Delhi is one of the most historic Capitals in the world. For the visitor it serves as a perfect introduction to the cultural wealth, the complexities and the dynamics of India. The city has more than a thousand historic buildings and private courtyards. Each conqueror built his own city, next to the previous one. There are 7 in total. The national government and political institutions are concentrated in this city.
The traffic is quite chaotic, although in the centre it is much better than other large Indian cities. You need to allow a lot of time to go from one part of the city to the other. You should always to keep this in mind! The best time to move around in the morning is around 10.30 am, after the morning rush hour and before the shops open. This way you can be there when they open, so as not to lose valuable shopping time!
In recent years the climate has become drier. Very hot summers and cold winters.
The city has become cleaner since the Commonwealth games, which brought to the city a lot of modernization, with new roads and the Metro.
A lot of highways had been constructed in recent years. They connect the big towns with Delhi. Before it used to be a nightmare to drive from town to town. However, although the highways between towns are very good, with dual carriageway roads and attractive vegetation down the central reservation, someone needs to explain to the road users (trucks, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, people and cows) how to use them.
Today the motorbikes in Delhi don’t transport any more a whole family on them, although in small towns, they still do. Now they are supposed to use helmets, although many do not. The improvement that has happen in the city in the last 30 years since I made my first visit is incredible.
Delhi – what to visit
You could start with a visit to the Qutb Minar Complex (UNESCO world heritage site), which is an array of monuments and buildings at Mehrauli in South of Delhi. The best-known structure in the complex is the Qutb Minar tower, which is a 73m tower. Its foundation was laid by Qutb-Ud-din Aibak, who later become the first Sultan of Delhi, in AD 1192 and completed by his son-in-law. The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque stands next to the Qutb Minar.
Well worth a visit is Humayun’s tomb (UNESCO world heritage site), which is the earliest example of Mughal architecture in India. It was built as a memorial to the Mughal Emperor Humayun by his wife during the period AD 1562 -1572, with the help of Persian Architects. Architecturally the mausoleum took its inspiration from the styles prevalent in Samarkand. You will note the similarity to the Taj Mahal, whose design was based on it.
Very interesting to visit is the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the temple of the flowers of the Sikh religion. The community kitchen, Langar, is where every member of the religion considers it an honour to dedicate a couple of hours cooking to feed the poor. The kitchens are fascinating, with enormous vats where the food is prepared. Anyone, whether Sikh or not, can eat there.
On the way to Chandni Chowk you pass the gigantic and majestic Red Fort (Lal Qila) not in the best condition today, constructed during the splendour of the Mughal period in red sandstone, surrounded by a wall approximately 2 km long. Today the fort is a UNESCO heritage site. You can enter through the Lahore Gate and inside you can see the palaces and other beautiful buildings. Visit the Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid), see the audience chambers and the public and private chambers all in beautiful white Indian Jaipur marble (like the Taj Mahal), of the most precious quality. It doesn’t stain, a defect that the beautiful Carrara Marble has. Observe the drum house (Naubat Khana), the royal baths and the Palace of Colour (Rang Mahal).
During the nights that are not too hot you can see sound and light shows that recount the history of the fort. In India we can find lots of forts around the country in differing states of conservation. They are restoring a lot of them, but there are dozens of interesting buildings all around India waiting to be restored. They need a lot of money for the works. You can visit this fort but is not really worth it if you are visiting others around the country that are maintained in a much better state of repair. If you are only visiting Delhi then go and see it. In India as in lots of other countries, the resources destined to renew the public and private buildings are less than what is needed.
During the years that I have visited India, lots of palaces and monuments has been restored, but there are still lots of them to restore to their original beauty. I don’t understand how such splendour and how such a rich country has become so poor. Fortunately, nowadays they can bring back to life the incredible and exotic beauties of their glorious past, so that we can enjoy it today and make us dream of former times.
Notwithstanding its state of repair, I have to say that the Red Fort looks most imposing and impressive from a distance. The same as the mosque beside it.
Beside the fort we can see the Friday Mosque or Jama Masjid. In the Muslim religion the most important day of the week is Friday, when most of the people go to the mosques. The most devout go every day of course. This mosque is the largest in India. Construction started in 1644 and was not completed until 1658. This was the last architectural venture of Shah Jahan. You can see very well conserved precious objects and a rare copy of the Koran written on deer leather
The Mosque was constructed with alternating vertical strips of red sandstone and white Indian marble. It has three great gateways, four angled towers and 2 minarets standing 40 m high. From there the Muezzin call the faithful for the prayers. The mosque has space for 25,000 faithful. From the top of the southern minaret you have a beautiful view of Old Delhi and the urbanistic design by Sir Edwin Lutyens. At the beginning of the twentieth century New Delhi was dedicated as the Capital of the British Indian Empire.
