Helicopter tours offering a bird’s eye view of Hyderabad city launched. The sortie would cover the Hussainsagar, Legislative Assembly, Charminar, Salar Jung Museum, High Court, Falaknuma, Hitec City and Golconda.

For all those who wondered if they would ever get to see the city of pearls from a thousand feet up in the sky, here’s an affordable way of doing it. Minister for Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday flagged off a helicopter run by a company called Indwell Tourism that offers a 15-minute ride for Rs. 3,999.

The beginning

Shortly before the inaugural sortie of a four-seater, Mr. Rama Rao, accompanied by Telangana’s Minister for Tourism, Ajmeera Chandulal and a host of senior officers from the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) said this was just the beginning of the Telangana government’s plans to showcase the tourism potential of Hyderabad like it was never done before.

“We have great plans to usher in a host of interesting experiences for the middle classes and those from the lower strata of society, at prices they never thought they could afford. I wish this heli-tourism initiative takes off well and wish many more such ventures,” he said.

Senior officers present included Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Pervaram Ramulu, Managing Director, Christina Z. Chongthu and Secretary-Tourism, B. Venkatesam.

Director, Indwell Aviation, Vasu Singam said that after take off from a helipad adjacent to Jala Vihar, the sortie would cover most of the city’s monuments and sights including the Hussainsagar, Legislative Assembly, Charminar, Salar Jung Museum, High Court, Falaknuma, Hitec City and Golconda.