Delhi

Delhi

5

City Lights

Monuments and ArchitecturalMarvels

An architectural marvel in Delhi is thebuilt by Qutab-uddin

Aibak in 1199 AD and completed byIItutmish. The tower is 72.5 m highand has a mosque at its base. In front ofthe imposing structure stands a 5th

Qutab Minar,

DELH

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The capital of India, Delhi, is thefusion of seven former capitals underdifferent rulers of India. The nervecentre of Indian politics and athrobbing metropolis, Delhi has allyou're looking for—flamboyantrestaurants and nightclubs, hautecouture boulevards, upmarketshopping malls, polo grounds,imperial gardens, racing flyovers andmuch more. The architecture of Delhiis one of its main tourist attractions.But what would Delhi be without itshistory?The Old and New Delhis are distinctfrom each other: Old Delhi hasexpanded around Shahjahanabad,built by the Mughal emperorShahjahan. Edward Lutyens's NewDelhi has eminent landmarks like thePresident's House, the Secretariat,India Gate and Parliament House. Fortourists, the city's strategic locationfacilitates easy movement through therest of the country by rail, road or air.No other city conveys the essence ofIndia like Delhi does. Welcome toDelhi, welcome to India.

Qutab Minar

Red Fort

century iron pillar, that has remainedrust free. Tourists are not allowed toclimb the tower. The or

, built in red sandstone on theRed Fort Lal

Qila

Chandni Chowk

Parliament House

Birla Mandir

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Hauz Khas

Qutab Minar

Delhi Hatt

Lotus Temple

TughlakabadFort

ChhatarpurTemple

KalkajiMandir

Surajkund

Badkhal Lake

Yamuna River

UTTAR PRADESH

Yamuna River

HARYANA

Redfort

JamaMasjid

Vijay GhatShanti Vana

Shakti Sthal

ConnaughtPlace

Rajghat

Lodi Gardens Indraprastha (Purana Qila)

Humayun'sTomb

India Gate

DELHI

Jantar Mantar

PalamAirport

Map not to Scale

banks of River Yamuna, has two mainentrances: Delhi Gate and LahoriGate, which face the famous

–

A'Sound and Light Show' in Lal Qilaevery evening in Hindi and English,brings alive the history of Delhi.Facing the Red Fort is anotherarchitectural marvel buil t byShahjahan, the which isthe country's largest mosque.

believed to be the siteof Indraprastha, the original city ofDelhi, was built by Sher Shah Suri andwas completed in 1545 AD. The smalllake on its premises offers boat ridesduring summer.

ChandniChowk

Jama Masjid,Purana

Qila (Old Fort),

one of the best knownwholesale markets for textiles,electronic goods, fabric, auto-accessories, jewellery and watches.The entire area was designed byJahanara Begum, Shahjahan'sfavourite daughter and was inhabitedby well-to-do families of the time.

Now declared a WorldH e r i t a g e s i t e b y U N E S C O ,

built by HajiBegum, Humayun's wife, in the midHumayun's Tomb,

Jama Masjid

Humayun’s Tomb

16th century, epi tomises thearchitectural elements that would laterbe seen in the Taj. Across the road isthe shrine of the Sufi Saint,

. For those whoenjoy (Sufi devotionalsongs), a visit to Nizamuddin at sunset(Thursdays only) is recommended.The tomb of , thefamous Urdu poet, is nearby.

Nizamuddin Auliya

Amir Khusro

qawwali

JantarM a n t a r, t h e o b s e r v a t o r y ,commissioned by the ruler of Jaipur,completed in 1724, is whereexperiments were undertaken to trackthe movement of stars and heavenlybodies. In the heart of the city is the

6

Delhi

circular with ac o n t i n u o u s o p e n c o l o n n a d ecomprising 144 columns. The famous

at theare open to public from

February-end to mid-March. The large

Parliament House,

Mughal Gardens RashtrapatiBhavan

Connaught, is a major commercialcentre of New Delhi.

7

square where broadens as itmeets Raisina Hill is called

, the venue for thewhen massed regimental

b a n d s g a t h e r t o h o n o u r a nunforgettable tradition. To the left andthe right are the impressive and

, designed by HerbertBaker. This is where several of theimportant ministries are housed,including the Prime Minister's Office.

RajpathVijay

Chowk

NorthSouth Blocks

Beating ofThe Retreat

Teen Murti Bhavan,

Connaught Place/RajivChowk

the officialresidence of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,India's first Prime Minister, is now amuseum.