New Delhi is the opposite of Old Delhi. It is ordered and regal. It was finished in 1931 and was the capital of the grandeur of the Colonial British Empire for 16 years. In 1947 the British left India. You can still see many houses of that era, like the former Viceroy’s home, that actually is now the official residence of the President. In New Delhi you can see the Parliament, the Southern and Northern buildings of the Secretariat.
It is beautiful to drive along Rajpath or King’s Way and the tree lined avenues of New Delhi. It is very suggestive to visit the area around sunset, when you can see the most iconic buildings of modern India, in all their splendour (and very well maintained).
Is very interesting to read about the famous architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Backer, who designed the buildings, based on ones in London.
The new Capital of India, replacing the old one, Calcutta (Kolkata today), New Delhi was inaugurated on 13 February 1931. After Independence from the British in 1947, India started to change the colonial names of their cities. Calcutta change to Kolkata in 2001 and Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.
Among the buildings you will drive past, are the Secretariat Buildings, Parliament house and the Presidential Palace (Rashtrapati Bhavan). The fence around it was inspired by the one around Buckingham Palace in London. The Presidential Palace has 340 rooms and in the past there were 418 gardeners employed for the upkeep of the gardens.
See the famous India Gate, which today you can see most of the times surrounded by a lot of smog (Delhi is among the most polluted cities in the world). It is a memorial to the approximately 82,000 soldiers of the Indian army who died during the period of 1914 to 1921.
In New Delhi you can also find Jantar Mantar, a collection of strange and original buildings dating back to 1725 that looks very modern today. It is one of the 5 Mughal astronomical observatories, equipped with huge observation instruments. If you are keen on astronomy visit the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur that is also very interesting.
If you have time left go to the National Museum that recounts more than 5,000 years of Indian History. And visit the National Gallery of Modern Art, housed in the ancient residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur. The museum houses the works of all the famous Indian Artists. from Amrita Sher-Gil to Husain. 20,000 objects can be found in the National Handicrafts and Handlooms museum. The most ancient lavatory is showcased at the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets and dates back to 2500 BC.
The former residences of the Maharajas in Delhi and other cities in India were taken by the Government during Indira Gandhi’s time as prime minister. The Marahajas kept some of the residences that they had and gave some to the government, especially in Delhi. People from the government and politicians get the beautiful residences as their homes during their employment in Delhi, but then is very difficult to get them out of them, since they try to stay with innumerable excuses.
The heart and the masterpiece of colonial British architecture in New Delhi is Connaught Place, which is a series of concentric circles featuring white buildings and large porticos crossed by radial roads that divide this very nice area in blocks. Connaught Place is full of boutiques, bars and restaurants. You can stop in Fabindia where you will find a very large and nice assortment of Indian clothes for women, men and children. You can also find another Fabindia in the Khan Market. You can have a nice aperitif, in the Vault Café. If you are interested to try the Mughal flavours you can go to Al Jawahar restaurant, where you can try specialties of the sumptuous cuisine of the empire, such as the tender and testy mutton stew.
I can recommend an excellent guide in Delhi, she is Shaloo Joshi. Her email is shaloojoshi@hotmail.com. She took us around Delhi for two days. It was a great experience. She is very knowledgeable, great company and a very nice person.
I hardly ever recommend taxi drivers. However, the one that I always use in Delhi is very good. He is one of those outside the Imperial hotel. His name is Palwinder Singh Sandhu. He provides a 24 hour service and he also has a brother and friends that are available if he is busy. His mobile phone numbers are +91 99711 56855 and +91 70656 66774. He is an excellent driver and has one of the cleanest cars that I have ever seen. His car also has good air conditioning. You will find that he charges very reasonable prices.
For my trip I consulted the very good National Geographic Traveler guide , that I can recommend to you for your trip! It helped me a lot with very good information and has very nice pictures .
Delhi – hotels
The Imperial is my favorite hotel in Delhi! I stayed in it for the first time when I was in India 36 years ago. Since them it has been totally restored. You can see all the history of India hanging on the walls.
You can enjoy a very good service and excellent food in the Spice Route, which claims to be one of the best restaurants in South East Asia. The decoration of the restaurant itself is very beautiful: it is all hand carved in Thai style. The atmosphere is incredible. There is also an excellent Italian restaurant.
The Spa is also very beautiful and the Ayurvedic and other treatments are very good. When you get an Ayurvedic treatment a consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor is included.
The details in the Spa are all very well looked after, from the beautiful robes (that you can buy) and the oils that they use for the treatments, which I recommend, especially the treatment with the hot oil and stones. Afterwards you can enjoy relaxing in the hammam and jacuzzi. Leave ample time for the treatment and an extra hour for relaxing afterwards.
