Home ::
Delhi Tourism ::
Delhi City
Delhi City
Area : 1470 Sq.Km.
Alttiude: 239Mts
Temperature : Max- 41.2C and Min-21.4 C in Summer, Max-33.7C and Min-6.00C in Winter.
Rainfall : 50.0 CMS ( June to Sept )
Best Season : September to March
Clothing : Summer-cottons, Winter- Woolen,
Std Code : 011
Delhi City - An Introduction
A city of great character, of contrasts and convolutions - this is Delhi, the capital city of India. A city with antiquity dating back over 2,000 years, it is also a modern metropolis with fast cars and neon lit shopping malls. So varied are the shades of Delhi's different faces, it is difficult to grasp it in a short span of time. Home to over 10 million people, the sights of Destination Delhi range from the ruins of the seven historical cities built over time, monuments that testify to its position as a central hub of commerce and government, to symbols of an ever-growing prosperity in the southern parts that has engulfed a multitude of old villages. Even a cursory glance at a Delhi destination guide will reveal that here is a city that is simply packed with important sights that include the historical, cultural and the religious. This is the home of the Qutub Minar and India Gate, Chandni Chowk and the Red Fort, the Lotus Temple and Jama Masjid. Delhi is the city of the mythological Pandavs and the mythical Indraprastha, of the medieval Sultanate and of the great Mughal, Shah Jahan.
jamamasjid.jpg (10947 bytes) The large number of important sightseeing venues and the expanse of the city together make Delhi actually quite a difficult city to "do" in a short span of time. North Delhi, which is Old Delhi, is the area where the Mughals left behind some of the greatest architectural delights in all of India. In the southern parts of New Delhi are more remnants from bygone eras: forts, mausoleums and other sundry monuments.
But it is central Delhi where much of the action happens; this is Lutyen's Delhi, where the corridors of power are located and only the most successful companies can afford the real estate. Tourists flock to central Delhi with the intuition of homing pigeons. Budget accommodation abounds in Paharganj, from where the New Delhi railway station is just a short walk, a brief auto-rickshaw ride will get one to the atmospheric lanes of Old Delhi, and the pleasures of Connaught Place are right there. Only a small distance from "CP" are Delhi's most important museums.
If your India travel plans restrict your stay in Delhi to a day then Connaught Place is where you want to be: airline offices, tourist information kiosks, footpath Delhi City Guide hawkers, restaurants, pubs, monuments like the Jantar Mantar observatory, shopping streets like Janpath, chaos, clutter, colour - this place packs in all that's best about Delhi in both its older and newer avatars. If you're spending only two days in Delhi, then too you'd want to be located in this area, give one day to the action at Connaught Place and reserve the other for a well-organised guided city tour, most of which originate from Connaught Place.
A repository of India's culture and heritage, Delhi is famous for its many museums, art galleries and crafts expositions that are a mirror to the entire country. It is also the center of most important cultural festivals, where performers from the classical arts to modern pop stars, artists, sculptors, dramatists, film-makers, all come to present their works. Charting phenomenal growth over five decades after India's independence in 1947, Delhi has now become a heterogeneous mixture of all religious groups, linguistic communities, social segments and economic brackets. While the city is bustling with activity that holds out a promise for everyone, it can brutally stamp out the vulnerable, leaving no ripples on the surface. Delhi - here you can feel the pulse of India beating to the rhythm of rapidly changing times.
History of Delhi
Edwin Lutyens, the world famous architect, would have never set his mind on designing New Delhi and the famed Connaught Place shopping centre in the heart of India’s capital, had it not been for the glorious past that it could boast of. The British Empire had termed India as the land" where the sun never sets" and to add flavour to this phrase Lutyen called his creation as the "Rome of Hindoostan".
Lutyen perhaps could have drawn inspiration from the Persian inscription on the ceiling of the Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Nobles) at the glorious Red Fort which says" If there be a paradise on Earth; it is this, oh it is this, oh it is this". The couplet was rendered into such beautiful verse by the noted poet, Firdaus, in the court of the Mughal Emperor, Shahjahan. What could have made him weave such a magical extract must surely have been the trance and magnetism that the city of Delhi had for the lovers of good things.
As much as it can boast of its chequered present, Delhi has an equally if not better past.history of delhi. The ancient history of Delhi manifested in the landmarks and memorials still stands testimony to the present history. The times when the epic Mahabharata was written refers to Delhi as Indraprastha and was supposed to have been founded by the Pandavas in as early as 1450 B.C. whose remains have been excavated within the ramparts of the Old Fort (Purana Qila) .
The Gupta and the Maurya dynasties, around 320 A.D. when India was known as the Golden Bird, were mesmerised by the elegant vistas of Delhi and made their presence felt for a long time while ruling from Indraprastha. This was followed by the Muslim Kings in the latter half of the 12th century and then by the slave Kings and the Khaljis who ruled for over a century and built a new capital Siri, in 1302 A.D. where today stands the imposing Siri Fort area and the Asian Games Village. After the Khaljis came the Tughlaks in the early 15th century who gave an additional impetus to the building activity in Indraprastha with the shaping of the Tughlakabad Fort built by Ghyias-ud-din Tughlak. This was not the end of the new revival initiated by the Tughlaks and was followed by the setting up of the cities of Jahanpanah( asylum of the world) and Firozabad (Kotla Ferozeshah) by the successors of Ghyias-ud-din.
The first Mughal conqueror and emperor , Babar, had a liking for Agra where he set up his capital, although his son, Humayun, returned to Delhi and built the Purana Qila as his fort and seat of governance. Then came the Suri dynasty wherein Sher Shah Suri opted yet again for Dilli as the capital which he built in 1542 A.D. And it had its epicentre as the very same Purana Qila. For the first time then the capital got its name Dilli, though some historians say that the brain behind giving this name was Raja Dillu who was supposed to have ruled in this area as far back as 100 B.C. Although the next Mughal emperor, Akbar, preferred to shift to Agra and Fathepur Sikri, his son, derived an affable penchant for Delhi and began work on building the historic Red Fort (Lal Qila) in 1638 A.D. Much before all this during the 11th century A.D., a Hindu King, Anangpal is said to have built the first city, Lal Kot and much after the Lodi dynasty was said to have been credited with the setting up of the sixth of the seven cities in the form of the Lodi tombs.
The seven cities, each with a unique characteristic of its own were Lal Kot, Siri, Tughlakabad, the ruined fortress east of the imposing Qutab Minar. history of delhi.GIF (4862 bytes)Tughlakabad was said to have become a ghost city 15 years after it was built following a supposed curse from the Sufi saint, Azam-ud-din. The other cities were Jahanpanah, Ferozeshah Kotla, Lodi Tombs and the Purana Qila.
In 1911, the British asked Lutyens to give a new meaning to city development which is reflected in the architectural designs and sophistication that buildings in New Delhi like Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Connaught Place and various administrative buildings like the South and North blocks along the breathtaking view available from Raj Path.
Modern Delhi has something for everyone and that is amply reflected in the cosmopolitan culture that nurtures festivals of all faiths and religions, places of worship. You can take a stroll at your own leisurely pace, or a jog or a run and move faster than the common man. This is also reflected in the market places, the dhabas and restaurants or the gorgeous five-star hotels. Theatre, drama and entertainment of all sorts including the best of discotheques are all there. Delhi is one city from where you can branch off to any corner of the country either by a well-connected system of railways or by road and air. The rest is for you to explore.
Home - About Us - Contact Us - Reservation - Email 
