The Charminar is a two-storied building with the first floor being covered. The elegant balconies on this floor provide excellent vantage point for viewing the surrounding areas. There is a small mosque on the top floor of the building, which can be reached by climbing a total of 149 steps. The great monument is a synonym for Hyderabad and the pivot around which the glory and history of the city have developed. To imagine this 400-year-old city without Charminar is to imagine New York without the Statue of Liberty or Moscow without the Kremlin. A small bulbous cupola crowns each of these beautiful minarets, which is decorated with petal like formations.

It was the centre of attraction of the magnificent capital city of Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah. The first floor was used as a college during the Qutub Shahi period and now offers spectacular views of the city from the balconies. You need to climb an array of 149 steps to reach the top of the fort. Once there, it is easy to feel the calm of the terrace and see life bustling below. In sharp contrast to the active and energetic life in the ground floor, the peaceful solitude in the upper part of the fort is quite relaxing. At each corner stands a tall minaret, which measures more than 55 meters long and also have a double balcony.

Atop the great monument are 45 prayer spaces for the devout where they can offer worship in an atmosphere unspoilt by the bustle of the city.  Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which overlook four major thoroughfares and dwarf other features of the building except the minarets. Each arch is 11 metres wide and rises 20 metres to the pinnacle from the plinth.

The intermingling of such traditions with local Indian practices resulted in different forms of Indo-Islamic art.  At the western end of the roof of Charminar is a beautiful mosque; the oldest in Hyderabad, and the rest of the roof was used as a court in Qutub Shahi times.