Kaapi & Karam · School & college visits · Questions
100% Pure Vegetarian · No eggs anywhere
Excursion coordinators · Class teachers · Heads of department
Everything the office
will ask you
Numbers, supervision, buses, washrooms, food safety, cost and what goes in the permission letter — answered so you can get an excursion approved without three phone calls first.
← Educational visits overviewThe short answers
- Group size
- GROUND_FLOOR_CAPACITY at a sitting · Batches above
- Food
- 100% veg · No eggs · Jain on notice
- Base
- Ground floor · Street level · Washrooms
- Open
- 6:00 AM – 12:00 midnight, daily
- Notice
- 2 days with a craft session or walk
- Bookings
- +91 99517 90000 · 10 AM – 7 PM
Numbers & supervision
How many students can you take?
GROUND_FLOOR_CAPACITY
Larger groups are handled up to 30 students — If more, one batch eats at the base while the other is on the walk, then they swap. That is the normal operating model here, not a compromise: it keeps supervision ratios tight, keeps the room calm and means nobody queues. Tell us the total and we send back a batch plan with timings before you confirm.
Can we bring more than one class?
Yes — multiple sections are run as sequential batches through the same morning. The practical limit is not the room, it is how many students your staff can supervise on a walk through a working bazaar. We will tell you honestly if a number is too large for one morning rather than take the booking and struggle.
Do you provide supervision, or is that on us?
Supervision of students remains with your accompanying staff throughout — we do not take custody of children, and no venue should claim to. What we provide is a guide for the walk, a fixed base to return to, and a batch structure that keeps groups small enough for your teachers to actually manage.
How many teachers should we bring?
Follow your own institution's ratio — but as a practical note, the Old City lanes are narrow, busy and full of traffic, and groups spread out fast. Two staff per walking batch is the minimum that works comfortably here. Tell us your staff numbers and we will size the batches around them.
What happens if a student gets separated?
The base is the answer, and it is why the whole day is built around one address. Brief students at the start: if you lose the group, come back to Kaapi & Karam, beside Sardar Mahal opposite the BSNL building. Our ground-floor team knows your group is in, and the on-site number — +91 98489 50000 — reaches someone standing in the room.
Food & health
Is the food vegetarian? What do we put on the consent form?
The kitchen is 100% pure vegetarian and uses no eggs anywhere — not in the food, not in the bakery, on any floor, at any time. That means your consent form does not have to ask about diet at all, no family of any community has grounds to object, and no student sits apart from the group at lunch.
Can you do Jain meals?
Yes — Jain preparation, without onion and garlic, on advance notice. It needs separate pans and separate tempering, so tell us how many students need it when you book rather than that some do. A number we can cook to; "a few" we cannot.
What about a student with a food allergy?
This is not an allergen-free kitchen and we will not claim otherwise. Milk, wheat, nuts, lentils and a full range of spices are handled daily in the same space. If a student has a serious allergy, raise it before you confirm the booking so you can make an informed decision, and brief the accompanying staff as you would anywhere else.
Is the drinking water safe?
Sealed bottled water is available at ₹20 a litre and arrives sealed, so students open it themselves. For a walking group in Hyderabad's heat, plan on more than you think — the Old City has almost no shade and April and May reach the low forties.
What if a student feels unwell?
Bring your own first-aid kit, as you would on any excursion though we do have a kit at the base, and tell us at the briefing which staff member is carrying it. The base is air-conditioned and seated, so a student who needs to sit out has somewhere proper to do it rather than a kerb. If a clinic is needed, our on-site team will help you get there quickly.
Getting there
Where does the school bus park?
The drop-off is coordinated in advance rather than worked out on the day. Our team will coordiate and arrange for bus parking. Tell us the vehicle size when you book and the drop point, the walk-in route and the pick-up time are all planned before you leave school.
Is the bus driver looked after?
Yes — complimentary filter kaapi and a snack for the driver and accompanying escorts, on every visit. They wait comfortably rather than in the bus, and they are told exactly when to bring it around.
How far do the students actually walk?