, designed by Robert TorRussel and named after the Duke of

India Gate

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Delhi

Jantar Mantar

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Connaught Place

Memorials

The famous war memorial is situatedat the east end of Rajpath, straightdown the road from RashtrapatiBhavan. A 42 m high structure called

, it was designed byEdward Lutyens and built in thememory of thousands of Indians whodied in World War I. Under the gate isthe eternal flame (Amar Jawan Jyoti)which honours the unknown soldierswho lost their lives in the Pakistan war

India Gate

of 1971. A simple square platform,with the words 'Hey Ram', marks

where Mahatma Gandhi wascremated after his assassination in1948. Towards its north is

RajGhat

Shanti

Vana Shakti Sthal

LotusTemple,

and , whereJawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi andher two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, werecremated.

An important landmark on the SouthDelhi skyline, is the Baha'i, or

shaped like an opening lotusflower, and reminiscent of the SydneyOpera House. Opposite the state

Places of Worship

Adjacent to it is one of Delhi's oldertemples, , worth visitingduring the Dussehra/Durga Pujafestival in October-November.

New Delhi could well be termed thecultural capital of the country. Look atthe options!

National Museum: 23019272,National Museum of Natural History:2 3 7 1 0 5 7 6 , N e h r u M e m o r i a lPlanetarium, Museum & Library:23016734, National Gandhi Museum:23311793, Shankar's International DollsMuseum: 23316970, Crafts Museum:23371817, National Rail Museum:26881816, Tibet House Museum:24611515, National Philatelic Museum:23036447, National Science CentreMuseum: 23237491, ArchaeologicalMuseum, Red Fort: 23267961.

The National Gallery of Modern Art:23382835, Triveni Art Gallery &Shridharni Art Gallery: 23718833,

Kali Bari

City Culture

Museums

Art Galleries

One ofthe most important sites of worship forDelhi's thriving Sikh community,

is built onthe spot where the 8th Guru of theSikhs, Guru Harkrishan Dev, stayedwhen he visited Delhi in 1664. Animportant place of worship of theMuslims, has beendiscussed earlier. Another importantplace of worship in the vicinity is the

, animportant church of North India.Across the river Yamuna is the newAkshardham Temple a marvel ofmodern engineering and animation.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

'Jama Masjid'

Sacred Heart's Cathedral

8

Lotus Temple

emporia is . Duewest from Connaught Place is the

, built byindustrialist G D Birla in 1938.

Hanuman Mandir

Laxmi Narayan Mandir

Raj Ghat

Laxmi Narayan Mandir

Delhi

Nehru Park, Jamali-Kamali Gardens,Kalindi Kunj (bordering Noida), DeerPark, and the latest, DTTDC's Gardenof Five Senses at Mehrauli.

3 2 n d

M i l e s t o n e : 9 5 1 2 4 - 2 3 3 2 5 7 1 ,

Destination Point: 95129-274602.

Bindiya at Maurya

Sheraton: 26112233, Oxford Cut-Men's

Saloon in Basant Lok: 26149212, Barber

ShopatTheOberoi:24304351.

Ma Prem Usha (Tarot

Cards) 26112233.

Eating out in Delhi can be very

exciting. The city is said to have 800

restaurants, with a new one being

added almost every week! While the

top note remains the robust flavour of

the Punjab, melded with the more

delicate artistry of Mughlai cooking –

topped off with remnants from the Raj-

one will find everything from Gujarati

to Thai, French, South Indian,

Lebanese, Italian, Indonesian

nouvelle to health food.Delhi also plays host to several

different pizza and fast food chains,

from the indigenous Nirulas to

imported versions of Domino's, Pizza

Hut, Pizza Corner and McDonald's.

Some of the better and

A m u s e m e n t A rc a d e s :

Beauty Parlours:

Astrologers:

Gourmet's Delights

Tex-

mex-

chaat mithai

9

Vadehra Art Gallery: 24615368, ArtToday: 23320689, Art Heritage:23719470, Art Junction: 23411001,Dhoomimal Art Gallery: 23713025,Gallery Espace: 26326267, GalleryGanesha: 29217306, Lalit KalaAkademi: 23387243, Habitat World:24682222, Art Indus: 26883738.

Academy of Fine Arts & Literature:26494444, AIFACS: 23711315,American Centre: 23316841, BritishCouncil: 23711401, French CulturalCentre: 26251404, India HabitatCentre: 24682222, India InternationalCentre: 24619431, India TradePromotion Organisation: 23371540,Max Muellar Bhavan: 23329506,National School of Drama: 23389402,Rajiv Gandhi Foundation: 23755118,Sangeet Natak Akademi: 23387246,Shri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra:23386429, Triveni Kala Sangam:23718833.

