Delhi

Delhi is the traditional and present day capital of India. Delhi stands in a triangle formed by the river Yamuna in the east and spurs from the Aravali range in the west and south.

Delhi is a city that bridges two different worlds. Old Delhi, once the capital of Islamic India, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes lined with crumbling havelis and formidable mosques. In contrast, the imperial city of New Delhi created by the British Raj is composed of spacious, tree-lined avenues and imposing government buildings.

Delhi’s culture has been influenced by its lengthy history and historic association as the capital of India. This is exemplified by the many monuments of significance found in the city; the Archaeological Survey of India recognizes 1200 heritage buildings and 175 monuments in Delhi as national heritage sites.

The Old City is the site where the Mughals and the Turkic rulers constructed several architectural marvels like the Jama Masjid and Red Fort.

• Three World Heritage Sites—the Red Fort, QutabMinar and Humayun’s Tomb— are located in Delhi.
• Other monuments include the India Gate, the JantarMantar (an 18th-century astronomical observatory) and the PuranaQila (a 16th century fortress).
• The Laxminarayan Temple, Akshardham and the Bahai Lotus Temple are examples of modern architecture.
• Raj Ghat and associated memorials houses memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and other notable personalities.Important structures include the RashtrapatiBhavan, the Secretariat, Rajpath, the Parliament of India and Vijay Chowk. Safdarjung’s Tomb is an example of the Mughal gardens style.

• Parliament

  The Parliament house is a circular colonnaded building. It also houses ministerial offices, numerous committee rooms and an excellent library as well. Conceived in the Imperial Style, the Parliament House consists of an open verandah with 144 columns. The domed circular central hall with oak paneled walls and the three semi circular buildings are used for the RajyaShabha and LokShabha meetings.

• India Gate

  The India Gate is the national monument of India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Originally known as All India War Memorial, it is a prominent landmark in Delhi and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the British Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Raj in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

  It is composed of red sand stone and granite.

• Red Fort

  The Red Fort is a 17th century fort complex constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the walled city of Old Delhi (in present day Delhi, India). The British used it as a military camp until India was made independent in 1947.

  The Red sandstone walls of the massive Red Fort rise 33-m above the clamour of Old Delhi as a reminder of the magnificent power and pomp of the Mughal emperors.

• Lotus Temple

  East of Nehru place, this temple is built in the shape of a lotus flower and is the lastofsevenMajorBahai’stemplesbuilt around the world. Completed in1986 it is set among the lush green landscaped gardens. The structure is made up of pure white marble. Adherents of any faith are free to visit the temple and pray or meditate.

  Around the blooming petals there are nine pools of water, which light up, in natural light. It looks spectacular at dusk when it is flood lit.

• Qutab Minar

  The QutubMinar is a tower located in Delhi. It is the world’s tallest brick minaret with a height of 72.5 meters (237.8 ft). The QutubMinar is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture. It is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as Qutub complex.

  The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at the top. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone; the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and sandstone. At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India.

• Akshardham

  SwaminarayanAkshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss. Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as defined in the Vedas and Upanishads where divine bhakti, purity and peace forever pervades.

  The main monument is a marvel in pink sandstone and white marble that is 141 feet high, 316 feet wide and 370 feet long with 234 ornate pillars, over 20,000 sculptures and statues of deities, eleven 72-foot-high huge domes and decorative arches. And like a necklace, a double-storied parikrama of red sandstone encircles the monuments with over 155 small domes and 1,160 pillars.

• Birla Mandir

  Laxmi Narayan Temple was built by Baldeo Das Birla of Birla family. Thus, the temple is also known as Birla Temple. The famous temple is accredited to have been inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939. At that time, Mahatma Gandhi kept a condition that the temple would not be restricted to the Hindus and people from every caste would be allowed inside.

• Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

  Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is the most prominent Sikh gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, in Delhi, known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan, and the pond inside its complex, known as the “Sarovar”, whose water is considered holy by Sikhs and is known as “Amrit”.

• Raj Ghat

  Raj Ghat is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. It is a black marble platform that marks the spot of Gandhi’s cremation on 31 January 1948. It is left open to the sky while an eternal flame burns perpetually at one end. It is located on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi in India on Ring Road officially known as Mahatma Gandhi Road. A stone footpath flanked by lawns leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial.

• Jama Masjid

  Jama Masjid is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1628 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. It lies at the origin of a very busy central street of Old Delhi, the Chawri Bazar Road.