Delhi

A visitor to Delhi would find this large bustling metropolis teeming with people, heavy traffic on broad roads, busy markets and shopping malls. For a complete experience, one needs to go through its many layers. Delhi is a cosmopolitan with many traditional and modern aspects coexisting without a murmur.
A sight-seeing tour of historical monuments and memorials in the city is much better than a history lesson for learning about Mughal and British architecture and prominent Indian leaders. Walk through the lanes in Old Delhi and be transported to the past with traditional whole sale markets, eateries and buildings. On the fun side there are many amusement parks with rides and multicuisine restaurants, large parks with rolling hills and beautifully landscaped gardens that make excellent picnic spots. For shopaholics there are markets in Connaught Place, Dilli Haat, Janpath and the state emporiums.
Being the national capital, Delhi enjoys the privilege of excellent connectivity by roads, railways and air to all parts of the country and cities abroad. The Delhi Metro is widely used for travel within the city and is a great choice for looking around the city while skipping road traffic and hot weather.
Travel within the city takes a lot of time, so it would be better to factor this in while planning sightseeing. Delhi is also the major base camp from where tourists usually take off for other heritage cities like Jaipur, Agra or head towards the hill stations of Simla and Nainital.
Best Time to Visit: Pleasant months for sightseeing are February, March and September through mid-December.

Languages Spoken: Hindi is the principal spoken language, though signboards would mostly be in English or Bilingual

Climate: Scorching summer, sultry monsoon months and cold foggy winters
Heritage sites and Memorials: Red Fort, Humayun’s tomb, Qutub Minar, Rajpath, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Jantar Mantar, Purana Qila, Tughlaqabad Fort, Raj Ghat, Shakti Sthal, Vijay Ghat
Knowledge centres: Gandhi Smriti, International Doll’s Museum, National Museum, National Science Centre, National Railway Museum, Teen Murti Bhavan, Nehru planetarium, Tibet House, National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum
Fun places and Picnic spots: Fun�n�Food Village, Splash Water park, Adventure Island, Entertainment City, Lodhi Gardens, Nehru Park, Buddha Jayanti Gardens, Dilli Haat, Swarn Jayanti park, Millenium Park
Holy Places: Lotus Temple, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Gurudwara Sis Ganj, Jama Masjid, Chhattarpur Mandir, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Cathedral Church of Redemption, St. Peter’s Cathedral, ISKCON, Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, Sai Baba Temple

Firozabad – Fifth City of Delhi

By Nirdesh Singh

Nothing beats the romance and magic of visiting a monument in Delhi on a wintry Sunday afternoon. The light December breeze has cleared the smog. The air seems almost crisp. Kotla Firoz Shah is an oasis in the middle of the city. It is hard to imagine that exactly 614 years ago on an equally beautiful December day this fortress was being plundered. Soak in the atmosphere sprawled on the green grass under the flitting sun. You can see Delhi’s first skyscraper Vikas Minar in the south, the IG Stadium in the east, floodlights of Firoz Shah Kotla Stadium just yards away, and for company you have crows, mynahs, eagles, dogs and even cats. Chat up the security guard for nuggets of information.

Apparently, this is the only place in Delhi supposed to be the abode of Djinns or spirits. Believers come and light up diyas and incense sticks. Some people even leave written requests. The steady stream of believers assures that wishes are being granted by the Djinns. Thursday is the day when most people come with their petitions and leave offerings. It is believed that the Djinns love Delhi so much that they cannot bear to see it deserted. The day beliefs die, city dies and you die.

Road Trip – Delhi to Hyderabad – A journey log

By tvsrk

We breezed through to Gwalior and the Road to Jhansi is in very bad condition. In fact, there is no road but a mud path and some small stretches of intermittent roads. We avoided the bypass to Lalitpur in Jhansi and we found it wise. We came out of Jhansi and once we are on Lalitpur Road we had our so called lunch and proceeded further to Lalitpur. The Road to Lalitpur is a good single road upto 60 km and later it a smooth 4 lane road to Sagar. One has to be on constant alert for sleeping cows on Lalitpur- Sagar ghat section. It’s a pleasure to drive on this highway. It was 5.00 pm by the time we reached Sagar. As we were advised by Hotel personnel at Nasimhapur that the Sagar – Narsimhapur is a 4 lane road except for a few patches of diversions, we decided to move further to Narsimhapur and stay there overnight.