FICCI Auditorium: 23738760,Gandhi Memorial Hall: 41509110,Kamani Auditorium: 23388084, LTGAuditorium: 23389713, ShakuntalamTheatre: 23371849, Shri Ram Centre:23714307, Vigyan Bhawan:23022231.

National Zoological Park: 24358500,summer 8 am to 6 pm, winter 9 am to5 pm, Friday closed; Appu Ghar:23371838, Fun 'N' Food Village:25064501, Wet 'N' Wild Resorts:25700362, Buddha Jayanti Park,Children's Park, India Gate Lawns,Lodhi Gardens, Mughal Gardens,

Cultural Institutions

Auditoria

Parks and Gardens

Appu Ghar

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Delhi

shops are: and

in Bengali Market, the

shops in Sunder Nagar, and

in Greater Kailash.

Some selections:D u m P u k h t :

26112233, Great Kebab Factory:26779191, Zaffran: 95125-2356030,The Village: 26493628, Karim's:24358300 , Rampur Ki t chen :24631222, Nizam's Kathi Kebab:23713078, Masala Art: 26110202,Kashmir Club: 26110101.

Bukhara:2 6 11 2 2 3 3 , B a l u c h i P a k w a n :23710101, Haveli: 23026162.

Pan-Asian: 26521122, TK'sThe Oriental Grill: 26791234, SpiceRoute: 23341234, I'Ching: 26779191,House of Ming: 23026162, Sampan:2 6 8 3 5 0 7 0 , G o l d e n D r a g o n :26142706, Turquoise Cottage Fromthe Orient: 26853896, Lotus Garden:26160244, China Fare: 24618602,Mandarin Room: 23340070, The TarotNest: 26522121, Fujiya: 26876059,The Kowloon: 26493628.

Enoki: 23342000,Sakura: 26771234, Tokyo: 26110101.

Dakshin: 26521122,Naivedyam: 26960426,Kanchi: 23329124.

La Pizza: 26791234,San Gimigano: 23743000,

Nathu's Bengali

Sweets

Kwality

Chaat Bhandar

N o r t h I n d i a n :

North West Frontier:

Far East:

Japanese:

South Indian:

Italian:

chaat

Italiannis: 26779191,Flavours of Italy: 24645644.

Gourmet Gallery:26258815, Rodeo: 23713780.

Olive: 26643914, Basil & Thyme:

24673322, Brix: 26771234, The Grill:

2341101, Pierre: 23710101, La

Rochelle: 24363030, Orient Express:

26110202, The Buck Stops Here:

26257696, Pebble Street: 26844380,

TGI Friday: 26140964, Diva Art Café:

26494554, Ruby Tuesday: 23323627,

Daniell's Tavern: 23341234.

Barista, outlets all over

the city; such as Vasant Vihar,

Connaught Place, New Friends

Colony and more. Starbeans:

23755111, Qwicky's, Café Turtle:

24655641, Café Coffee Day.

Steel- Ashoka Hotel: 26110101,

Orange Room - Ashoka Hotel:

26110101,My Kind of Place- Taj Palace:

26110202,

Trafalgar's- Tivoli Gardens:

26301111,Peppers- The Bristol: 95124-2356030,CJ's- Le Meridian: 23710101,Someplace Else- The Park: 23743000,Djinns- Hyatt Regency: 26791234,Athena - Park Royal Inter-

Continental 26223344.

Golf Bar- Maurya Sheraton:

26112233

Ricks: 23026162

Savannah Bar: 26779191

Mexican:

Continental:

Coffee Bars:

Night Out – Clubs/Discos

Bars/Lounge Bars

West View: 26112233,

Dublin- Maurya Sheraton: 26112233,Ralph's- Uppal's Orchid: 25061516,

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Delhi

Bengali Sweets (Bengali Market)

Tuskers: 23342000Patiala Peg: 1911-23341234Buzz: 26533999

Geoffrey's: 26261305

Buoys & Gulls: 26148800.We2, Mezz, No Escape, Buzz,

RG's, Plutos, Iridium, F-Bar, Delhi's

Devils, Ego.

