The Charminar is about 7 km from Hyderabad railway station. It is 5 km from Hyderabad bus station. Excellent private transport is available from all parts of the twin-cities. Called the "Arc De Triumph of the East", Charminar symbolizes Hyderabad. The Charminar is located in the city of Hyderabad along with many other fascinating 400-year-old edifices. Built by Quli Qutub Shah, in 1591, this splendid piece of architecture stands in the centre of the city. It was built to commemorate the end of the plague in the city.

The Charminar is a magnificent square edifice of granite, built upon four grand arches facing all the four directions. These arches support two floors of rooms and gallery of archways. At each corner of the square structure is a minaret rising to a height of 24 meters, making the building nearly 54 meters tall. It is these four (char) minarets (minar) that give the building, its name `Charminar`. Each minar stands on a lotus-leaf base, a special recurrent motif in Qutub Shahi buildings. The first floor was used as a madarasa (college) during the Qutub Shahi period. The second floor has a mosque on the western side, the dome of which is visible from the road, if one stands some distance away.

The grounds are now being used for the development of a large commercial complex. Further down, a road to the left leads to the Khilawat Complex (Chowmahalla Palace). A spectacular view of the city may be had from the roof of the Charminar, although, due to severe overcrowding of the minarets, only visitors with special permission from the Archaeological Survey of India, Hyderabad Circle are allowed to go to the top of the minarets. The clocks above each of the four archways were added in 1889. As old as the city itself, the four imposing towers of this edifice stand in the heart of the old city as a hallmark of the Qutub Shahi era.