CityThemes:HeritageFoodCultureSpiritual
Delhi
Delhi
Eight cities stacked on one river plain, still being built
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; winter fog can delay flights in late December and January.
Union territory · North India
Delhi
केंद्र शासित प्रदेशउत्तर भारत
Eight cities of empire, Sufi qawwali and Chandni Chowk kebabs
The place
Travelling in Delhi
परिचय
Delhi has been built and rebuilt at least eight times, and the layers are all still standing. Three World Heritage Sites, the Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort, sit within an hour of each other, and the food runs from Mughal nihari in Old Delhi to Lutyens-era clubs in the new city.
Delhi is not one city but a sequence of capitals stacked along the Yamuna. The Qutub Minar, begun in 1199, rises seventy-three metres beside an iron pillar that has resisted rust for over 1,600 years. Humayun's Tomb of 1570 introduced the garden tomb to India and rehearsed the ideas the Taj Mahal would perfect. Shah Jahan's Red Fort and Jama Masjid anchor Shahjahanabad, where Chandni Chowk's lanes still divide into specialist markets, and Paranthe Wali Gali and Karim's are worth the crush. On Thursday evenings, qawwals sing at the Nizamuddin dargah exactly as they have since the fourteenth century. New Delhi is the last layer: Lutyens and Baker laid out Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Secretariats and the axis to India Gate in the 1920s and 1930s. Between them are Lodi Gardens' tombs, Mehrauli's archaeological park, the Baha'i Lotus Temple and Dilli Haat's craft stalls. Signature days pair Old Delhi on foot with Humayun's Tomb and Hazrat Nizamuddin at dusk.
What it is famous for
Delhi, in three lists
पहचान
Famous for
- Red Fort and Jama Masjid
- Qutub Minar
- Humayun's Tomb
- Chandni Chowk food walks
- Hazrat Nizamuddin qawwali
- India Gate and Rajpath
- Lotus Temple
On the table
- Butter chicken
- Nihari with khameeri roti
- Chole bhature
- Paranthas at Chandni Chowk
- Daulat ki chaat
- Old Delhi kebabs
- Jalebi with rabri
Through the year
- Republic Day parade
- Diwali
- Phool Walon ki Sair
- Ramlila at Ramlila Maidan
- Urs at Nizamuddin
1 place we travel to
Places to visit in Delhi
गंतव्य
Every Delhi destination we plan journeys around, with the best months and the ideal stay for each.
CityDelhi tour packages
Journeys through Delhi
यात्राएँ
3 of our routes pass through Delhi. Each one is a starting point — tell us your days and we reshape it.
6 days · 5 nightsThemes:HeritageCultureFood
Easy · Best Oct–Mar
Golden Triangle Classic
Delhi's tombs, Agra's marble and Jaipur's pink grid in six days
Route: Delhi → Agra → Fatehpur Sikri → Jaipur
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹58,000 pp
18 days · 17 nightsThemes:HeritageSpiritualCulture
Moderate · Best Oct–Nov
Kanyakumari to Kashmir: The Grand Trunk
Eighteen days up the spine of India, from the cape to the valley
Route: Kanyakumari → Madurai → Hampi → Hyderabad +6 more
- Group
- 2–8 (private)
- From
- ₹2,15,000 pp
21 days · 20 nightsThemes:HeritageCultureFood
Moderate · Best Nov–Feb
Grand India Odyssey: Delhi to the Coromandel Coast
Three weeks down the whole length of India, Delhi to Chennai
Route: Delhi → Agra → Jaipur → Udaipur +6 more
- Group
- 2–8 (private)
- From
- ₹2,45,000 pp
Time it right
Delhi festivals
त्योहार
MarThe first day of Shawwal, once the crescent is sighted at the end of Ramadan. The Islamic calendar moves about eleven days earlier each year, so Eid falls in March through 2027 and in February from 2028.
Eid-ul-Fitr
The morning that ends a month of fasting: white kurtas, the embrace given three times, and sheer khurma before anything else. Old Delhi's Jama Masjid, Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid and Srinagar's Hazratbal hold the largest congregations, and the night bazaars beforehand are as good as the day.
Delhi · Uttar Pradesh · Telangana
Eat here
What to eat in Delhi
खानपान
VegetarianDelhi
Chole Bhature
Slow-cooked chickpeas darkened with tea and dry mango, served with a balloon of fried bhatura, raw onion, green chilli and pickle. Delhi eats it for breakfast, most famously at Sita Ram Diwan Chand in Paharganj and at the Kamla Nagar stalls, always with a glass of sweet or salted lassi.
Non-vegDelhi
Butter Chicken
Tandoori chicken finished in a tomato gravy loosened with butter and cream, invented at Moti Mahal in Daryaganj by Punjabi cooks who came to Delhi after Partition. It is mild, faintly sweet, and meant to be eaten with naan or rumali roti rather than rice. Order half a plate and share.
From the journal
Reading for Delhi
पत्रिका
· Food · 6 min
India Street Food Trail: 10 Cities and What to Eat First
A working eater's route through ten Indian cities, from Chandni Chowk at dawn to Indore's Sarafa Bazaar at midnight. One anchor dish per city, the lanes and stalls that make it, what it costs, and how to eat street food without losing a day.
· Tips · 6 min
First Time in India: Practical Travel Tips That Work
Everything we tell first-time travellers before they land: how many places to attempt, what a SIM card and a day of cash actually cost, how to eat street food safely, what to wear into a temple, and the four scams worth recognising.
· Itinerary · 5 min
Golden Triangle Itinerary: 6 Days in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur
A day-by-day plan for Delhi, Agra and Jaipur that fixes the two mistakes most first trips make: too little time in Delhi and too much time on the Agra to Jaipur road. Includes ticket prices, closing days and drive times.
9 more in North India
Next door in North India
पड़ोसी राज्य
StateNorth India
Haryana
Gita ground at Kurukshetra, Mughal gardens and highway paranthas
- Capital
- Chandigarh
- Destinations
- 1
StateNorth India
Himachal Pradesh
Deodar ridges, Spiti's cold desert and a colonial toy train
- Capital
- Shimla
- Destinations
- 9
StateNorth India
Punjab
Golden Temple langar, five rivers and mustard fields in flower
- Capital
- Chandigarh
- Destinations
- 1
StateNorth India
Rajasthan
Desert forts, lake palaces and colour that refuses to fade
- Capital
- Jaipur
- Destinations
- 16
StateNorth India
Uttar Pradesh
Taj marble, Varanasi ghats and Awadhi kebabs at midnight
- Capital
- Lucknow
- Destinations
- 8
StateNorth India
Uttarakhand
Char Dham shrines, Ganga rapids and alpine flower meadows
- Capital
- Dehradun
- Destinations
- 10
Union territoryNorth India
Chandigarh
Le Corbusier's grid, a rock garden built from waste
- Capital
- Chandigarh
- Destinations
- 1
Union territoryNorth India
Jammu & Kashmir
Shikaras on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens and chinar autumns
- Capital
- Srinagar / Jammu
- Destinations
- 5
Union territoryNorth India
Ladakh
Cold desert passes, Indus monasteries and skies full of stars
- Capital
- Leh
- Destinations
- 6