This we found to be good in a way and bad in another way. Good in the way because, had it rained, it could have been totally impossible to go forward as we found it later. Just before Sagar there is a signage for diversion to Narsimhapur on the Highway. When we took the road and after going some distance, I had an inconvenient feeling that we are heading a wrong direction, so we stopped and asked a villager who is going on a bike, whether that road goes to Narsimhapur. He told us as that we are heading a wrong direction, and the Highway is closed as for construction of a bridge, we should go into Sagar town and at Makronia Chowk we should take left turn to go to Nasimhapur. We entered Sagar and the people are very helpful in giving proper directions and putting us on the right road to Narsimhapur. It was just getting dark as we headed towards Nasimhapur and our Nightmarish Journey started. From Sagar outskirts to Narasimhapur Highway, t

A fun filled day at National Rail Museum

By Amitava Chatterjee

We come across “Nilgiri Coach” as we started walking. The Nilgiri Toy Train journey runs in between Mettupalayam and Ooty hill station. This narrow gauge train covers a distance of 46 kms. The train runs through the plains, plantations and tropical rainforest of the Nilgiri. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005 and be a part of Mountain Railways of Indian World Heritage Site along with the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (1999) and the Kalka-Shimla Railway (2008).

A Road Trip from Delhi to Kolkata

By Amitava Dutta

In an August morning of 1888, Mrs. Bertha Benz driven a distance of 106 Kms with her teenage children to visit her mother. With a maximum speed of 10 mph, it took hours for them to reach the destination and the car broke down several times during the journey. Today that road trip is recorded as the first road trip ever made by the first patented motor car ‘The Benz-Patent Motorwagen’. The car was never meant for that long trip but generated a huge publicity pioneering the journey of the automobile industry. 124 years later sitting in a Volkswagen Polo 1.6, I was driven by none other than curiosity to be a part of the road saga where it tells you stories about the ‘river of life’ and the settlements alongside when a road ends to meet another. For next couple of days I dug deep into the travelogues and road trip forums, spent a couple of sleepless nights in impatience. I recall, that was the only time I studied the map seriously as by then I realized, to make a road trip from Delhi to Kolkata through the great Grand Trunk road you need to spend more time with history than geography !

A memorable trip on bike to rediscover myself in the foothills of Himalayas – Part I

By Amitava Chatterjee

Life is full of joy and sorrow, happiness and disappointments, ups and down and Life can also throw unexpected surprises – I was taught in my school and I am also explaining the meaning to my son now. But, at that point of time those are only “THE WORDS” for me and nothing else. Remember ‘3 Idiots’ – “Jab dost fail ho to dukh hota hai, lekin jab dost top kare to aur bhi dukh hota hai”

What else would you do in my place, when the requester is the CEO of your Company? Do you have any other option? I know some who might still have some other options, but fortunately or unfortunately, I am not so impulsive in nature and the other option to fly – was an unthinkable proposition for me that time.

I have a great respect for Mr. Ram S. Ramasundar, the then CEO of Electrolux India, who is like a God Father for me, I had no other option but to say “Yes Sir, I will”.

It was already 11 in the morning and I had an i-ticket. I asked permission to go to the counter to cancel the ticket, to get 50% refund for the cancellation. Who says money doesn’t matter.

“Do one thing, prepare a voucher – it will be reimbursed fully from accounts, I will approve the same.” So, one of my worry had been taken care of…but what about the disappointments.

From a very beautiful morning, all of a sudden it became one of the worst day for me. With a heavy heart, I called up home to inform that I won’t be able to come. Durga Puja was over by the time I hang up the phone for me, as well as for them, even before the first sound of Dhak.

Summer Vacation – a wonderful run through NH-2 from the Ghats of Varanasi to Home – Part II

By Amitava Chatterjee

I went to check whether they washed the car or not, as promised yesterday. The outer body of the car looks like we just finished, sorry ‘Won’ the cross-country rally…several layers of dust all around the body and required a considerable amount of time and efforts to bring it back to its’ original colour. The security guard was of immense help and cleaned the car within next half an hour.

दिल्ली दिल वालो की – 2

By Praveen Gupta

क़ुतुब मीनार से हम लोग माँ कात्यायिनी मंदिर छतरपुर पहुंचे. यह मंदिर क़ुतुब से २.५ कीलोमीटर दूर हैं. और गुडगाव, मेहरोली मार्ग पर पड़ता है. यह मंदिर दरअसल मंदिरों का समूह हैं. और माँ कात्यायिनी को समर्पित हैं.

दिल्ली दिल वालो की – 1

By Praveen Gupta

नगर से निकलते ही जबरदस्त कोहरे ने हमें घेर लिया।मैंने ड्राईवर इरफ़ान से गाड़ी धीरे चलाने के लिए कहा, खतौली पार करते ही जबरदस्त जाम लगा हुआ था,जाम के कारण गाड़ी बुढाना रोड से नहर की पटरी पर ले ली । बहुत ज्यादा कोहरा होने के कारण से कुछ भी दिखाई नहीं दे रहा था।गाड़ी धीमी रफ़्तार से चल रही थी। ड्राईवर कहने लगा की गाड़ी में डीजल नहीं हैं। मैंने कहा की सरधना नजदीक हैं वही पर भरवा लेगे, आगे पूरे सरधना में कही भी डीजल नहीं मिला, वापिस नहर की पटरी से मेरठ की और आकर के डीजल मिल पाया। रास्ते में एक बार गाड़ी नीचे नहर में गिरने से बची। खैर दिल्ली पहुँच कर राहत की सांस ली। चाचा जी के लड़के रवि के घर वैशाली पहुंचे, और वंहा से सभी लोग दिल्ली की सैर को चल पड़े।

Delhi to Nainital by Car

By Kailash Mehta

Till Moradabad I drove on NH 24 and from toll plaza of Moradabad I have taken left turn towards city and then right turn and taken the interior state highway towards Kashipur, Tanda, and Nandpur on NH 121. The highway roads are in good condition (except few kilometers in NH 121). Car speed was so good that quickly we covered 200 kms distance from Delhi in 3 hrs.

