Travel & Vacation: Golconda Fort – Hyderabad, India (Part 2)

At the top of Fort Golconda looking down on the front of the fort and the old city of Hyderabad

The highest point on Fort Golconda is approximately 394 feet and the exterior wall is 6.2 miles in circumference.  There are four smaller forts within Fort Golconda.

Fort Golconda had a lot of huge boulders, these two were on the top of the temple area.  The wall in front was a 10 to 15 foot wall and the trees were large.

Fort Golconda had cannons, drawbridges, royal chambers, temples, mosques, stables, markets, and many other things to see.

Large India coachroach was running along the wall beside me as I was going down the stairs…..ewww……

The bottom sole of someone’s shoe laying with some other trash along the path in Fort Golconda. 

I am convinced that some people literally wear their shoes until the walk right out of them….all that is left laying on the side of the path (in several areas) are the bottoms of their shoes.  Just shoes how random things can be!

Looking down onto the a section of the Fort Golconda, it was a huge fort! 

Yes, I walked down several flights of those stairs.  The stairs were steep and uneven but it was a neat experience.  I cant count the number of times Jake and I were stopped inside the Fort to shake someone’s hand, talk with them, and let them take our pictures.   Many of the people we met had never talked or seen with anyone from “The United States of America” and were super excited.  It made me chuckle but also gave a lot of great opportunities to talk with people from the area!

Looking up to the area where the royalty chamber overlooks the rest of the city

The rock wall that you see next to the picture is full of many stones, several of them coming lose.  On one of the stairways one of the stones broke lose when Jake was walking by and fell out.

These are a crazy set of stairs and these are just one set. 

I cannot imagine all the soldiers during the old days running up and down these stairs in their full gear.  I kept thinking if I fall….I am going to bust out all of my front teeth out.

The place where the women in the fort went to worship, beautiful!

It was pretty amazing to look at, I can only imagine how beautiful when it was full of people.

Ladies Mosque, the men and women had separate places to worship. 

Most places we went you had to take off your shoes prior to going into a temple.  I am assuming “chappals” must be sandals?

Men’s place of worship, it looks awesome even after many years!

Picture taken with ones of the guys we met in Fort Golconda. 

This picture was after going through the part of the fort that had bats flying around and whispering through the channels in the walls.  Several of the people we met showed some neat parts of the Fort (well….maybe not the bats)

Delivering the goods in the fort with a tractor

The clapping portico is a place in the fort that when you stand in a specific spot and clap your hands you can be heard throughout the entire fort.

If you stand on this tile and clap everyone in the entire fort can hear you. 

The place this tile was put allowed noise to travel quickly and easily throughout the entire fort even all the way to the top where the royalty chambers were located.  This was one of the ways the soldiers would communicate and alert the royalty of danger.

We were told that Golconda Fort now does an amazing “Light and Sound” show in the evenings.  They use light, sounds, and narration to tell the history and stories of the Golconda Fort.  Jake and I decided to not go after several friends recommended that we avoid it at night because mosquitoes and bugs were really bad during the evening event.  It would have been neat to see but we figured staying healthy and not getting munched on by bugs was a better choice for us.

The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!