About Delhi

Country: India | State: Delhi

Ideal Trip Duration: 2-3 Days

Nearest City to Delhi: Delhi City

Best Time to Visit Delhi: February to March & October to November

Peak Season: February to March & October to November

At a distance of 1,474 km from Mumbai, 1,462 km from Kolkata, 1,543 km from Hyderabad, 2,171 km from Chennai, 2,131 km from Bangalore, Delhi, also known as Dilli, is officially the National Capital Territory (NCT). New Delhi, the national capital of India, is one of the nine districts of the NCT of Delhi.

Located in northern part of India, Delhi is situated on the banks of River Yamuna at an elevation of 293 meters. It is bound by the states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Delhi is India's second most populous city after Mumbai. With an area of 47.2 sq. km, it is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The IT sector, handloom, fashion, textile and electronic industry contribute a lot to Delhi's economy.

Historically, the city was known as Indraprastha or Hastinapura, the renowned capital of the legendary Pandavas, which has overwhelming history and rich cultural heritage. It was first created as the capital of an independent kingdom by Tomars in 736 AD. Muhammad of Ghori captured the city in 1192 and his Slave Aibak established the Delhi Sultanate. The first battle of Panipat in 1526 saw the handover of Delhi from the Lodhis of Delhi Sultanate to the Mughals, when Babur established the Mughal Empire. The city of Delhi passed on to the hands of the British in 1803 AD. In 1911, British shifted their capital from Calcutta to Delhi. After independence in 1947, New Delhi was officially declared as the Capital of India.

Delhi has two parts, Old Delhi and New Delhi. While Old Delhi is all about Mughal and British architectural monuments, New Delhi is home to several offices and modern buildings. Some of the major attractions of the city include the Red Fort, India Gate, Qutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, etc. Other popular attractions include Rashtrapathi Bhavan, Akshardham Temple, Lotus Temple, Raj Ghat as well as several museums. Chandni Chowk, Karolbagh and Connaught Place have emerged as the major shopping hubs.

Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti are some of the major events of national significance celebrated in Delhi. Several religious festivals like Diwali, Holi, Eid, Guru Purab, Buddha Purnima and Christmas are celebrated with great joy and fervor. Qutub Festival is one of the cultural events during which musician and dancers from all across the country give their performance near the historical monument of Qutub Minar.

Delhi has great connectivity from major cities in India and countries like Sri Lanka, Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, USA & Europe. The railway network connects Delhi to the all major destinations in India. The three important Railway Stations of Delhi are New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Junction (4 km) and Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station (8.5 km). The three major bus stands in Delhi are ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminus) - Kashmiri Gate (4.5 km), ISBT Sarai Kale Khan (12 km) and ISBT Anand Vihar (15 km). Delhi is well connected by bus with Shimla, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Manali, Mumbai, Pune, Agra, Gurgaon, Jammu, Noida, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Lucknow, Nainital and Roorkee.

The best seasons to visit New Delhi are from February to March and from October to November.

...read more

Other Info
Internet Availability: Very Good
STD Code: 011
Languages Spoken: Hindi, Punjabi, English
Major Festivals: Details Not Available
Notes/Tips:
None

How to Reach Delhi

By Air

Nearest Airport: Delhi City - Indira Gandhi International Airport (18 Kms)

By Train

Nearest Train Station: New Delhi Railway Station (0 Kms)
Old Delhi Junction (4 Kms)
Nizamuddin Railway Station (NZM Kms)

By Bus

Nearest Bus Station: ISBT Kashmiri Gate (4.5 Kms)
ISBT Sarai Kale Khan (12 Kms)

Top 16 Places to Visit in Delhi

Heritage

#1 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 4 km from New Delhi Railway Station, The Red Fort or the Lal Qila is one of the best historical places in Delhi situated on the western bank of the River Yamuna. This grand fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Delhi, from where the prime minister addresses the nation every year on Independence Day (15 August). It is located in the center of Delhi and houses a number of museums. It is one of the best places to visit in Delhi and also one of the top attractions you must include in Golden Triangle tour.

The Red Fort was built by Shah Jahan between 1638 and 1648. The Fort was built when Shah Jahan transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi. The fort is better planned than the Agra Fort and was the residence of the Mughal emperor of India for nearly 200 years, until 1857. It was originally called as Quila-i-Mubarak, meaning the blessed fort, as it was the royal .....

