Wondering Where to Go Shopping on Your Next Trip to Hyderabad? Visit Begum Bazaar – The City's Biggest Commercial Market and a Shopper's Paradise (2020)

Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana and renowned for its delicious biryanis and sublime jewellery pieces, comes with a 400 year old cultural lineage. Shopping is an integral part of its heritage which although a little time-consuming is still a significant activity when visiting the city. Known for its exquisite pearls embellished with gold or silver, Bidriware in home decor, jewellery pieces, bronze and silverware of premium quality, locally embroidered textiles, embellished fabrics, upholstery, bread spreads and more, Hyderabad shines as the country’s commercial hub with various retail outlets and wholesale bazaars that represent the city’s local culture, unique gifts and beautiful keepsakes.

From shopping for bangles in many varieties, semi-precious stones, pearls, nirmal, kalamkari paintings, silverware, Bidriware, hand woven fabrics, gold embroidered materials, fragrances, ready-made garments, saris, fashion apparels, household items, kitchen essentials, home decor, fresh fish, fruits & vegetables Hyderabad is abundant in all kinds of shopping requirements, delivering both a premium and a budget shopping experience. Some of its most popular budget shopping areas include Laad Bazaar for an assortment of bangles, ethnic khara dupattas, hand weaves of silk, cotton, velvet, brocade and gold embroidered textiles; Charminar Bazaar for sari, sherwanis and barsa pearls; Koti Sultan Bazaar for silver junk jewellery, ethnic apparels and precious gems; Nampally renowned for footwear, bags, wallets, clothes, bangles and imitation jewellery. In between Laad Bazaar and Moti Chowk is the Perfume Market where you’d find small vials of perfume called Ittar whose recipes for preparation have been passed on through the generations.

One of the greatest and grandest marketplace in Hyderabad’s shopping history, Begum Bazaar is nearly 150 years old and is one of the best established bazaars in the country. Especially renowned for the sale of tobacco, traders from all over the city come here with a variety of household items, decor pieces, kitchen essentials, daily use products, toiletries, fragrances, cosmetics, gold and silver jewellery, fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and much more! With business hours mainly between 10 am to 11 pm, shops are closed here on Sundays. Despite its size, the bazaar is known to sell a wide range of budget products that are very easy on the pocket!

Walking through the most active streets of Begum Bazaar, Hyderabad, amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowded lanes, you will find a variety of handicraft stores with an abundance of decor accents and outdoor garden elements in different styles, most of which can be customised to your requirement. From gorgeous dancing figurines to antique clocks that double up as pen stands, you will find a range of gifting items and items of personal use in the range of ₹ 250.00 – ₹ 2,000.00. There’s one such store here called Shringar Handicrafts & Gift Articles, a handicrafts wholesaler, which looks like an ordinary store from the looks of it, but is a paradise as you walk inside! The store specialises in metallic home decor items and customised wooden stuff as well that includes distressed wooden scooters and cars, Rajasthani sentries and more. Whether you’re looking for vintage gifts or modern home decor, you will find everything from budget to premium here.

One of the most popular, oldest and biggest commercial centres in Hyderabad, Begum Bazaar is renowned for offering one of the best shopping experience in the city with a variety of both retail and wholesale stores. The market is popular for different Bidriware and Bidri adorned jewellery. An ancient form of metallic handicraft that involves engraving silver with a jet alloy to give the metal added sheen, Bidri work is quite popular here. Developed in the 14th century, Bidri work has become a significant export handicraft and considered a precious representation of the wealth in India. The metal used in this ancient art form is a blackened alloy of zinc and copper inlaid with pure silver sheets in thin varieties. While the handicraft is most renowned in Karnataka and Telangana, it is practised in some other cities as well, with designs varying between flowers, creepers and human figurines. Shaaranga Arts India is one of the leading stores in Bidri work and brass-ware in addition to wooden handicrafts, Tanjore paintings, marble and wooden temples.

Begum Bazaar is one of the oldest commercial spaces in the city of Hyderabad and also houses the second largest fish market of the city. With retailers flocking the market from all over the region, it makes for one of the best places to watch traders engaged in business dealings and curious onlookers! Each day scores of fish lovers from the city and the neighbouring areas visit this market to purchase a variety of fresh boneless fish, skinless fish, dried fish, prawns and other sea food items. You can explore stores like Mohd. Khaja Fish Merchant and Kailash Fisheries for both retail and wholesale shopping requirements in Begum Bazaar.

For all kinds of traditional and heavy varieties of fashion or imitation jewellery, Begum Bazaar is the best place to visit. It is an ideal shopping space for both wholesale and retail jewellery needs that include silver jewellery, oxidised jewels, rare designs, latest Bollywood inspired jewellery on amazing offers and bargains. One of the leading wholesalers in fashion jewellery with their flagship stores in Begum Bazaar, the Shringar Group can cater to all kinds of ornamental purchases. From a wide variety of antique, Nizam and Hyderabadi jewels to an exclusive range of imported and contemporary designer pearls, designer South Indian jewellery with handcrafted bangles, anklets, neck pieces, chains, armlets, waist belts to low value designer gold jewellery and ethnic Nakshi temple jewellery, lac foiling gold and silver sterling jewellery you will find a huge collection of designer and fashion jewellery to shop to your heart’s content here.

