PalaceClosed Friday

Chowmahalla Palace

#3of 10 places to visit in HyderabadHyderabad, Telangana

Also known as Chow Mahalla Palace · Four Palaces

Quick answer

Opening hours: 10:00–17:00, closed Fridays, last entry 16:30. Entry: ₹100 Indian · ₹400 foreign. Allow 2 hrs. Best time: 10:00–11:30.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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Photo: Bernard Gagnon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Opening hours: 10:00–17:00; Closed Fridays
Entry fee: ₹100 Indian; Ticket from
Time needed: 2 hrs
Best time of day: 10:00–11:30
Best months: Oct – Mar
Address: 20-4-236, Motigalli, Khilwat, Hyderabad, Telangana 500002

About Chowmahalla Palace

Chowmahalla Palace charges ₹100 for Indian nationals and ₹400 for foreign nationals as of 2026 to enter what was the official seat of the Asaf Jahi Nizams for roughly a century and a half. Four palace buildings — Afzal Mahal, Aftab Mahal, Tahniyat Mahal, and Mahtab Mahal — face each other across two sequential courtyards, and the name Chowmahalla, from the Urdu for 'four palaces,' describes this layout directly rather than metaphorically. The complex's ceremonial core is the Khilwat Mubarak, a durbar hall lit by 19 chandeliers of Belgian crystal hung beneath a vaulted ceiling supported on rows of Corinthian-style columns, a design that borrows European classical vocabulary and applies it to a Deccani royal reception hall.

Best time of day: 10:00–11:30. When the Khilwat Mubarak durbar hall is lit by soft indirect morning light through its high windows and coach parties have not yet arrived.

Photography

₹50 camera fee

Chowmahalla Palace timings

Opening hours: 10:00–17:00; Mon–Thu 10:00–17:00
Friday Closed
Sat–Sun 10:00–17:00; 10:00–17:00, Saturday–Thursday (last entry 16:30)
Closed on: Friday

Mon–Thu	10:00–17:00
Friday	Closed
Sat–Sun	10:00–17:00

Opening hours compiled from chowmahalla.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Chowmahalla Palace ticket price

Entry fees for Chowmahalla Palace
Ticket	Price
Indian visitors	₹100
Foreign visitors	₹400
Children	₹40
Camera	₹50

Children below 10 years pay ₹40; video camera fees are higher than the ₹50 still-photography ticket and should be confirmed at the counter. Audio guides are available for an additional charge in English, Hindi, Telugu, and Urdu. As of 2026, verify at the counter, since the trust that manages the palace revises fees periodically without wide notice.

Prices compiled from chowmahalla.in and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit Chowmahalla Palace

Quiet
Moderate
Busy

10:00–11:30
Morning OpeningBest time to go
Ticket queue is minimal right after opening. Khilwat Mubarak's chandeliers are viewable without other visitors crossing the frame.
Quiet
11:30–14:00
Late Morning Steady
Independent travelers and small family groups make up most foot traffic. Courtyards remain comfortable to walk through at a relaxed pace.
Moderate
14:00–16:00
Afternoon Tour Groups
Coach tours arriving after a Golconda Fort morning visit concentrate in the Khilwat Mubarak and Buggy Khana sections, creating brief bottlenecks near display cases.
Busy
16:00–17:00
Closing Window
Last entry at 16:30 thins the crowd noticeably. Staff begin closing individual rooms in sequence ahead of the 17:00 final closing.
Quiet

History of Chowmahalla Palace

Chowmahalla Palace's earliest construction began in the 1750s under Nizam Salabat Jung, but the complex reached its present form only under Afzal-ud-Daula, the fifth Nizam, who completed the Khilwat Mubarak in 1869 as a durbar hall built specifically for his own coronation and for receiving state visitors afterward. The clock above the Khilwat's southern gate, imported from England and still wound by hand on a weekly schedule, has run continuously since installation and is treated by the palace staff as a working instrument rather than a static exhibit. Following the accession of Hyderabad State into the Indian union in 1948 and the eventual dissolution of princely privileges, the palace fell into decades of disrepair under absentee ownership. Princess Esra, then married to Mukarram Jah, the titular eighth Nizam, initiated a systematic restoration in the early 2000s that repaired the courtyards, chandeliers, and royal wardrobe collection, and the palace reopened to the public in January 2005. That restoration earned an Award of Merit from UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation in 2010, recognition for private-led conservation work rather than a government restoration project.

