Delhi - Tourist Attractions in Delhi - Delhi Tour

Delhi

The age of the Delhi cannot be known today. But, some of the stone inscriptions, Buddhist and Jain scriptures, earthenware and pottery found here describes that it belongs to the 3,000 B C. There is also difference in the opinion of the historians regarding the number of cities built by different rulers over hundreds of years. According to some people there were only 7 cities while as per others there were only 15. But now, the ruins of only seven cities are present. In the Mahabharata, the great epic, Delhi was known as Indraprastha which was found by the Pandavas on the banks of the Yamuna river. In the 11th century A D, Raja Anangpal of Kanauj, established Lalkot as his capital inside the present day Qutub Minar area. Historically, this was the first city of Delhi and ruins of this city are still present. Anangpal’s successors ruled from it for almost a century until Vishaldeva, conquered it. In the end of the 12th century, Mohammad Ghori came to Delhi and defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and occupied Delhi. He did not make Delhi his home and left his new kingdom in the hands of Allauddin Khilji. Lalkot was the Khilji’s capital until he built a new capital after defeating the invading Rajputs at Siri where he built his own capital in 1303. The city of Tughlaqabad, which took about four years to built, was built by Ghyas-ud-din Tughlaq and was abandoned due to scarcity of water. Due to this, his son Mohammad, built another capital, Jahanpanah, quite close to the Qutab Minar. Delhi's fifth city, Ferozabad was founded by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in the Ferozshah Kotla area. Delhi’s sixty city was founded by Emperor Humayun between 1533 and 1534 AD in the old Indraprastha site, where the Purana Quila is situated. Later this city was ruled by the Sher Shah Suri. Sher Shah Suri built a beautiful hall and a mosque in the old Fort and the Grand Trunk Road. He ruled from Delhi till 1555 until the Humayun recaptured it and returned to power. Shahjahanabad also known as the Old Delhi, was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan as Delhi’s seventh city between 1638 and 1649. The main monument of the old Delhi is the magnificent Red Fort, built of red sandstone and Jama Masjid and the Chandni Chowk, the famous market of the Mughals. New Delhi, the Delhi’s eighth city, was developed by the British in the 20th century. Sir Edward Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker, the two famous British architects were commissioned to design the new capital. In 1911, the Britishers decided to move the capital to a more central place and selected Delhi as the city was the nation’s capital for several centuries. They designed the city of New Delhi to reflect the power and glory of the British Empire and Hindu, Muslim and European architecture with the scope for expansion so that it can accommodate 70,000 people. In 1931, the New Delhi was formally inaugurated as the capital of India. The main places in the New Delhi are the Rajpath, India Gate, President House, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Secretariat buildings, Old Fort and the Humayun Tomb.

The main tourist attraction in Delhi are Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Jama Masjid, Humayun Tomb, Lotus Temple, Lakshmi Narayan or Birla Temple, India Gate and various Government Buildings in New Delhi area like Rajpath, Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhawan, etc. The Red Fort is built of red sandstone. It is the Delhi's most magnificent monument, which was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1648. Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India, and stands across the road from the Red Fort. "Qutub Minar" is 71 meter high and consists of five stories. In 1199 work began on this tower which was intended to be the most glorious tower of victory in the world.

Shopping in Delhi
Delhi is a shopper’s paradise and as such shopping here is an unforgettable experience for the travelers. The shopping in Delhi is very unique, as the visitor can visit the modern air-conditioned stores and the traditional shops where the artisan himself is often present to explain the intricacies of the craft. The city of Delhi attracted the craftsmen who created various masterpieces that would assure them royal patronage. Now, as the Mughals have gone, but the craftsmen have passed on their talent to the further generations, making Delhi the show-window of India’s craftsmanship. Delhi is the home of some of India’s finest designers who blended the traditional styles with the latest international trend to create garments, sarees, jewellery, silk, brass, carpets and pearls that find place in some of the most prestigious stores in all over the world. The Central Cottage industries emporium, the State Government emporium are the famous shops for the Indian handicrafts. These government-owned air-conditioned emporiums offers an unbelievable variety of textiles, leather, jewellery, carpets, ceramics and furniture at very reasonable prices. Delhi’s gold and silversmiths are well known all over the country and due to this an entire street in Old Delhi is known as the Chandni Chowk or the ‘Silver Street’. Besides gold and silver, Delhi offers a variety of precious gems and various semi-precious stones like cornelian, garnets, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds. Besides jewellery, the shoppers can also buy the fabric, trendy readymade garments, antiques and rare objects like miniatures and bronzes, wood carvings and unusual household objects, footwear, furniture and furnishings, carpets and durries, spices and tea and wide range of fashion accessories.

By Air:
New Delhi is well connected to major metropolitan cities of India like Bombay, Kolkata and Chennai. It is also well connected to other cities of India and abroad through regular flights of Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Sahara Airlines. 

By Rail:
Various important trains daily run between New Delhi and other major cities. 

By Road:
New Delhi is well connected by road to the various parts of India. Regular bus service operates between Delhi and major cities like Jaipur, Agra and rest of the cities in India.