The Imperial hotel is owned by the same family since its opening. It is one of the traditional hotels in the city. It was constructed between 1933 and 1935, in the style of the moment. It is located in Janpath (tel +91 11 2334 1234). It has been restructured very well by the original owners. In my opinion, with its original character, it is the place to stay in Delhi.
Excellent restaurants as I mentioned before. The breakfast is good and I recommend that you to sit outside on the veranda which looks out over the colonial style garden. The buffet has a very big selection of food, including fruits from different areas of Asia. You can find different kinds of foods, suitable for every taste. In the main dining room where the breakfast and the evening buffet is set out, the walls are all hand painted with tropical views.
I also recommend the British high tea. Even if you are not staying in the hotel you can go for the high tea and thus see the hotel. It is part of Delhi’s and India’s history.
The pool area is a place to relax. I had an unfortunate experience eating by the pool. There are big birds watching from the trees, ready to swoop down on your food and escape with some of it with such a speed that you cannot believe it! Ja…ja.. I was having a club sandwich and a big eagle (yes, an eagle) came from behind me and took a large claw full of my french fries from my plate!
The hotel has a very good location near the shopping area of Connaught and right next to the Janpath market.
Other very good hotels in Delhi: Oberoi hotel (luxurious Indian chain). As for all of the Oberois around India and the world, it is very good, with excellent service. I stayed them some years ago a few times. I remember that I did a cooking course there. It is a fairly modern construction. It has some very good restaurants.
ITC Maurya hotel in Delhi is very good, but also very large. It boasts one of the very best restaurants in Delhi, the Bukhara, which is famous for its Tandoori cuisine. If you want to go there I would advise booking in advance, although this is only possible at certain hours. Otherwise get there early and be prepared to wait. The food is well worth it.
The Roseate, close to the airport of Delhi, is the most beautiful designer hotel in the city. It has 8 acres of beautiful gardens, a swimming pool and Spa. The rooms are decorated in an original style. The Chi Ni, Chinese restaurant is very good. Address: Samalka, NH-8,New Delhi tel +91 11 3355 2211. www.roseatehotels.com
Haveli Hauz Khas is a bed and breakfast that looks like a boutique hotel. It has 5 rooms with a bohemian look, decorated with handcrafted fabrics and antique objects. It has a very good homemade breakfast. Address: P5, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi, tel +911141651347 havelihauzkhas.com.
Delhi – restaurants
Bukhara is one of the best restaurants in Delhi, is a hymn to the sumptuous North Indian cuisine. You can find from classic tandoori to the typical Peshawar dishes. One of the specialties is the daal (there are different types of them), which is made from lentils. Be careful that is normally very spicy and also if you ask for less spicy, it is still very strong! It is not possible to book a table, so be prepared for a long wait. Address: ITC Maurya Hotel, Diplomatic Enclave, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi .Tel +911126112233 (itchotels.in)
Orient Express restaurant. The furnishing recalls the imperial era and its fine decor evokes that of the Orient Express train. The menu takes inspiration from the legendary train, proposing caviar, lobster, camembert cheese soufflé ,scallops with fennel, curry and pomegranate and pudding with a very nice hot chocolate center. Jolly yummy! Address: Taj Palace Hotel , 2 Sardar Patel Magr Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi tel + 911126110202. (taj.tajhotels.com)
Spice Route is an excellent South-east Asian restaurant in the Imperial Hotel. It is worth visiting just to see its interior, never mind the excellent food. The Italian restaurant in the Imperial, San Gimignano, serves excellent Italian food and should not be missed if you want a change from Indian spicy food. Address: Imperial Hotel, Janpath, New Delhi.
A very good local restaurant where you eat excellent Indian food is Pindi (Address: 16 Pandara Road Market, New Delhi; Tel +91 11 2338 7932). It is clean and has good and fast service and reasonable prices. Many of the tour companies take their clients there. The restaurant is inside a little shopping center. In the car park you can generally see a snake charmer playing his pungi (like a recorder). In the past, there were lots of them around the city, today they are a lot less.
Spare time in Delhi
Go to the Lodi Garden, which is one of the largest gardens in the city, where you can go jogging, have a nice picnic, or do yoga. It is designed in English style, and you can find the tombs of sultans from The Sayyd and Lodi Dynasties.
Do you like to dance? Are you a fan of Bollywood? You can have a few hours of dancing classes and learn the basic steps of popular Indian dances, wearing the stars’ costumes in the Delhi Dance Academy, check www.delhidanceacademy.in If you are interested in Yoga, take yoga classes. The good hotels always have them.