Hyderabad in Pakistan is the second-largest city of Sindh Province founded upon the ruins of Mauryan Fishing Village near Indus River in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro. The city is enriched with culture, history and traditions and one can not explore everything in Hyderabad in just one day.
If you are planning a trip to explore the city, check out our list of the best places to visit in Hyderabad that will tell you about how life was here before it became the metropolitan of modern Pakistan.
Best Places to Visit in Hyderabad, Pakistan
Before the partition of India and Pakistan, Hyderabad was known as the Paris of India because it is a popular belief of the locals that the city was daily washed by the freshwater from the Indus River. The story could actually be true since Indus did flow near the city. The city of Hyderabad is now a commercial city and people coming from rural Sindh find it more advanced with lots of opportunities to grow. The city imitates trends and facilities from the country’s largest city Karachi, providing yet another viable option to people considering moving from interior Sindh to a bigger city.
Have a look at the best places to visit in Hyderabad and add them to your itinerary.
- Sindh Museum
- Rani Bagh
- Pakka Qila
- Navalrai Ghanta Ghar
- Mukhi House
Sindh Museum
Sindh Museum was established in 1971 with the purpose of collecting, conserving, displaying, and maintaining Sindh’s fascinating culture, antiquities and artefacts. Some of these artefacts have been unearthed from the archaeological sites in Mohenjodaro. Moreover, it also provides an insight into a Sindhi house, the culture of Sindhi people and their traditions through models and statues.
Tourists visiting the museum can see the rooms, household objects and activities of their daily routine in a relaxed mood. In addition to providing a glimpse of the lifestyle of ancient Sindhi families, the museum also has a gallery where works and contributions of some of the most important personalities have been displayed. If you are confused about where to start exploring Hyderabad, we would say the museum should be your starting point.
Rani Bagh
The concrete construction in Hyderabad hasn’t affected green spaces in the city. There are ample small and big parks and gardens where people can go for a morning or an evening walk or spend quality time with their families. One such location is Rani Bagh, a park named after Queen Victoria.
The park was previously known as Das Garden but the name was later changed to the Rani Bagh (‘rani’ means queen and ‘bagh’ means garden). The park was established as a botanical garden about 160 years ago in 1861 but later birds and animals were also introduced, changing its status to the zoological garden. Rani Bagh comprises of following places:
- Rani Bagh Zoo
- Rani Bagh Fun Land
- Abbas Bhai Park
- Eidgah (open space to offer annual Eid prayers)
Pakka Qila
Pakka Qila is a fort located in the heart of Hyderabad. It was built in the 18th century by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhora as his new capital. The construction of Pakka Qila was completed in 1768 from where the then ruler could see his new capital being built. After the fall of the empire of Kalhoras in 1782, the city was ruled by a Baloch tribe, Talpur, which was led by Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur. Before shifting to Pakka Qila (pronounced as ‘Pakko Qilo’ in Sindhi and ‘Pakka Qila’ in Urdu), Talpurs kept ruling from Khudabad (old capital during Mian Ghulam Shah era) which was later flooded by the Indus River.
It was given the name Pakka Qila because it was built from ‘pakki’ or burnt brick. There is a huge tower inside the fort which still exists. It is believed that it was a watchtower or gun post during Talpur’s rule but after the city was demilitarized, it was used as a water reservoir and residents of the area still use it for the same purpose. One of the remains of the fort worth visiting is “Haram of Talpur” which was the residence of Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur.
Navalrai Ghannta Ghar
Any list about the best places to visit in Hyderabad is incomplete without this spot. Navalrai Ghanta Ghar (ghanta ghar means clock tower) is a reminder of the pre-partition fish and meat market in the area of Hirabad, which is one of the oldest areas in the city. It is at the entrance of Pakka Qila and is a pure eastern Sindhi market where you can find household items at very fair prices. Moreover, the place still has some old buildings and Havelis which are most famous among students of architecture. The clock tower was built in 1914.
Mukhi House
Mukhi House is a heritage home that is about 100 years old. It was built as a palace by a famous and influential Sindhi Hindu personality, Mukhi Jethanand in 1920 that had 12 rooms, two courtyards, two big halls and a dome. The stone cutting on the walls of the palace is called ‘chitsali’ and is a work of the Salawati community of Jaipur.
After partition, the Mukhi family migrated to India but later in 2013, the family visited their house once again and gave it to the Sindh Government which later turned it into a heritage museum. The museum still has its original doors and window panels made of Sheesham and Sagwan wood. The stone used in building the palace came from Jodhpur in India. The Mukhi House is located near Pakka Qila.
Your visit to the city of Hyderabad can’t conclude unless you have tasted fish and rabri milk from their popular dining spots. If you ask the locals in the city about a place that will fulfill your sweet tooth cravings, you will get only one answer: Bombay Bakery. The bakery has been in business for over a century now and was established in 1911. To date, the bakery enjoys a loyal fan base hailing from different generations, sometimes of the same family tree. The bakery has been following the same recipes for their cakes for decades.
With this, our overview of the city of Hyderabad comes to an end. Keep visiting Zameen Blog for investment options in the city that offer promising returns. Don’t forget to subscribe to Zameen Newsletter to keep yourself updated.
