Chowmalla Palace

Chowmahalla Palace is one of the most significant tourist places in the city of Hyderabad. The sprawling campus was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad while they ruled the state. The scale of the palace is magnificent and houses several smaller palaces within. Stunning artefacts, chandeliers and exquisite styles of architecture dominate the place.
An interesting part of the palace is the section which houses the collection of vintage cars that was imported by the Nizams at the turn of the century. The cars have since then remained in the family for more than 100 years. The collection of cars and carriages is definitely one among the oldest and rarest in the region. The collection includes the Fiat limousine, Napier, a Wolseley and the beautiful 1952 Packard 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan.

The most prized possession of the collection is of course the canary yellow 1912 Rolls Royce bearing chassis number 2117. Custom built by the renowned coachbuilder Barkers of Edinburgh, it was used only occasionally by the VII Nizam. In fact, the car was so sparingly used that in over 100 years it has been driven for a meager 356 miles. It has been restored beautifully by the team of the famous Rana Manvendra Singh Barwani of Indore and is definitely the highlight of the collection.