Rules & etiquette at Chowmahalla Palace

Chowmahalla Palace keeps shoes on throughout its galleries, since the complex operates as a museum rather than a place of active worship, though visitors should expect bag checks at the entrance gate given the site's continued significance to the Nizam family. Photography is permitted in the courtyards and most galleries with the ₹50 still-camera ticket, but several rooms holding textiles and the royal wardrobe restrict flash photography specifically to protect fabric dyes from light damage. The Council Hall and Khilwat Mubarak are best visited slowly rather than rushed through, since the chandeliers and column details reward a few minutes of standing rather than a quick walk-past. Vehicles, including auto-rickshaws, must drop passengers at the outer gate rather than the inner courtyard, adding a five-minute walk to the ticket counter that first-time visitors sometimes don't anticipate.

Tips for visiting Chowmahalla Palace

1
Chowmahalla Palace's Buggy Khana section, near the southern courtyard, holds the Nizam's vintage car collection, including a 1911 Rolls-Royce among other early-20th-century vehicles maintained in running condition, and it is easy to walk past this section too quickly on the way to the more photographed Khilwat Mubarak. Combining Chowmahalla with Mecca Masjid and Charminar works well as a single Old City morning, since all three sit within a 10-minute auto-rickshaw ride of each other and share the same Qutb Shahi and Nizami historical thread. The palace's textile and royal wardrobe gallery rotates its displayed pieces periodically, so repeat visitors within the same year may see genuinely different garments from a previous trip. Weekday mornings consistently outperform weekend afternoons for a quieter visit, since domestic tour groups tend to schedule Chowmahalla as an afternoon stop after Golconda Fort.

How to reach Chowmahalla Palace

The red star is Chowmahalla Palace; the numbered pins are the 7 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

20-4-236, Motigalli, Khilwat, Hyderabad, Telangana 500002Directions in Google Maps

From Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD)
₹650–₹850
29 km · 45–65 min
Prepaid cab); ₹450–₹600 (app-based cab
From Hyderabad Deccan (Nampally) Railway Station
₹70–₹100
4 km · 12–18 min
Auto-rickshaw, negotiated); ₹120–₹160 (app-based cab
From Charminar
₹40–₹60
1.2 km · 5–10 min
Auto-rickshaw); walking is feasible in 15–20 minutes

Nearest airport

From Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD)

29 km, 45–65 minutes.

Nearest railway station

From Hyderabad Deccan / Nampally (HYB)

4 km, 12–18 minutes.

Chowmahalla Palace FAQs

What does the name Chowmahalla mean?

Chowmahalla means 'four palaces' in Urdu, a literal description of the complex's layout. Afzal Mahal, Aftab Mahal, Tahniyat Mahal, and Mahtab Mahal face each other across two sequential courtyards, giving the palace its name directly rather than as a metaphor.

Is Chowmahalla Palace still owned by the Nizam's family?

Yes. The palace remains under the H.E.H. the Nizam's Trust, connected to the family of Mukarram Jah, the titular eighth Nizam. Restoration work led by Princess Esra in the early 2000s brought the palace back to public visiting condition, and it reopened in January 2005.

How long does a Chowmahalla Palace visit take?

About two hours covers both courtyards, the Khilwat Mubarak durbar hall, the royal wardrobe gallery, and the Buggy Khana vintage car collection at a comfortable pace. A faster walk-through focused only on the Khilwat Mubarak can be done in 45 minutes.

Can Chowmahalla Palace be combined with Charminar in one trip?

Yes, easily. The palace sits about 1.2 kilometres from Charminar, a five-to-ten-minute auto-rickshaw ride or a 15-to-20-minute walk, making the two sites a natural pairing for a single Old City outing alongside Mecca Masjid.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places