...read more

Heritage

#2 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 15 km from New Delhi Railway Station, Qutub Minar is the magnificent tower of victory stands in the Qutub Complex located at Aurabindo Marg near Mehrauli in Delhi. Qutub is the highest tower in India and is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is among the must visit Delhi tourist places and one of the best heritage sites in Delhi city. It is also commonly featured in the promotion of Delhi Tourism.

Qutub-ud-Din Aibak laid the foundation of Minar in 1199 AD for the use of the Mu'zzin (crier) to give calls for prayer and raised the first storey, to which three more storeys were added by his successor and son-in-law, Shamsud-Din Iltutmish (AD 1211-36). Numerous inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari characters in different places of the Minar reveal the history of Delhi. According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firoz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-88) and Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517). Major R. Smith also repaired and restored the Minar in 1829.

It is an .....

...read more

Heritage

#3 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 8 km from New Delhi Railway Station and 3 km from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station, Humayun's Tomb is one of the prime tourist places to visit in Delhi and one of the top historical places in Delhi city. The tomb is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the final resting place of Humayun, the second Mughal Emperor and father of Akbar.

The construction of this tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife, Hamida Banu Begum or Haji Begum in 1562. It was designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect. Humayun's tomb was based on Gur-e Amir, the tomb of Mughal ancestor Timur in Samarkand. The tomb was completed in 1572 AD and is believed to have costed 15 lakh rupees at the time of its completion. The entire structure is built using red sandstone.

Humayun's tomb is a fine specimen of the great Mughal architecture, which was inspired by Persian architecture. The tomb was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. Its unique beauty is said to have inspired several .....

...read more

Heritage

#4 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 3 km from Delhi Junction Railway Station, Jantar Mantar is one of the best historical places in Delhi situated in Parliament Street near Connaught Place. Jantar Mantar was declared a national monument in 1948. The Jantar Mantar is among the best places to visit in Delhi and is a great place for astronomy lovers.

Jantar Mantar, also known as the Delhi Observatory was built in 1724 AD. It is one of five astronomical observatories in India that was designed by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur. The other four observatories are situated at Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura. The essential purpose of the Jantar Mantar was to accumulate astronomical tables which in turn would help predict the time and movement of the celestial bodies such as the sun, moon and other planets. The task was given to Raja Jai Singh by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.

It houses .....

...read more

Heritage | Pilgrimage

#5 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 10 km from New Delhi Railway Station, Akshardham Temple or Swaminarayan Temple is located on the banks of River Yamuna near Nizamuddin Bridge in Delhi. The temple is included in the list of Seven Wonders of the 21st Century by the prestigious Reader's Digest magazine. It is one of best built temples in India and among must visit tourist places in Delhi. It also has been listed in the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records book as the largest Hindu temple in the world.

Akshardham Temple is dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan. Akshardham means the adobe of the supreme lord and the temple is a fine example of the Hindu architecture. The complex is the second Akshardham complex in the country after the one at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
The building was inspired and moderated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj who was the spiritual leader BAPS community. It was inaugurated in November 2005 by the President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

Spread over 100 acres, the temple complex is .....

...read more

Pilgrimage

#6 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 15 km from New Delhi Railway Station 2.5 km from Okhla Railway Station, The Lotus Temple is located at Bahapur Hill. Also called Bahai Temple or the Bahai House of worship, the Lotus Temple is one of the major landmarks and among the most visited places of sightseeing in Delhi.

Lotus Temple was found by the believers of the Bahai Faith, an independent world religion, which was founded by Baha'ullah. This temple is an ideal place of meditation which is open to all other faiths. Lotus Temple is so named because of the lotus like structure of the temple. It is one of seven Bahai Houses of Worship in the world and is one of the most visited sites in the world with an average of three and a half million visitors each year.

The temple was designed by Fariborz Shaba, a Canadian architect of Iranian origin. He took 10 years in designing the structure. The construction of the building began in 1980 and was completed in 1986 at a cost of Rs. 10 million and was opened .....

...read more

Heritage | Pilgrimage

#7 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 3.5 km from New Delhi Railway Station, Jama Masjid or Masjid-i-jahan-Numa is located in the center of old Delhi near the famous Red Fort. This is one of the largest mosques in India and one of the last monuments built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. It is one of the top places to visit in Delhi city and also among the top historical sites in Delhi.