Everything is within about ten minutes on foot of the base. Charminar is two minutes, Mecca Masjid four, Laad Bazaar five, Chowmahalla about eight. Once the bus has dropped, it does not move again until you leave — the entire morning happens on foot.
What about a student who cannot walk far, or uses a wheelchair?
The base is at street level, so a student who cannot join the walk has somewhere comfortable and supervised to wait with a member of staff. Note that there is no lift in the building — the first floor is stairs only and is not used for school groups. Be aware too that the streets immediately around Charminar are narrow, uneven and busy, which is worth planning for honestly rather than discovering.
Cost & approval
What does it cost per student?
STUDENT_RATE
For reference, individual ground-floor prices are: idli with sambar ₹50, upma ₹50, a full South Indian thali ₹99 and sealed bottled water ₹20 a litre. A craft session or guided walk is quoted on top, depending on what you want built in.
Do accompanying teachers pay?
ESCORT_POLICY
Tell us how many staff are travelling with the group when you book, so it is settled in the written quote rather than at the counter in front of the students.
Can we get a quote in writing before seeking approval?
Yes, and you should. Send the institution name, class or course, student numbers, staff numbers and the date, and you get back a batch plan, timings, a route and a per-student figure in writing — usually the same day. That is the document to attach to the approval note, rather than a screenshot.
Do you issue a GST invoice to the school?
Yes — GST invoices are issued to the institution as standard, and purchase orders and school account arrangements are accepted. Send any vendor onboarding paperwork with the booking rather than afterwards.
Can we set up an arrangement for every term?
Yes. Institutions running excursions regularly can set the terms once — a fixed per-student rate, a standing slot and a code to book against, rather than re-quoting each term. Speak to Neel Sharma on +91 99721 31903.
The visit itself
How much notice do you need?
2 days for anything with a guided walk or a craft session — a guide has to be booked and a workshop has to expect you. 48 hours for a base-and-meal booking with no outside session. Term-time mornings book up, so earlier is better than exact.
Can teaching staff visit before we book?
Yes — the teacher recce is complimentary. Walk the route yourself, see the base and the washrooms, and meet the person who will answer the phone on the day. Bring whoever signs off on the trip; that is usually the conversation that decides it. About an hour.
What is the best time of day and year?
Early morning, and outside April–May if you have the choice. We open at 6 AM, Charminar opens at 9, and the hour it opens is the only quiet one all day. An 8 AM start means the walk happens before the heat and the crowd, and the group is back at school by early afternoon. The Old City is busiest during Ramzan and around festivals.
Can the session be matched to our syllabus?
Yes, and it should be. A Class 8 history group and a second-year architecture studio should not get the same forty minutes. Send the class or course and the subject focus with your enquiry — history, architecture, design, commerce, hotel management, media — and the walk and the craft session are shaped to it.
What craft sessions can students see?
Arranged through the Kalakriti network, at a working bench rather than a shop counter:
- Lac bangles — at a family workshop in Laad Bazaar, made while they watch
- Attar — the Deccani perfume tradition, which is botany, chemistry and trade history at once
- Bidri, pearls and textiles — technique and material, at hand
- The Kalakriti Archives — original photographs, maps and documents of this quarter, i.e. primary sources
Sessions run 30–45 minutes. Seven days' notice.
Can students take photographs?
Freely at the base and in the bazaar. At Mecca Masjid, brief them to ask before photographing inside and not during prayers. In the craft workshops, ask the maker first — they almost always say yes, and asking is part of what students should learn on a visit like this.
What if it rains?
The base is indoors, so the group has somewhere to sit it out rather than sheltering in a doorway. The walk is the weather-dependent part; the craft session and the archive session are both indoors and can be brought forward. Tell us on the morning and we will reorder the day.
Can students leave their bags at the base?
Bags can be kept together at the base while the group walks, but this is on a supervised basis rather than a secure cloakroom — leave a staff member with them, and tell students not to bring anything valuable on the day. Say that in the circular, not on the morning.
Walk the route yourself
before you circulate the letter
The teacher recce is free and takes about an hour. Bring the HOD, see the base, and decide with the facts rather than a webpage.