KBR National Park

A hundred and sixty hectares of scrub forest left standing around the Nizam-era Chiran Palace, with Jubilee Hills on one side and Banjara Hills on the other. This is where the city walks in the morning. Some six hundred plant species and around a hundred and forty bird species live inside, and peacocks cross the trails freely, often close enough that people stop and wait. The inner park opens about 5:30 and closes around 10:30, with a late-afternoon slot as well; small ticket. The outer track costs nothing and is always busy. First light is cool and the birds are loudest then.

Peacocks crossing the path at dawn, inside a forest the city grew around