Delhi – Rishikesh – New Tehri – Chamba – Dhanaulti – Mussoorie – Dehradun – Delhi

By Harish Bhatt

We both decided to ride for about 100 KM further on the hills towards New Tehri to have a look at the Tehri Dam and the huge man made lake it had created. We reached New Tehri at around 8:30 AM. It was a beautiful morning. We spent about an hour at New Tehri and Vishal clicked a few pictures.

Kolkata->Varanasi->Allahabad->Sultanpur->Lucknow->Delhi Road Review

By Anupam

Road review for this journey or rather saying road review for NH2 in one word to say is simply awesome. It is advisable to start as early as possible in the morning so as to avoid the city rush.
Starting with the Durgapur Expressway from Kolkata, this is one of the best highways in India, there is absolutely no doubt in that. If you are actually driving in this highway, the road quality is so good and the greenery around are so nice, that you will just want to keep driving on this road. A maximum speed of 150 KMPH is no big deal in this highway and you can easily maintain an avg speed of around 90-100 KMPH.
Every now and then one can find decent places to have tea and snacks, there is not limitation on any kind of meals, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shaktigarh around 100 KM from Kolkata is one such ideal place to have a good breakfast. It’s known for its famous sweets (langchas). It’s also known as “langchagarh”.

Of Seven Capitals and New Delhi: Chapter III – Mehrauli

By Nikhil Chandra

The urge to talk about Mehrauli Archaeological Park is literally irresistible now. After weeks of traveling and researching over the internet and books, I could not but wonder whether this is the most architecturally and historically rich places in the world. Turning the pages of history brings alive every alley and stone of Mehrauli area with a vigor which I had never ever imagined in wildest of my dreams as I passed through these streets over last several years I have been in Delhi.

Mehrauli is the site of plethora of monuments, so much so that a sense of history and legends pervade every lane and even stones, for here lived kings, sultans, generals, warriors, saints and monks. Prehistoric tales associate Mehrauli with the descendents of the Pandavas. Later it saw the building of Lal Kot, a bastion of the first real city of Delhi whose archaeological proof could be found. Then it became the dominion of legendary Rajput warrior prince Pritviraj indelibly ingrained in Hindu courtly love tradition. Qila Rai Pithora was witness to the glory of Prithviraj Chauhan who was later defeated in Second Battle of Tarain by Ghauri, whereupon the latter’s death, his slave Qutubdin Aibak made Mehrauli his capital and the Sultans and emperors who followed him ruled from there.

1 Akhil Mehta रूपकुंड की यात्रा Roopkund Trek – २

Hello! We are looking to build relationships with relevant travel and tourism websites. Punjabi Rasoi 7 is a hotel and restaurant near Bir Billing, and we also provide adventure activities…
2 Shayari in Hindi Snow Escape….. Dalhousie

Great write-up, Shalini! The road journey from Gurgaon sound exhausting yet totally worth it for those snow views.
3 Colonel Narindra Bhatia Bull’s Retreat – OUTTA THIS WORLD!

Dear Ghumakkar (Nandan Ji & Archana Ji), How do I get back to your old fold. I was a decade back regular contributor with you. Col NN Bhatia (Retd) Mob…
4 Colonel Narindra Bhatia Bull’s Retreat – OUTTA THIS WORLD!

Dear Ghumakkar (Nandan Ji & Archana Ji), How do I get back to your old fold. I was a decade back regular contributor with you. Col NN Bhatia (Retd) Mob…
5 Bekal beach park Kerala – A Tourist State

Really agree with the comments about North Kerala being less touristy and more authentic. Bekal, in particular, has a lovely untouched fort-and-beach combination. Bekal Beach Park is one of the…
6 spinrisepokies Trip to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj (Part I)

Useful summary, these details are usually the ones missing.
7 Evershine Resort and Spa Road Trip to Harihareshwar, Divyaghar and Srivardhan Beaches , the coastal areas of Maharashtra.. Day 3 !!

The peaceful atmosphere is one of the things that makes Mahabaleshwar appealing. It is a great place to take a break from everyday routines and spend quality time with family.
8 Deeba M Kurukshetra and Karna Lake

The combination of Kurukshetra’s historical sites and Karna Lake makes this a practical short-break itinerary from Delhi. Brahm Sarovar and Jyotisar can be covered in a day, while Karna Lake…