezy house called home by arguably the richest kings of their time.
2
Qutb Shahi Tombs
2 hours
The Qutb Shahi tombs are one of the best-preserved necropolises in the world and give us a peek into the lives and deaths of the Qutb Shahi rulers.
Explore the lives of the kings and their families, and find out the price of becoming a king in the 16th century. Marvel at the story of a woman who was more powerful than all the kings of Golkonda.
The complex also has the most complete and best-preserved example of a Persian-style hamam (a public bath) from that era in India.
Learn about the architecture of the tombs, and their economic and political role in strengthening the power of the kings.
And finally, as you wander through these monuments to the power and might of the kings, figure out if they were mere men, or did they ascend to the position of something bigger!
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