Delhi is definitely a shoppers' paradisewhen it comes to buying clothes,handicraft and jewellery. There are

Pubs:

Shopper's Paradise

11

Chandni Chowk

the locals do,market, or South Ex as it is morecommonly known. This is where onesees brands like Wills Sport, Nike,Givo, etc. is anotherfavourite for daily needs. For greatclothing bargains,market offers export surplus garmentsof known international brands andlatest trends in Indian styles.

and areoutdoor shopping complexes, nowfirmly part of the Delhi shoppingexperience. Dilli Haat is a popularcraft bazaar where craft persons selldirectly to customers. Santushti hasmany elegant boutiques.

is half a km away from SouthExtension and offers a good mix ofshops and eating places. It has theDelhi outlet of national chainShopper's Stop,Music World, a bumper store with justabout every kind of music.

as well as , have exclusivedesigner fashion wear stores andboutiques, such as Bizarre, Nextt,Study by Janak, Finesse, Shoe Shoppe,TNG, etc. is anotherhotspot, as are the area.The international 'mall fever' iscatching on in Delhi too, with suburbslike Gurgaon and Noida witnessingnew shopping havens. Notable among

South Extension

Lajpat Nagar

Sarojini Nagar

DilliHaat, Hauz Khas Santushti

Ansal PlazaMall

GreaterKailash I II

Khan MarketVasant Vihar

visit

Marks & Spencers,

DELH

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Delhi

Connaught Place

plenty of good bargains to be had.a n d t h e

surrounding area ofincluding the

, is where most touriststend to do their shopping. Here one canfind ethnic gold and silver jewellery,footwear, carpets and handicrafts. Allmain markets remain closed onSundays. is theunderground shopping complexlocated in Connaught Place, and is awell-known landmark. Close toJanpath iswhich houses the emporia of variousstates. These stock handicrafts from aparticular state and are very popularwith tourists.

o shop where

C o n n a u g h t P l a c eJanpath,

Cottage IndustriesEmporium

Palika Bazaar

Baba Kharak Singh Marg

Chandni Chowk iswhere one goes for special needs, suchas jewellery, trousseau shopping,electronic goods, etc. T

12

Delhi

Surajkund Mela

mythological war of Mahabharata wasfought between the Pandavas andKauravas. 'Kurukshetra Lake' isbelieved to be a mixture of all the holy

waters., about 35 km away from

the city centre, is famous for its crafts’mela held between 1st February and

Surajkund

Neemrana Fort Palace

15th February, every year., about 150 km

away, is a heritage resort on a majesticplateau, concealed in a horseshoeformation of theAravalli ranges.

Neemrana Fort Palace

Brahma Sarover – Kurukshetra

these are the and. Fashionable

lifestyle chains like Westside,Shopper's Stop, Bombay Stores,Lifestyle, are all here, in fact at manylocations. Some recommendations:

Central CottageIndustries Corporation of India:23320439, Lepakshi: 23363892,Pragjyotika: 23344784, Ambapali:23363081, Bharat: 23363287,Gurjari: 23363802, Manjusha:23344745, Gangotri: 23343559,Poompuhar: 23363913, HimachalEmporium: 23363087, KashmirGovt. Arts Emporium: 23364723,Uthalika: 23365515, Rajasthali:23343140.

Handloom House: 23323050,Uttam's: 23363384, Karol Bagh SareeHouse : 25754477 , Her i t age :24623208, Nalli's: 24629926.

JJ Valaya: 26802097,Ravi Bajaj: 26448204, Rohit Bal:24658005, Ashish Soni: 26433216,Manish Arora: 29534250.

Metropolitan MallCentrestage Mall

Handicrafts:

Sarees:

DesignerWear:

Excursions

Damdama Lake,

Kurukshetra,

59 km fromConnaught Place, overlooks theAravalli hills, amidst lush greeneryand fruit orchards.

about three and a halfhours drive from Delhi, is where the

Facts at a Glance

Access: By Air:Indira Gandhi International

DomesticAirport

By Rail:

Metro Rail

RailwayStations:

Old Delhi RailwayStationNew Delhi Railway Station

NizamuddinRailway Station

Sarai Rohilla RailwayStation

Delhi's internationalairportis the most important gateway to NorthIndia. Most international airlines offerflights to and from Delhi, connectingto almost every part of the world. Onthe domestic circuit, the

provides flights to everycorner of the country, and is asimportant as Mumbai for air travel.Besides Indian Airlines, Jet Airwaysand Air Sahara, even Air-Indiaoperates night flights to many metrocities. Being a strategicallylocated capital, Delhi is connected tonearly all state capitals and tourist andbusiness centres in the country,through a large rail network. Rajdhaniand Shatabdi Express trains run fromDelhi to all the other major metrosdaily. , the fastest means oftransport in a city, started in 2003 inDelhi, is fast emerging as an efficientalternative to crowded buses.

