Discovering the mystical Delhi with Delhi tourism

I have always been fascinated reading and hearing about Delhi. So, I along with my family took a Delhi tour in November. Knowing about the extreme climatic conditions of Delhi, we went in November. We hired a cab at an affordable rate for our travel to Delhi.

Rang Mahal Fountain

We kicked off our Delhi tourism with the Red Fort in Old Delhi. On the first look itself from the entrance gate, this majestic monument captivated me. I was so excited to discover what’s in store. The Chhatta Chowk aka Meena Baazar on the entrance pavement took me to the time of Mughal era. I started imagining how this small market would be then. Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, this fort made of red sandstone has many attractive spots inside. Rang Mahal or the Palace of Colours with marble pool is strikingly beautiful. The lavishly decorated private audience hall, Diwan-e-Khas and Diwan-e-am, the public hall are magnificently constructed.

From the Red Fort, we went to Jama Masjid, which is just the opposite of this fort. It is the largest mosque in India. Jama Masjid reflects a blend of Hindu and Mughal architectural styles. Constructed with red sandstone and white marble, the mosque has three gateways, four towers and two minarets.

After Jama Masjid, we went to the very famous bustling bazaar, Chandni Chowk. I heard a lot about this well-known parathe lane called Paranthe wali Gali and so was really keen to visit. And my god! There are endless eating joints selling varieties of parathas. We savoured paneer parathe, kaju, matar, badam paratha. We also purchased sarees with zari work, jewellery, shoes and some other stuff from Chandni Chowk.

Akshardham Temple Delhi

Our Delhi India tour package took us to some other great monuments of Mughal era like Humayun's Tomb, Safdarjung Tomb, Purana Quila, Qutub Minar, the tallest brick minaret in the world and Jantar Mantar, the astronomical observatory built by Raja Jai Singh II of Jaipur.

The next day we had planned to capture other tourist attractions of Delhi. We started off with Akshardham Temple. This huge temple complex located near the Nizamuddin Bridge is dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan. We spent more than 3 hours exploring the magnificence of this temple. From there on, our Delhi tour guide took us to Lotus Temple. This modern architecture in the shape of a lotus flower is a famous prayer hall of the Bahai faith. After that, we headed straight to India Gate, Parliament House and President House.

Knowing that Delhi is a shopper's delight, we went for shopping and picked up lots of things from Connought Place, Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar at affordable rates.

Our three-day Delhi tour was short but we managed to cover all the major attractions of Delhi. It was a memorable trip for all of us.

Delhi Temples Tourism: Celebrating Spirituality

When two persons have different interests, it is quite difficult to choose a place to visit. My cousin, Sam insisted me to visit the religious places of Delhi on the third day of my trip. However, I hardly go to any temple, but when Sam told me that the temples in Delhi are true architectural wonders, I got ready in few minutes. Without having our breakfast even, we first hit the Cathedral Church of Redemption, located on Church Road that stands to the west of Parliament House. Built between 1927 and 1935, the church is a typical British structure with spotless beauty. Sam told me that the Cathedral of The Sacred Heart (at the Gol Dak Khana near the Connaught place) and the St. James Church (at the Kashmere Gate) are other equally important Catholic churches. Although the Christians are very less in number as far as population of Delhi is concerned, but these churches draw a number of devotees during festive seasons.

We then headed for the famous Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, near Connaught Place. Earlier a splendid bungalow of Raja Jai Singh Amber of Jaipur, this gurdwara is a highly revered place for both the Hindus and the Sikhs. It has a huge hall covered by a golden dome with a sculpted bronze cupola, that looks quite similar to the Golden temple of Amritsar. We were offered delicious 'halwa' in prasad, which was simply unbeatable. Sam told me that Delhi has a number of Sikh shrines like Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, Gurdwara Sis Ganj, Gurdwara Majnu ka Tila and Gurdwara Nanak Piao that are equally important and beautiful. The moment you enter any of these shrines you can hear the blissful 'Gurbani'. We stopped at the Hanuman Mandir (Connaught Place) for a quick bite, where I came to know that this temple was built by Maharaja Jai Singh along with Jantar Mantar in 1724.

Akshardham Temple, Delhi

After that we moved for the Akshardham Temple, which looks quite similar to the Akshardham in Ahmedabad. Made in Rajasthani pink sandstone, the temple has a Carrara marble platform with the presiding deity's panchdhatu (five-metal) statue (11 ft high). The temple is too big to explore on foot. I was surprised to see over 20,000 sculptures of animals, floral motifs, arches and exquisitely carved pillars. Apart from that, Birla Mandir (Laxmi Narayan Temple) and ISKCON Temple (Krishna Temple) were also fascinating. Another stunning structure was the Lotus Temple. Made in marble in the shape of lotus flower, this temple belongs to the Bahai sect, and is a peaceful place for meditation and relaxation.

Jama Masjid, Delhi

Our last halt was the famous Jama Masjid, in Old Delhi. Raised on the highest pedestal of Delhi, Jama Masjid is built of red sandstone and boasts of being the largest mosque in India. Facing the Red Fort, this was the last monument built by Shah Jahan (1650-1656). Muslims constitute about 12% of the population in Delhi, and there are a number of Muslim shrines here, namely Fatehpuri Masjid, Chirag Dihli Tomb, Nizam-ud-Din Auliya Tomb and Qutab Bakhtiyar Kaki Tomb. We had traditional north Indian food in the age old streets of Chandni Chowk. The temples in Delhi are simply the finest in India. I can surely call them the best in the terms of architecture.