Hussain Sagar is a heart shaped lake in Hyderabad built by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah in 1563, during the rule of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah. It is spread across an area of 5.7 square kilometers and is fed by River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gautama Buddha, erected in 1992, stands on Gibraltar Rock in the middle of the lake. It also separates Hyderabad from its twin city Secunderabad. The maximum depth of the lake is 32 feet.

Hussain Sagar was built across a tributary of the river Musi river in 1563 by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah. The lake was named after Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, who helped to design it. It is an artificial lake that holds water perennially fed by canals from Musi river. Hussain Sagar was the main source of water supply to Hyderabad before Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar were built on river Musi.

Hussain Sagar, a heritage site of India was declared as the ‘Heart of the World’ by UNWTO on 27th September 2012, on the occasion of World Tourism Day, for being the World’s Largest Heart Shaped Mark, the World’s Heritage Heart shaped Mark, and the World’s Wonderful Heart Shaped Mark on the face of the earth among the heart shaped marks formed by the heart shaped lakes and islands that exist in the world. Logo for the ‘Heart of the World’ was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Madrid-Spain, in the year 2013.