The best way to orient yourself to Hyderabad is to think with reference to two water bodies - the Musi river and the Hussain Sagar Lake. The Musi river flows from the west to the east, a few kilometers south of Hussain Sagar Lake.
The Old city lies mostly on the south bank of the Musi, though this guide will treat Golkonda, which lies on the north bank, as part of the old city. Most historical attractions, including the Charminar lie on this bank.
Secunderabad lies to the north-east of Hussain Sagar lake. This has historically been a military cantonment, which means that the roads are better maintained and broader. It has nice parks, open spaces and some excellent restaurants.
The New city, which contains the administrative offices of Andhra Pradesh lies on the north bank of the Musi, to the east and south-east of Hussain Sagar.
Punjagutta to Gachibowli is a vast region to the west and north-west of Hussain Sagar, on the north bank of the Musi. This has developed in the past twenty years. Areas of interest here are Punjagutta and Ameerpet, which are enormous shopping areas. Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills is where Hyderabad's swish set lives, and contain some good parks and restaurants. The newly developed "Hi tec city" and Gachibowli are 9 km to the west of the new city. This is where most technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms have their campuses.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Hyderabad
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Hyderabad - updated May 2024
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Hyderabad Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
