Introduction: Delhi is the capital city of India and home to 31 million living hearts. From a travellers perspective Delhi is divided in two parts Old and New. Old Delhi is the city of Mughals dates back to the 17th century. The city may be overwhelming, chaotic but be prepare to be amazed by its sights, sounds and smells. Love it or hate it, it’s impossible to miss it.
New Delhi is the modern city built by the British. A spacious city of tree lined boulevards and circular shopping centre, gleaming buildings and government structures.
HOW TO ARRIVE DELHI
Delhi is the gateway to North India and is the starting city of the most popular first timers Golden Triangle tour as it’s very well connected with other cities like Agra and Jaipur by road and trains. Indira Gandhi International airport welcomes travellers from around the world.
BEST TIME TO VISIT DELHI
Is during cooler months from September to March. Delhi is extremely hot from April to June. July and August are the monsoon season which brings down the temperature.
PLACES TO VISIT IN DELHI
Red Fort Travel Guide
Red fort is the iconic historical monument of Delhi. Explore the history of Mughal dynasty and see the beautiful amalgamation of Indo-Islamic architecture.
Jama Masjid Travel Guide
The great mosque of Old Delhi is the largest mosque in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25000 devotees.
Chandni Chowk Travel Guide
Chandni Chowk is located in the heart of Old Delhi. It is a busy shopping area with bazars full of spices, dried fruit, jewellery, essential oil, fabric, stationery, Indian sweets and street food.
Connaught Place Travel guide
A cultural buffs destination, financial hub, colonnaded Georgian style buildings, vintage cinemas, shopper’s heaven, foodies delight. This is the heart of Delhi.
Lodhi Garden Travel guide
15th century historical monuments, Peaceful, lush green, tree shaded gardens, more than 100 species of trees , 50 species of birds and butterflies makes it Delhi’s loveliest escape.
Gandhi Simriti Travel guide
Gandhi Simriti is a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. It is the location where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and was assonated on 30 January 1948.
Qutub Minar Complex travel Guide
Built on 13th century, the Red sandstone tower of Qutb Minar is 72.5 m high is the tallest brick minaret in the world and UNESCO world heritage site.
Lotus Temple Travel guide
The design of the Lotus temple is based on a lotus flower. The buildings is made up of 27 free standing marble petals arranged to form the 9 sides of the temple. The temple and it’s a architectures have won several international awards.
Humayuns tomb travel guide
It is the first royal mausoleum dedicated to Mughal emperor built in 16th century and also known as the inspiration in building world famous Taj Mahal.
Akshardham travel guide
Akshardham means Divine Abode of God depicting India’s 10,000 Years of culture. The Grandeur, beauty, wisdom and blissfulness offers a divine experience.
Gurudwara Bangla Saheb Travel guide
Born during an epidemic located in the heart of Delhi and great place to understand the real meaning of Service and devotion.
India Gate Travel Guide
42 meters high giant gate made up of sandstone is a war memorial and located on the most important street of New Delhi.
WHERE TO STAY IN DELHI
Delhi has a wide range of accommodations to suit all budget. Paharganj area is the most popular among backpacker travellers for its cheap rates accommodation and proximity with the city centre and train station. Good research is recommended to book the hotel and it takes time to feel comfortable with the area.
Budget hotels can be found everywhere in the city. The best location would be South Delhi, more peaceful and very near to all the major attractions and city centre. Aerocity is the newly developed area for branded hotels. Delhi has great range of 4 star, 5 star and luxury hotels.
WHAT TO EAT IN DELHI
Delhi is famous for its street food and fine dining restaurants. Rich Punjabi and Mughal cuisines are the most famous. For vegans and vegetarians there are plenty of options available.
Sample Delhi’s popular street food Samosa, Chaat Papdi and Golgappa
Delhi is very popular for its Chole Bhature (Chickpeas and Fried bread) in all over the India. You can find it in the local food chain restaurants like Haldiram, Bikaner or any food joint, extra tip always order a glass of sweet lassi to adjust the spices.
Delhi is also very famous for its Butter Chicken preparation as it was invented in Delhi and it is really a great experience to try it in the restaurant where it was invented.
Extra tip; Do not forget to mention your spice tolerance when you order the food. Less spicy is spicy for many travellers. No spicy suits majority of western travellers.
HOW TO TRAVEL IN DELHI
Delhi has one of the best modern transport system in India. From metro, Air- condition buses, Electri tuk tuk and Hop on Hop off bus services.
SHOPPING IN DELHI
Local bazzars are Sarojini nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Janpath. Shahpur Jut for designer boutique shopping
Travel Tips and Tourist scams in Delhi
Chandni Chowk market in Old Delhi is closed on Sundays. Red fort, Lotus temple, Akshardham temple, National Museums are closed on Mondays.
Start Early to avoid large crowd at monuments.
Several popular attractions do not require tickets Like Raj Ghat –Mahatma Gandhi cremation ground, Lodhi garden, Mehrauli Archaelogical Park, Lotus temple, Agrasen ki bawli (Stepwell), Gandhi Simiriti museum.
Take a stroll through the Lodhi Art district. It’s free and popular for colourful street art and murals on the building walls.
Like any other popular tourist destination of the world Delhi is no different when it comes tourist touts, you need to be alert and aware all the time.
Book you airport arrival with your hotel or with reputed travel company in advance. In case of booking taxi locally if your driver tells you that the hotel you have chosen has burned down and it is no more operational, do not get convinced by this talk it’s simply a scam to take you another hotel and get the commission. To Save from this scam write down taxi number and make sure drivers sees it and don’t handover your payment slip until you have reached your destination.
New Delhi railway station is the worst place for touts. If you need to book any train ticket, directly go to the foreign tourist office on the first floor. If you have a train to catch directly go to your platform. Train officials only check the ticket inside the train and you don’t need to reconfirm the ticket at the train station or get ticket stamped, these are only the tricks they use to misguide the travellers.
Cannaught place is again one of the main area for touts to misguide the travellers. Here they try to start the conversation or try to be a help and later take you to the fake government offices nearby to get free map or shopping center where they get commission. The best way to avoid this situation go prepared and in case you still need any help ask to the local Police or shopkeepers. Another common scam is Tuk Tuk ride, tell clearly to the driver make no stops to the shops enroute.
Hope all above helps you to plan your trip to Delhi. In case you need any assistance to plan your Delhi trip, please feel free to get in touch with us.