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Sightseeing Overview
The best-known sights are the two buildings that dominate Old Delhi, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. A stroll through the chaotic, raucous, smelly alleyways of the Old City (also known as Shahjahanabad, after the 17th-century Mughal emperor who built it) is an unforgettable experience. The people-packed bazaars of Chandni Chowk are a riot of colorful exoticism and frenetic activity. The Old City is decaying rapidly but it is still possible to glimpse a mosque here or the courtyard of a proud old townhouse there, hidden behind a shop front.

To the south of Old Delhi and in complete contrast to it, is Rajpath and the buildings on Raisina Hill (Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Secretariat) which form the centerpiece of British New Delhi. After the clamour of the Old City, the calm elegance and baroque vistas of this most splendidly laid-out scheme is a welcome relief. Between Old Delhi and Rajpath is Connaught Place, the arcaded bull’s eye of New Delhi, with shops, banks, bars, restaurants, hotels and oodles of pesky touts.

Heading south once more, through the leafy enclaves of New Delhi (which have an allure all of their own, as they are spacious, shady and lusciously green), the visitor will find the bulk of the ancient monuments of medieval Delhi. Humayun’s Tomb, the Lodhi Gardens and various other sites, are readily accessible from the center of the city. The Qutb Minar complex, the vast and formidable Tughluqabad and the remains at Haus Khaz are located deeper in the southern suburbs.

Most sights have a different admission fee for Indians and foreigners and may also impose camera/video charges. Admission fees for foreigners are sometimes displayed in US Dollars but are payable in the Rupee equivalent.

The easiest way to travel from site to site is by taxi or auto-rickshaw. Sightseeing in Delhi can be exhausting - negotiating the urban sprawl and traffic is a long-drawn-out and tiring business, particularly in the heat, making it wise not to squeeze too much into a day.

Tourist Information
Indiatourism Delhi (Government of India Tourist Office)
88 Janpath
Tel: (011) 2332 0008.
Website: www.incredibleindia.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800, Sat 0900-1400.

Passes
There are no tourist passes currently available in Delhi.

Key Attractions:

Lal Qila (Red Fort)
The Red Fort’s massive curtain wall and battlements dominate the skyline of Old Delhi. Inside the bastions (built, like the nearby Jama Masjid, by Shah Jahan) are an array of exquisite 17th-century Mughal buildings, which provided the living quarters for the emperor, his courtiers and family. The flawless balance and proportion of these buildings, as well as the intricate decoration, is wonderful to behold and in complete contrast to the military might of the fort itself. Sadly, the water conduits that would once have cooled the dwellings and gardens are now dry. The Lahore Gate, on the west side of the fort, was a potent symbol in the fight for independence and is still regarded as a shrine of the Republic.

Entrance from Lahore Gate
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1800.
Admission charge.

Jama Masjid
Jama Masjid is India’s largest mosque and is one of the masterpieces of the Mughal’s greatest builder, Shah Jahan. A huge courtyard, bounded by an arcade and pierced with three gates, lies in front of the prayer hall, which achieves serenity and peace from the perfect harmony of its arches, domes and spaces. The courtyard, which can accommodate 25,000 worshippers, is dominated by two red-and-white-striped sandstone minarets, 70m (230ft) tall. The energetic visitors who climb the 122 narrow steps to the top will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Delhi. Dress conservatively; women should bring a scarf to cover the head.

Matya Mahal, Bho Jala
Tel: (011) 2326 8344.
Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk; closed during prayer times.
Free admission for the mosque; there is a charge for the minaret.

Qutb Minar
The Qutb Minar is an immense tower, started at the end of the 12th century, to commemorate the Muslim conquest of Delhi. Standing 72.5m (238ft) tall, it is built of fluted red sandstone and decorated with calligraphy representing verses from the Koran. The top two levels are faced in white marble. The Minar rises above a site that is home to the oldest extant Islamic monuments in India. There is the Ala-i-Darwaza, complete with horseshoe-shaped arches, lotus-leaf squinches and elaborate geometric patterns. Next to that, stands the Quwwat-ul-Islam, the first mosque to be built in India. So anxious were the new rulers of Delhi to erect a mosque, they shamelessly pilfered 27 Hindu and Jain temples for building materials. Many of the pillars that surround the courtyard are carved with Hindu iconography, which is curiously at odds with the Islamic calligraphy of the prayer screens. Incongruously, in the center of the mosque, stands the fourth-century Iron Pillar, bearing inscriptions from the Gupta period. Beyond the mosque is the intricately carved Iltutmish’s Tomb.

Qutb Minar complex
Tel: (011) 2664 3856.Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk.
Admission charge.

Rashtrapati Bhavan and Rajpath
Rajpath runs between the Secretariat Buildings and India Arch, the war memorial designed by Lutyens, in 1921. Rajpath is a formal conception, lined with trees, fountains and pools, intended by its architects, Lutyens and Baker, as the epicenter of British India. The Secretariat Buildings combine monumental classical and oriental detail and, while not especially exquisite, are certainly an imposing statement of colonial power. Rashtrapati Bhavan is an immense palace, supposedly larger than Versailles, which was built as the residence of the Viceroy and is now the official home of the President of India. Every Saturday morning guards parade before the iron grille gates. While the apartments are private, the gardens are open to the public for a few days every year in February/March (contact the tourist office for exact dates, which vary from year to year).

Rajpath
Website: www.presidentofindia.nic.in
Opening hours: By appointment; gardens open for several days in Feb/Mar.
Free admission.

National Museum
It takes a good few hours to get a decent overview of Indian culture at the National Museum, which is filled with exhibits covering over 5,000 years of history. Highlights include excavations from Indus Valley civilization sites, carved pillars and statues from various Indian empires, Central Asian antiquities, sandstone figures from Pallava temples, stone and bronze Buddhist statues, Tibetan manuscripts, Naga models and masks, a gallery of around 300 musical instruments, old coins, and Mughal clothing, tapestries, ornaments and weapons. The admission ticket includes an informative audio-guide in English, Japanese, Hindi, German or French.

Janpath
Tel: (011) 2301 9272.
Website: www.nationalmuseumindia.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Chandni Chowk
The bazaars that surround Chandni Chowk, in Old Delhi, offer a colorful, heaving and pungent slice of Delhi life, with shops and stalls displaying a spectacular array of goods, from fish and poultry to second-hand household products, gemstones and gold, chunky costume jewelry, tinsel garlands, turbans, textiles and even spare car parts. The covered Gadodial Market is the wholesale spice market with an incredible display of aniseed, turmeric, pomegranate, dried mangoes, ginger, saffron, reetha nuts, lotus seeds, pickles, sugars and chutneys. Chawri Bazaar is packed with shops specializing in wholesale paper ware as well as copper and brass figurines such as Buddha, Vishnu and Krishna.

Chandni Chowk
Website: www.chandnichowk.com
Opening hours: Daily, approximately 1000-1800; most shops are closed on Sunday.
Free admission.

Humayun’s Tomb
Often regarded merely as a forerunner of the Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb is, in its own right, a stunning example of the Mughal architectural style, combining dome, mausoleum and plinth in perfect proportion. The Tomb is set in a square garden designed along Persian lines, shaded and geometric, crisscrossed with waterways and paths. In the grounds, there are some other monuments, including the Tomb of Isa Khan. The gardens, in particular the watercourses and pools, have recently been magnificently restored.

Lodhi Road and Mathura Road
Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk.
Admission charge.

Baha’i Temple
Otherwise known as the Lotus Temple, the modern Baha’i Temple has often been compared to architectural feats like the Sydney Opera House. Giant white petals of marble open out from nine pools and walkways in the shape of an unfolding lotus, symbolising the nine spiritual paths of the Baha’i faith. The crouched yet upright stance and upturned, opening petals hint at the human form in ecstatic prayer. The temple is approached through an attractive formal garden. Inside, the central hall rises to a height of over 30m (98ft), without the visible support of any columns. Photography is not permitted inside the temple and visitors are also requested to refrain from talking.

Kalkaji Hill
Tel: (011) 2644 4029.
Website: www.bahaindia.org/temple
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1730 (Oct-Mar); 0900-1900 (Apr-Sep).
Free admission.

Crafts Museum
The wonderfully calm Crafts Museum has a series of fascinating galleries showcasing an array of crafts from around the country including vibrant tribal masks, artistic terracotta pieces and elaborate wood carvings. The outdoor section has been designed to replicate a traditional Indian village and has an area where artisans from around the country can sell their handicrafts direct to visitors. The mellow ambience of this museum makes it an incredibly rejuvenating escape from the rat race.

Pragati Maidan, Bhairon Marg
Tel: (011) 2337 1641.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Free admission.

Purana Qila
Humayun’s 16th-century Delhi had at its center the fortress of Purana Qila, which reputedly stands on the site of Indraprastha, the city of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Of the buildings that survive today, the Qila-i-Kuhna Masjid, a successful fusion of the Islamic and Hindu styles, was constructed by Sher Shah in 1541. The Sher Mandal is an octagonal observatory and library. The north gate, Talaqi-Darwaza, has been partially rebuilt and gives an impression of how formidable the fortifications would have been in their heyday. The chattri surmounting the west (entrance) gate commands a fine view of New Delhi. There is a small museum just inside the south gate.

Mathura Road
Tel: (011) 2435 3178.
Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk (fortress); daily 0800-1830 (museum).
Admission charge.

National Gallery of Modern Art
The National Gallery of Modern Art contains a large collection of contemporary Indian artwork. There are also examples of painters of the Bengali Renaissance, which flourished from the 19th century, and of the esteemed poet and artist, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). The works of modern artists, such as Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002) and Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941), are also on display. The museum has embarked on an ambitious scheme of building which, when complete, will provide greatly increased gallery space for the ever-growing collection. The museum is in Jaipur House, formerly the grand Delhi residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur.

Jaipur House, India Gate
Tel: (011) 2338 2835.
Website: www.ngmaindia.gov.in
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.

Akshardham Temple
The colossal Akshardham Temple, which opened in 2005, is rather inconveniently located on the city fringes but is well worth the trip - set aside at least a couple of hours. The stunning sandstone and marble Hindu temple incorporates an attractive mix of traditional Indian design styles including Mughal and Orissan. The soaring domes and beautifully carved pillars and deities are one of the temple’s star attractions.

National Highway 24
Tel: (011) 2201 6688.
Website: www.akshardham.com
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1800.
Free admission.

Tughluqabad
The immense and brutal fortifications of Tughluqabad are an impressive monument to the militarism of the Tughluqs, an antidote to any idea that the Delhi Sultans were merely effete builders of mosques and palaces. Nowadays, the only living things that visitors are likely to see at the vast, barren, sun-scorched site are goats, donkeys and the occasional archaeologist, although in the 14th century, the citadel, the third city of Delhi, was the Sultan’s capital. Below the walls is the forbidding tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, the builder of Tughluqabad. It is approached from a causeway that crosses a lake, now dry. From the high point of the citadel there is a sweeping panorama of southern Delhi.

Tughluqabad
Opening hours: Daily 0830-1730.
Admission charge.

Further Distractions:

Lodhi Gardens
An oasis of shaded tranquility, the Lodhi Gardens are a welcome refuge from the clamour and dust of Delhi. The extensive gardens boast a fine collection of tropical shrubs and trees. There are also a number of monuments of the Lodhi Sultanate (1451-1526), including the Shish Gumbad, the Bara Gumbad and the Tomb of Mohammed Shah. Picnickers flock to the gardens on Sundays, so if you savour serenity come on a weekday.

Lodhi Road, south-central New Delhi
Opening hours: Daily 0600-2000.
Free admission.

National Rail Museum
The principal glory of the National Rail Museum is the open-air display of old steam locomotives and rolling stock. Particularly interesting are the ‘special’ carriages belonging to British and Indian grandees, such as the Gaekwar of Baroda’s Saloon, with its ornate gold and enamel ceiling. The indoor gallery also has some interesting exhibits that include train models, antique clocks, railway furniture, old documents and historical photographs.

Chanakyapuri
Tel: (011) 2688 1816.
Website: www.nationalrailmuseum.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1730 (Oct-Mar); 0930-1930 (Apr-Sep).
Admission charge.

Gandhi Smriti (Birla House)
Birla House owes its historical resonance to the fact that Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated there by a Hindu extremist on 30 January 1948 while attending an evening prayer meeting. The house is now a poignant shrine to the Mahatma with a museum paying tribute to him and containing a collection of his personal items, including the famous round spectacles he wore. The exact spot in the garden where Gandhi met his death is marked by a small pavilion.

5 Tees January Marg
Tel: (011) 2301 2843.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1330 and 1400-1700.
Free admission.

Safdarjang’s Tomb
The finest surviving example of a late Mughal garden tomb, Safdarjang’s Tomb was built by the Nawab of Avadh to commemorate his father. It may lack the perfect proportions and exhilarating simplicity of Humayun’s Tomb (which is 200 years older) but it is, in its own over-elaborate way, a splendid building.

Aurobindo Marg and Lodhi Road
Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk.
Admission charge.

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