Jama Masjid was commissioned by Shah Jahan between 1644 and 1656 at a cost of 1 million rupees. This mosque was constructed with the efforts of more than 5,000 workers. The Masjid was completed under the supervision of Saadullah Khan, the Prime Minister of Shah Jahan and was inaugurated by an imam from Bukhara, present-day Uzbekistan. After the British victory in Revolt of 1857, they occupied the mosque and stationed their soldiers here.

The mosque has three large gates, four towers and two 40 m high minarets constructed using red sandstone and white marble. The mosque is built on a red sandstone porch, which is about .....

...read more

Heritage

#8 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 5 km from New Delhi Railway Station, Raj Ghat is a memorial dedicated to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi located on the banks of Yamuna River in Old Delhi.

Raj Ghat is the last resting place of Mahatma Gandhi. The cremation of Mahatma Gandhi took place at the Raj Ghat on 31st January 1948, a day after his assassination. The memorial was designed by Vanu G. Bhuta, who intended it to reflect the simplicity of the Mahatma's life. It has won several awards for its architectural design.

The memorial stone of Mahatma Gandhi placed on a simple square platform made of black stone, with the words Hey Ram inscribed on it. It is left open to the sky while an eternal flame burns perpetually at one end. The road on which it is located is also known as the Mahatma Gandhi Road.

It is situated amidst a well maintained garden with fountains and numerous trees that give the area a serene atmosphere. Near the memorial, there are labeled trees planted by visiting .....

...read more

Heritage

#9 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 7.5 km from New Delhi Railway Station and 7 km from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station, Safdarjung Tomb is located near the Safdarjung Airport at the T-junction of Lodi Road and Aurobindo Marg. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the Lodi Garden. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

Safdarjung Tomb was built by his son Shujaud Daula in 1754. It is among the best tourist places in Delhi and also among the top historical places in Delhi city. This Tomb is dedicated to Mirza Muqeem Abdul-Mansur Khan, who was also known as Safdarjung. He was the viceroy of Oudh under Muhammad Shah and prime minister under Ahmad Shah. The tomb is the last example of the pattern which began with Humayun's tomb.

The Tomb was built in distinct Mughal architecture. Constructed in the center of a large garden, the compound is decorated with ponds and fountains. Crafted out of red sandstone with a white marble dome, the Tomb is built on a raised platform. The tomb has .....

...read more

Heritage

#10 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 4.5 km from New Delhi Railway Station, India Gate is one of the most popular monuments situated at eastern end of Raj Path in New Delhi. It is also one of the most visited tourist places in Delhi.

India Gate, Originally called the All India War Memorial, is a war memorial in honour of the 70,000 Indian soldiers who died during the World War I. The memorial bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919.

It was designed by the famous British architect, Edward Lutyens and the foundation stone was laid down by the Duke of Connaught in 1921. The monument similar in design to the French war memorial, the Arc-de-Triomphe, was completed in 1931.The monument was dedicated to the nation in 1931 by the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin. Another memorial, Amar Jawan Jyoti was added much later, after India got its independence. The eternal flame burns day and night under the arch to remind the nation .....

...read more

Heritage | Pilgrimage

#11 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 3 km from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, 1 km from Humayun's Tomb and 7.5 km from New Delhi Railway Junction, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah is located in the Nizamuddin West Area of Delhi. It is one of the most popular attractions in Delhi.

Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah is a famous dargah dedicated to Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 1325 CE) who was one of the world's most famous saints of the Sufi Chishti Order. He was a spiritual successor of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer. The dargah was built in 1325, the year the saint died. It was renovated and decorated by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, as well as by later rulers.
The present structure was constructed by a nobleman named Faridun Khan in 1562 AD.

The structure consists of a square chamber surrounded by verandahs, which are pierced by arched openings. The dome on top of the tomb is decorated with vertical stripes of black marble and is crowned by a lotus-cresting. This grand tomb has lattice screens, marble arches and .....

...read more

Heritage

#12 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 6.5 km from New Delhi Railway Station and 5 km from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station, Lodi Garden is located at Lodi Road. This protected complex encloses several historical monuments including tombs, mosques and a bridge, belonging to the Lodi and Sayyid dynasties. It is one of the popular places to visit in Delhi city.