There are four major stationsin Delhi: the

(situated in the Walled City),(close to

Connaught Place),(close to The Oberoi

flyover) and. Apart from these, there is the

Indira Gandhi International Airport

13

Delhi is linked by the Delhi TransportCorporation (DTC) bus service andstate roadways of the neighbouringstates to all important cities anddestinations in Northern India. Thereis an at andothers at and

. Agra 200 km, Ajmer399 km, Amritsar 446 km, Bhopal 740km, Varanasi 765 km, Udaipur 635km, Jaipur 265 km, Kanpur 490 km,Lucknow 569 km, Kota 500 km,Chandigarh 249 km, Shimla 368 km.

Summer: Max 45°C,Winter: Min 4°C.October toApril.

01125652011

(Arr.) 144, (Dep.) 145,25652050

25675126140, 25675121,

(Resvn.) 141, (Arr. & Dep.) 1421641414,

Airport: 2567540423326851,

ISBT Kashmere GateSarai Kale Khan Anand

Vihar Distances:

Temperatures:Best time to visit:

City Code:IGI Airport:Air India:

Domestic Airport:Indian Airlines:

Jet Airways: 4

Air Sahara:

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Delhi

ISBT at Kashmere Gate

Delhi Cantonement Railway Station

By Road:

Bus Terminus:

in West Delhi, the boarding point fortourist trains like 'Palace on Wheels'and 'Fairy Queen'. The InterState Bus Terminus (ISBT) has busesarriving and departing for all the statesin the northern region.

23365525, Escorts Heart Institute &Research Centre: 26825000

New Delhi Medicos,Spring Meadows, Super BazarMedical Stores.

In Noida (0120):

Nirula's: 2526512, Hotel Great Value

Shipra: 2515073. In Ghaziabad

(0120): Shipra: 2793625, Hotel Best

Western Mela Plaza: 24722255.

Chemists:

Home Away From Home

The Maurya: 26112233,

Ashok Hotel: 26110101,

The Grand: 26771230,

Hyatt Regency: 26791234,

Crowne Plaza Surya: 26835070,

The Imperial: 23341234,

Inter-Continental The Grand:

23411001, Marriott WelcomHotel:

26521122, Le Meridien: 23710101,

The Metropolitan Nikko: 23342000,

Radisson: 26779191, Taj Palace:

26110202, Taj Mahal: 23026162,

The Oberoi: 24363030, The Park:

23733737, Centaur: 25696660,

The Claridges: 23010211,

India Habitat Centre: 24682222,

Hans Plaza: 23316861.

Samrat: 26110606, Marina:

23324658, The Tivoli Garden Resort:

26301111, Maharani Guest House:

24359521, Jukaso Inn: 24350308,

Youth Hostel: 24101246,

YMCA Tourist Hostel: 23361915,

YWCA: 23360133.

Satellite Towns:

14

Delhi

Airport: 2567523423730685,

Airport: 25675545131

23322401,23322456

23320342,23320005

23295296

23291171

23314229, 23315322100ABN Amro: 23755130,

American Express: 23327602,Bank of America: 23722332,Citibank: 23712277,Hong Kong & Shanghai: 23716000,Standard Chartered: 23368888,SBI: 23340051

2371560523364111

25675499Ambulance: 102,

Centralised Accidents & TraumaServices: 1099, All India Institute ofMedical Sciences: 26588500,Apollo: 26925858, GB Pant:23233001, Holy Family: 26845900,Sir Ganga Ram: 25735218, Batra:26083747, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia:

Jagson Airlines:

Railways:Travel House City Tours:

Tourist Offices: Government ofIndia Tourist Office:

Government of India TouristInformation Counter (Domestic):

Government of India TouristInformation Counter(International):Delhi Tourism and TransportationDevelopment Corporation(DTTDC):Police:ATMs:

Head Post Office:General Post Office:Speedpost:Hospitals:

Inbound andDomestic Travel

Outbound andIncentive Travel

Business Travel Car Rentals Conference& Event Management

“You, O Books,

are the Golden

vessels of the

temple...

Burning lamps

to be held ever in

the hand.”

F-1211, Chittranjan Park, New Delhi - 110019

Tel.: 51603490 Fax: 011-26270599 E-mail: haranand@mantraonline.com

F-1211, Chittranjan Park, New Delhi - 110019

Tel.: 51603490 Fax: 011-26270599 E-mail: haranand@mantraonline.com

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