One of the best and one stop stores for gift items and novelty products in Begum Baazar on wholesale is Anmol Gifts. One of the largest and exclusive return gifts store in the country, it is renowned for imported chocolates, jute bags, bangle boxes, kitchenware, coffee mugs, crockery items, melamine stock, lunch boxes and water bottles or flasks, return gifts for kids, home decor and gifting items that include silverware, jewellery boxes, corporate gifting options and more. You can not only buy your gifts here in bulk but also have them customised with personal messages, images or just your initials. From a minimum requirement of just 12 pieces in a single order to more, you can buy budget and premium quality items at Anmol Gifts or Gift Xplorer both at their store and online.

For purchase of a variety of high quality spices like turmeric, chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, amchur, methi powder and more with their freshness, colour and aroma intact, processed with state-of-the-art technology under stringent hygienic conditions visit Swastik Spices. While they have a spice store in Begum Bazaar, they also have an online presence with their spice products at reasonable prices. Swastik Spices’ 3 Mango Chilli Powder is one of their best selling products in the spice market. Swastik Spices sells and distributes a huge range of long lasting spices and spice blends across South India and also have a wholesale presence in Begum Bazaar.

When it comes to shopping for fabrics, Begum Bazaar is considered one of the best places for textile shopping. For apparel and fabric requirements for all kinds of occasions and daily wear, you will find innumerable varieties of clothes at affordable prices in Begum Bazaar. The Indian subcontinent is renowned for its different cultures and fabrics, especially Hyderabad, where you will find a large chunk of the country’s textiles from unstitched fabrics to stitched apparel, all in the latest trends and at extremely pocket friendly prices. You will find all kinds of dresses, dress materials, saris, upholstery fabrics and more! Padmavati Textiles & Matching Centre is one such merchant with an online presence renowned as an imported fabric dealer, retailer and wholesaler and also for Bhagalpuri Fabrics.

One of the most popular and ancient jewellery pieces, bangles have a huge market in Begum Bazaar where women can shop to their heart’s content for dazzling glass bangles in different varieties made from innumerable materials including pearls. From glass bangles to bangles made of brass, lac, thread, silver or metal, bangles have a huge crowd of women flocking the market space, especially during festival time. You will find simple glass bangles in a wide range of both traditional and modern designs and colours ranging from ₹ 50.00 – ₹ 5,000.00. You can get simple glass bangles with or without shimmer for as low as ₹.20.00 – ₹ 30.00 for a dozen. Navika Fancy Glass Bangles is a famous wholesaler in Begum Bazaar and even has an online presence.

In Begum Bazaar you’d find an assortment of handbags and wholesalers. Nagari Market is one such wholesale complex in Begum Bazaar in close proximity of the Hyderabad railway station which has created its own name in the business. With a huge variety of premium quality material handbags, simple bags designer bags, fancy handbags, clutches, purses, wallets and more, you will find both pocket-friendly and expensive varieties here. Besides dealing in wholesale of ladies handbags, Nagari Market also specialises in wholesale of carpets, fancy and designer necklaces, imitation jewellery, 1 gm gold plated jewellery, beauty products, cosmetics, fashion accessories, fabrics, bangles and more.

The Dry Fruit Hub in Begum Bazaar is a wholesale store with over 2 decades of business experience and they also have an online presence where you can purchase a variety of dry fruits, dried fruits, spices, nuts, seeds, flakes, powders and an assortment of other edibles sourced from numerous suppliers all under one roof. Their dry fruits are crunchy, nutritious and have been carefully handpicked, preserved with natural processes for ready consumption. Their range of dried fruits include dried blueberries, prunes, Indian raisins, pecan nuts, dried plums, dates, amla candies, seedless apricots, cherries, cranberries and goji berries, while seeds include ajwain, carom, alfalfa, chia, cumin, flax, foxtail millet and an assortment of healthy raw seeds. They also house an assortment of flakes including bajra, barley, jowar, quinoa, ragi and wheat, in addition to MSG salt, alfalfa leaf powder, amla powder, anardana powder, barley grass powder, buckwheat flour, clove leaf powder, cinnamon powder, curry patta powder, garlic powder and more!

Besides its scrumptious delicacies and mouthwatering food, the city of Hyderabad also famous for its long standing association with pearls. With one of the largest pearl drilling centres in the country, Hyderabad offers one of the best varieties of white or coloured pearls for pearl aficionados. Here is a list of the best places to shop for pearls in the land of Nawabs: