Delhi Tourism:

In the six decades since the creation of New Delhi as the capital of British India, the city has undergone a sea change. Made in initially to cater to a population of 70,000, the total urban population of Delhi now exceeds 10 million. The city has exploded in all directions beyond the confines of Lutyen's wide, tree-lined avenues, with an exuberance that is characteristically Indian.

   Taj Mahal

Several factors have contributed to this breathless pace of growth. For North India, especially, Independence also meant Partition. In 1947, many Muslim families of Delhi migrated to Pakistan while many Hindus and Sikhs from west Punjab sought refuge in the city. They were given land west of the Ridge and south of New Delhi. Many of these refugees also built their houses across the Yamuna and north of Shahijahanabad. Since then, the influx into the city has not ceased. The manpower required by the government in the capital is itself staggering. Industrialists, entrepreneurs and migrant labor from all over India have turned to Delhi in search of livelihood and success, and made it a commercial capital as well. The cultivated fields which till recently could be seen on the outskirts of the city have been developed into residential colonies and commercial complexes. High-rise buildings now stand check-by-jowl with Delhi's 1300 monuments. Villages such as Khirkee, Begumpur, Hauz Khas, Sheikh Sarai and Nizamuddin, which grew around medieval Delhi's, shifting capital "cities", have now been engulfed by the urban sprawl. Many of them, however, retain their old-world characteristics.

Agra Fort                                                                Humayun Tomb

The line of distinction between Old and New Delhi has begun to blur north, south, east and west Delhi are more prevalent terms of demarcation. The facilities and opportunities available in Delhi have attracted Indians from far-flung corners of the country, making it a melting pot of sorts. On the other hand, the presence of diplomatic and trade missions, the growing number of multi-national companies and foreign investors, and the influx of tourists and visiting professionals have given the city, especially its southern and central parts, a cosmopolitan air.

Delhi is one of the most historic capitals in the world and two of its monuments-the Qutb Minar and Humayun's Tomb-have been declared World Heritage Sites. It is also one of the greenest capitals. For the visitor, it serves as a perfect introduction to the cultural wealth, the complexities and the dynamism of India which Jawaharlal Nehru likened to "an ancient palimpsest' on which layer upon layer of thought and reverie has been inscribed".

Delhi has some of the finest museums in the country. Its boutiques and shopping arcades offer access to a wealth of traditional and contemporary crafts from all over the country. It has specialty restaurants to please the gourmet, the open parks and gardens ablaze with flowers, and in the winter months particularly, a variety of cultural events. Its many-layered existence is tantalizing and can entice the curious traveler into a fascinating journey of discovery.

 

Attractions in Delhi:

India Gate:

This magnificent stone archway originally known as All India War Memorial was designed by architect Edwin Lutyens.

It commemorates the 80,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during the First World War 1 and bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919. The foundation stone was laid by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught in 1921 and was designed by Edwin Lutyens.

To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders Mesopotamia and Persia East Africa Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afghan War.

The 42 meter high archway is made of red stone and has the name "INDIA" written on both sides. Over 70,000 names of the soldiers are also inscribed on the arch. The foundation stone for India Gate was laid in 1921 by the Duke of Connaught and was completed in 1931.

After independence, Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial - eternal flame marking the Unknown Soldiers Tomb - was added as a memorial to unknown soldiers who sacrificed their lives serving the nation.

The archway is located on the Rajpath in New Delhi. The monument is surrounded by lawns, children's park & a boat club.

India Gate, besides standing as a memorial to the soldiers killed, also provides the platform to display advancements in defense technology every year on January 26th during the Republic Day celebrations.
 

Red Fort / Lal Quila

The Red Fort with red sandstone walls, popularly known as the Lal Quila extends for two kms and varies in height from 18 metres on the river side to 33 metres on the city side.

Shah Jahan started construction of the massive fort in 1638 and it was completed in 1648. He was deposed and imprisoned in Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb, before he could move his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad in Delhi. Entry to the fort is Rs 0.50; free on Friday.

This sandstone citadel encompasses grand audience halls, marble palaces ornamented with exquisite pietra dura once embedded with precious stones, a market place where the royalty used to shop, a mosque, gardens with marbled fountains, plazas, baths etc. The Red Fort is enclosed by nearly 2 1/2 km of battlement walls which vary in height from 18.5 m (60ft) at its highest watch towers on the river side to 33m on the city side and is surrounded by a 9m deep moat. It was here, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, unfurled the Indian flag on 15 August 1947 commemorating the end of the British colonial rule. Every year on Independence day, the Prime minister addresses a huge crowd assembled in the Maidan (ground) overlooking the fort, from its Lahore gate. 

Lotus Temple

Located in Kalkaji in the south of Delhi,also known as 'Bahai House of Worship'  is lotus shaped and has rightly been given the name. It is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths and is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and tranquility. This temple represents the Baha'i faith - founded by Baha'ullah, an independent world religion.

The Lotus Temple is in the form of a white half-opened lotus flower. This is one of the most visited structures in India. It is estimated the temple has attracted more than 50 million visitors since its inception.
 

Jama Masjid

Jama Masjid or the Jami Masjid was built by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, between 1644 and 1658 and is the final architectural piece built by him. Situated in the ancient town of Old Delhi, this pride of the Mughals was built by five thousand artisans.

The mosque stands on Bho Jhala, which is one of the old Mughal capital cities of Shahjahanbad. Originally called the Masjid-i-Jahanuma, or "mosque commanding view of the world", this magnificent structure is the largest and most exquisite mosque in India and is made up of alternate vertical strips of red sandstone and white marble.
 

This great mosque of Old Delhi is the largest in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000 devotees. The highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble. Travelers can hire robes at the northern gate. This may be the only time you get to dress like a local without feeling like an outsider , so make the most of it.

 

Jantar Mantar

The fabled Connaught Place area created and envisioned by the legendary architect, Lutyens, boasts of an observatory of yore in the form of Jantar Mantar. According to the rays of the Sun falling on it, it helped the people calculate to some extent the time of the day. Jantra(yantra-meaning instrument) and mantra-formula) was built in 1724 by Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur, who later built observatories on the same lines in Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura. According to historical records, the Maharaja found the then existing astronomical instruments to record totally accurate observations and so he decided that such bigger structures should be constructed. The instruments at Jantar mantar are fascinating for their novel approach, though as opf today, they cannot be relied upon to give the kind of accuracy that they gave then because of the growth of multistoreyed structures around it which block the avenues of measurement. At one time the lawns in the area were used as a spot for protestors who found it convenient to reach Parliament House from there. But recently a host of them were removed from there and the area restored to its pristine glory.
 

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
 

A magnificent and spacious bungalow in Delhi owned by Raja Jai Singh Amber (Jaipur) who commanded great respect and honour in the court of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb now enjoys the status of a holy shrine called Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. The eighth Guru Sri Harkishan had stayed here for a few months as guest of Raja Jai Singh. Since then it has become a place of pilgrimage for both, Hindus and Sikhs. They pay their respect to the memory of Guru Harkrishan, nominated as successor by the seventh Guru, Sri Har Rai. He passed away on October 6, 1661 A.D. When only a little over five year old, he had been tried and tested as a perfect fearless and fully illuminated soul.
 

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is located along Baba Khadag Singh Marg in Central Delhi area.

The Art Gallery located in the basement of the Gurdwara is also very popular with visitors. They evince keen interest in the paintings depicting historical events connected with Sikh history. It is named after the Sikh General Sardar Bhagel Singh who supervised the construction of nine Sikh shrines in Delhi in 1783 during the time of Shah Alam II.

Birla Mandir

The Laxmi Narayan Mandir (temple) built by B.D. Birla is a modern Hindu temple dedicated to Laxmi (goddess of wealth) and Narayana (the preserver). It was inaugurated by Gandhi with the stipulation that it should be open to all castes (including the untouchables) and all faiths

This is one of the landmarks in the nation’s capital New Delhi. It was built in the 20th century by the Birla family of industrialists known for its many other temples in India. It is modern in concept and construction. It attracts several devotees and international tourists. The presiding deity here is Lakshmi Narain (Vishnu).

The highest tower in the temple reaches a height of 165 feet while the ancillary towers reach 116 feet. The Geeta Bhavan, a hall is adorned with beautiful paintings depicting scenes from Indian mythology. There is also a temple dedicated to Buddha in this complex with fresco paintings describing his life and work. The entire complex, especially the walls and the upper gallery are full of paintings carried out by artists from Jaipur in Rajasthan. The rear of the temple has been developed as an artificial mountainous landscape with fountains and waterfalls.

Qutab Minar:

Among all the monuments in Delhi, perhaps this is the most famous. 15 kms south of Delhi, stands the soaring tower of victory, the Qutab Minar. The buildings in this complex, date from the onset of Muslim rule in India.

The construction of the tower began in the year 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu Kingdom in Delhi. Qutb-ud-din may have started to build this just as a particularly large minar associated with the mosque for calling people to prayer, or it may have been built as a victory tower.

Iltutmish added the second and third storeys of the Qutab Minar and 6 more arches to the Quwwat-ul-islam mosque. Built his own tomb too.

Alauddin Khalji added a southern entrance to the Quwwat-ul-islam mosque, the Alai Darwaza, the base of Alai Minar and a madrassa.

It is nearly 73 meters high and tapers from a 15-meter-diameter base to just 2.5 meters at the top. The tower has five distinct storeys, and each storey is marked by a projecting balcony. The first three storeys are made or red sandstone, the fourth and fifth of marble of sandstone.
 

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