The beautiful Lodi Garden was built by two Delhi Sultanate dynasties, the Sayyids and Lodis in the 15 and 16th centuries. It was landscaped in 1936 by Lady Willington, wife of Marquees of Willington, Governor-General of India during the British rule. The original name of Lodhi Garden was Lady Willington Park which later renamed as Lodi Garden after Indian Independence in 1947.

Lodi Garden has a huge park with wide lawns, trees, plants and flowers, set against a backdrop of beautiful monuments. Spread over 90 acres, it contains Mohammed Shah's Tomb, Tomb of Sikandar Lodi, Shisha Gumbad and Bara Gumbad.

The tomb of Mohammed Shah, the last ruler .....

...read more

Pilgrimage

#13 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 4 km from New Delhi Railway Station and 2.5 Km from Jantar Mantar, Lakshmi Narayan Temple also known as the Birla Mandir is situated at Mandir Marg near Connaught Place in New Delhi. It is one of the first temples built by the Birlas in India and one of the major Delhi tourist attractions.

This temple was built by the famous industrialist and philanthropist, Baldeo Das Birla and his son Jugal Kishore Birla of Birla family. The construction of temple was started in 1933 and completed in 1939. The foundation stone of temple was laid by Maharaja Udaybhanu Singh. The temple was built under guidance of Pandit Vishwanath Shastri and the architect was Sri Chandra Chatterjee. Birla Mandir was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939. At that time, Mahatma Gandhi kept a condition that the temple should allow people from all the castes.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. The three storeyed temple was built in the Nagara style of Hindu temple architecture. .....

...read more

Pilgrimage

#14 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 4 km from Qutub Minar and 19 Km from New Delhi Railway Station, Sri Aadya Katyayani Shakti Peeth Mandir, popularly known as Chhatarpur Temple is located Chhatarpur near Mehrauli - Gurgaon road. This is one of the largest temple complexes in India and also among the most popular Delhi places to visit.

The main deity of the temple is Goddess Katyayani, an incarnation of Goddess Durga. Riding a lion and holding the glorious Chandrahasa (sword) in her hand, Goddess Katyayani is associated with the fierce form of Shakti and is one of the more widely revered and worshipped forms of Goddess Durga. The temple was established in 1974, by Baba Sant Nagpal ji. His samadhi shrine lies in the premises of the Shiv-Gauri Nageshwar Mandir within the temple complex.

The architecture of the temple is a blend of Nagara and Dravidian styles. The complex built entirely with marble is spread over an area of approximately 70 acres with beautiful lawns and gardens. The main shrine .....

...read more

Pilgrimage

#15 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 15 km from New Delhi Railway Station and 3.5 Km from Lotus Temple, Sri Radha Parthasarathi Mandir, popularly known as the ISKCON Temple, is a well-known Vaishnava temple located at Hare Krishna Hills in the East of Kailash area of New Delhi. This temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and Radha in the form of Radha Parthasarathi.

The ISKCON Temple was built by Hare Rama Hare Krishna devotees in 1998. The temple is one of the 40 temples built by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) Movement established by Acharya Swami Prabhupada, to propagate the message of Bhagavad-Gita.

This temple was designed and constructed by Achyut Kanvinde for the followers of Srila Prabhupada. The architecture of the temple is a fine example of artistic splendor with Shikharas standing at height of 90 m. The central prayer hall has three shrines dedicated to Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram and Guara-Nitai respectively. The interiors of the temple have been beautifully decorated .....

...read more

Museum

#16 of 35 Places to Visit in Delhi City

At a distance of 4.5 km from New Delhi Railway Station, The National Museum is located on Janpath close to the road between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan. This museum is managed by the Ministry of Culture and is one of the largest museums in India and among the famous Delhi tourist places.

The National Museum was established on 15th August 1949 and houses artifacts ranging from pre-historic to modern era. The blue-print of the National Museum had been prepared by the Gwyer Committee set up by the Government of India łn 1946.The museum functioned in the Rashtrapati Bhawan during its initial years. The present building was laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 12th May, 1955 and it was formally opened to public on 18th December 1960.

There are around 200,000 beautiful artifacts of both Indian as well as international origin housed in the museum. Some of the artifacts are more than 5,000 years old. It has articles from pre-historic era to contemporary art works. One of the popular .....

...read more