Shopping in Hyderabad

The historic city of Hyderabad is a shopper's delight! From the world famous pearls to traditional arts and crafts, from textiles of all modern brand names to ethnic wear, the city offers an astounding variety of shopping. And what's more unlike many other cities, shopping is not confines to a particular area in Hyderabad.

If you want to take home the delights of Hyderabad, take a stroll in many markets in the evening... the city is bound to charm you with its warm touch and hearty glitter.

In this Hyderabad shopping guide, we have suggested some great local items you can purchase during your holiday to Hyderabad. Be sure to enjoy a local meal at one of the many Hyderabad restaurants after your shopping escapades. For more general shopping information, check out our India Shopping Guide.

Hyderabad Shopping Guide

The main shopping areas include Basheerbagh, Abids and Nampally. You can find everything in the biggest showrooms form jewellery, textiles, handicrafts to footwear, ready-mades and general goods in the markets. Other favoured places are Begum Bazaar (brassware), Laad Bazaar (diamonds, pearls and precious metals) and Mahatma Gandhi Road.

The other areas in the City, which are turning into hubs for shoppers include Ameerpet, Himayatnagar, Begumpet, Somajiguda and Punjagutta. The City also offers mega malls, these malls bring everything under one roof from shopping to entertainment and food, giving the shoppers a unique experience.

Pearls & Jewellery

Carrying on the ancient prosperous pearl trade, of the expensive, the exclusive, and the rarest in the world, Hyderabad still remains the pearl capital. Artisans have over the centuries become experts in segregating, categorizing and polishing pearls to give them various attractive hues. Hyderabad is also known for its bangles made of glass and lacquer and studded with stones. The place to shop for bangles of the largest variety and at reasonable prices is the Laad Bazaar adjacent to the historic Charminar.

Laad Bazaar (Near Charminar): World famous for artificial stone bangles. Adorn yourself with the most scintillating melange of Lac bangles, richly studded with precious and semi-precious stones, pearls and glass beads in different colours and shades.

Handlooms & Saris

Hyderabad has innumerable showrooms that showcase the most distinctive heritages of the city - Handlooms, Dharmavaram silk saris, with their broad borders & woven brocaded gold patterns. Narayanpet saris blend the native tradition with the art of the classical weavers of Varanasi, Venkatagiri saris, with graceful strains of gold. Pochampalli saris, woven using the exclusive lkat technique, Gorgeous Gadwal that typifies Andhra traditional style.

Handicrafts and toys

Handicrafts and toys are among the most sought-after pieces for the shopper in Hyderabad. There is the Bidriware or inlaying of sliver on black metalware that makes lovely decorative pieces. The art is a Persian one that became popular in Hyderabad.

Another art that was also influenced by Persian culture was 'Kalamkari' where a quill is used to paint on fabric. There are two types of Kalamkari in Andhra Pradesh. One is the decorative and wall-hanging pieces of Srikalahasti in Chittoor district while the other is block printing on fabrics for dress material and furnishing at Machilipatnam.

Shilparamam: An ethnic art and craft village. Try some of the spectacular objects of art, crafts, beautiful and decorative knick-knacks of all kinds, traditional handloom textiles, carpets, durries and bed linen made here.

Kondapalli toys: Colourful representations of mythological figures from Hindu epics, birds, animals and occupations of daily life, these toys have a distinct and unique style, making it one of the most popular souvenirs for tourists.

Bidriware: Bidri, an ancient art, has been aptly made to suit contemporary taste such as cufflinks, vases, ashtrays, ornaments, knick-knacks, nameplates and more. Famed for the stunning contrasts provided by the shining silver and brass inlay work, the unique charm of Bidriware cannot be claimed by any other metalware.

Nirmal Art: Working with plain embossed designs, Nirmal paintings and exquisite in style and theme with softwood as the prime media with indigenous colours.

Brassware: You can get marvellous brassware, from the famous master craftmen of Pembarty. Painstakingly created, these breathtakingly beautiful statuettes, figurines, and decorative panels make wonderful gifts.

Zardosi embroidery work: A speciality of Hyderabad is Zardosi embroidery work (Silk thread and cord). A large collection of embroidered saris, Lacchas (Long tops paired with long skirts and dupatta), ghagra and cholis (skirt and blouse), salwar kameez and even sandals with embroidery work are found here especially near Charminar.