Falaknuma Palace: Gem of Hyderabad: --The Epitome of luxury Where Breath Will Stop.

Falaknuma Palace is the jewel in the crown of Hyderabad. Its shining glory, its very own signature luxury symbol is a heritage property dating back to 19th CE.

Quli Qutb Shah, established the city of Hyderabad in 1591. The Qutb Shahi dynasty ruled Hyderabad for nearly a century before it was captured by the Mughals.

It was in 1724 that Asif Jah, a Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty over Hyderabad and created his own dynasty which came to be known as the Nizams of Hyderabad.

Nizams constructed some of the historical buildings in different parts of Hyderabad city. One among them: A jewel among the clouds “Falaknuma Palace, spreading across 32 acres, this former palace of the Nizam, offers spectacular view of the Hyderabad skyline from each of its 60 luxurious rooms.

No photo and words can do justice to the beauty and charm of the palace, one has to visit the palace to feel this. The palace has been recognized by New York Times as among the 20 places in the world to visit once during one’s lifetime.

The Palace is famous for its various unique things, few among them are: --------

(1) The library at Falaknuma Palace is as majestic as Windsor Castle’s library in England. Modeled after Windsor Castle’s library, it treasures a large collection of rare manuscripts and books from the Nizam’s repertoire

(2) The 2 ton manually operated Piano in the ballroom. The Falaknuma Palace do have a very impressive collections of unique artifacts like Paintings, Furniture’s, Statues, Books and Manuscripts.

(3) The billiards table in the billiards room is one of the two pieces of its kind. The other is at the Buckingham Palace in London.

(4) In Falaknuma Palace, you will find a world’s unique jade collection which belongs to Nizam and his family

(5) The center of attraction is the colossal dining hall with the world’s longest table (108 feet) that can accommodate 100 people at a time.

(6) The Palace do have the amazing collection of Venetian Chandelier’s

(7) The Guest are welcomed in Nizam Style that means in a Buggy.

History of Falaknuma Palace

Sir Viqar ul-Umara, (1856–1902) was a dominant figure in Hyderabad and wanted a unique palace built for him, but building the palace almost bankrupted him. Rs. 40 lacs in 1893 was an astronomical sum even for kings.

He served as the Prime Minister of Hyderabad from 1893 to 1901 and Amir-e- Paigah 1881 to 1902.

Princess Esra and Mukarram Jah

History of Falaknuma Palace

Sir Viqar ul-Umara, (1856–1902) was a dominant figure in Hyderabad and wanted a unique palace built for him, but building the palace almost bankrupted him. Rs. 40 lacs in 1893 was an astronomical sum even for kings.

He served as the Prime Minister of Hyderabad from 1893 to 1901 and Amir-e- Paigah 1881 to 1902.

Viqar ul-Umara was the maternal grandson of the Nizam III Nawab Sikandar Jah. Viqar ul-Umara was married to older sister Princess Jahandarunnisa Begam Sahiba, older sister of Nizam VI Nawab Mir Mahbub Ali.

The Falaknuma Palace was so costly to build that even Sir Viqar-Ul-Umra had to borrow money to complete it and realized that he had gone beyond his means.

His very intelligent wife, Lady Viqar -ul -Umra, thought up a solution and advised her husband to invite Mehboob Ali Pasha Nizam VI to the palace.

As anticipated, the Nizam liked the palace so much that he extended his stay and this prompted Sir Viqar to offer that if his sovereign liked the palace he would be honoured to give it to him.

The Nizam liked the gesture but, being the grand man he was, he had his treasurer send the entire amount spent on the palace to Sir Viqar, thus easing his paigah noble from a financial crunch. 

The Nizam VI in 1897 used the palace as a royal guest house till his death in March 1911. After him, no Nizam ever stayed at the palace. as it had a commanding view of the entire city.

 The list of royal visitors included King George V, Queen Mary, Edward VIII and Tsar Nicholas II. The palace fell into disuse after the 1950's. The last important guest was the President of India, Rajendra Prasad, in 1951.

Falaknuma Palace turned into Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel

Palace remained unused and neglected. Finally, the current Nizam Prince Mukarram Jah’s divorced wife Princess Esra took charge.

In 2000 Taj Hotels Group entered into an agreement with Esra Birgen and the royal family. The main brief to restorers was to ‘preserve as much as possible’.

Princess Esra

After a long and tedious renovation and many hiccups the palace finally opened up as a luxury hotel in 2010. New name was Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel and Resort.

Nightly rates in the hotel begin at Rs. 32,000 and can go as high as Rs. 380,000. The royal rooms, the grand architectures and the top-notch services do justify these rates.

Itinerary of Falaknuma Palace (with /without high Tea), Chowmahallah Palace & Golconda Fort Sound and Light Show.  

A tour of Falaknuma Palace, a dream of every travelers to Hyderabad, is managed by “Telangana state tourism Development Corporation”. 

This tour with optional high tea is included in the half-day Nizam Palaces Tour, on Saturdays and Sundays. Chowmahalla Palace and the Golconda Fort Sound and Light Show are the other attractions on the itinerary.

With-out High Tea Package

Rs.2000/- per Adult

Rs.1850/- per Child

With High Tea Package

Rs.3100/- per Adult

Rs.2950/- per Child

Inclusions:

A/C transportation with tour escort services

Entry tickets for Falaknuma Palace, Chowmahallah Palace & Golconda Fort Sound and Light Show

High-tea at Falaknuma Palace

Itinerary of Telangana Tourism Nizam Palace Tour

01.00 pm - Departure from Tourism Plaza, Begumpet.

01.20 pm - Departure from Hotel Taj Krishna.

01.45 pm - Departure from Hotel Golkonda (Masab Tank).

02.30 pm - Arrival: Chowmahalla Palace.

02.30 pm to 03.30 pm - Visit of Chowmahalla Palace.

04.00 pm to 05.30 pm - Visit and Hi-tea at Falaknuma Palace.

06.45 pm to 08.00 pm - Golconda Sound & Light Show.

09.00 pm - Drop at respective pick-up points.

This blog has been compiled with different materials available on net and photos are from sources with thanks