Delhi, the capital of India, sees a huge flow of traffic
all round the year. With a deep historical background as well
as being a modern metropolitan city, Delhi offers several
tourist attractions to the visitors. From historical monuments
to modern buildings and museums to shopping places, Delhi
has something or the other for all types of tourists whether
they are young kinds, teenagers, adults or old ones. Spend
a good time in Delhi seeing all the tourist attractions in
Delhi for a memorable tour.
Historical Tourist Attractions in Delhi
The journey of exploration of Delhi should ideally begin
with the visit to the Qutub Minar. Besides being one of the
important tourist attractions in Delhi, it is a major landmarks
not only of Delhi but also of India. The construction of the
minar was started during the Slave Dynasty by Qutub-ud-Din
Aibak in 1199 AD and concluded by Iltutmish. The 72.5 m high
tapering minar with 379 steps is also famous as the highest
stone tower ever raised in India. Qutub Minar is surrounded
by several other structures such as Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque,
Iron Pillar, Tomb of Iltutmish, Alai Darwaza and Alai Minar.
Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq in the ruined city of Tughlaqabad
is among important historical tourist attractions in Delhi.
The tomb was originally positioned in the middle of a reservoir
and was approached only by a fortified land bridge from the
fort. The simple mausoleum is pentagon in shape and cyclopean
walls of red sandstone. All the four walls of the tomb have
arched gateways decorated with delicate latticework and the
dome is made entirely of white marble.
Humayun's Tomb should not be missed on tour to Delhi as it
is a specimen of one of the earliest Mughal buildings and
is enlisted as UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Built at the
orders of Bega Begum or Haji Begum, the Persian wife of Humayun,
the construction was started in1562 AD and completed in 1572
AD and designed by the famous Persian architect, Mirak Mirza
Ghiyuath. The Humayun's Tomb occupies the central stage surrounded
by 36 gardens divided equally by a crisscross of water channels
and pathways. The octagonal mausoleum rests over a square
plinth with arcades. The cenotaph of the Mughal Emperor, Humayun
and his Queen Bega Begum lies in the central room. The crowning
glory of the tomb is a 42.5 m high stupendous double dome.
The another major landmark as well as tourist attractions
of Delhi is the Red Fort. Initiated in 1618 AD at the orders
of Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, the Red Fort completed in 1647
AD. The fort is largely built of red sandstone with the cover
of shell plaster polish that gives the impression of being
the ivory. The important buildings with the fort are the Chatta
Chowk, Nawab Khana, Diwan-I-Aam, Diwan-I-Khas, Rang Mahal,
Pearl Mosque, Musamman Burj, Khwabgah and Hammans.
Colonial Tourist Attractions
Rashtrapati Bhawan is an eternal reminder of British supremacy
in India. The erstwhile residence of the Viceroy of India,
the palatial building is now the residence the ruling President
of India. Designed by Lutyens as the part of British New Delhi
over Raisina Hill, the Rashtrapati Bhawan is larger than the
Palace of Versailles. Another tourist attraction within the
Rashtrapati Bhawan is the Mughal Gardens. Lutyens planned
the gardens at the request of Lady Harding who was highly
impressed by the Mughal gardens of Kashmir. Lutyens was successful
in recreating the Kashmiri gardens with all the ornamental
fountains, waterfalls, paved pathways, ornamental plants,
fruit-bearing trees, flowers and shrubs. The Mughal Gardens
are open for public during the spring season when the garden
is at its best beauty.
India Gate was built as the War Memorial by the British to
honor the sacrifice of 90,000 India soldiers in the North
West Province during the First World War and the Afghan Fiasco
of 1919 AD. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the work on this
memorial began with the foundation stone being laid by the
Duke of on 10th February 1921 and the was complete in 1931
AD. Built of sandstone, the names of all the soldiers are
inscribed on the walls of India Gate. Amar Jawan Jyoti, an
eternal flame is always burning in the memory of the soldiers
killed in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
Modern Tourist Attractions
The National Museum is the most apt place if you are inquisitive
about history, culture and heritage of Delhi. The biggest
museum in India, it possesses 2,00,000 antiquities from worldwide
spanning over 5000 years of history displayed at both permanent
and temporary galleries. The antiquities of the museum includes
art objects, costumes, fallen or broken pieces of historical
monuments, gems and jewelry, manuscripts, paintings of different
schools of art, pottery, rare coins, religious scriptures
and sculptures. One of the most popular and well-presented
permanent galleries is the Harappan Gallery.
The Rail Transport Museum is among popular tourist attractions
in Delhi particularly for children. Visit the place to trace
the history of 150 years of railways in India. The museum
is spread over 10 acres of land and displays a large collection
of locomotives and carriages in open. You will enjoy watching
the vintage trains such as the Viceregal Dining Car (1889
AD), Prince of Wales Saloon (1875 AD), Maharaja of Mysore's
Saloon (1899 AD) and Maharaja of Baroda's Saloon (1886 AD)
as much as the kids. The replica of the first steam engine
in India that covered the distance from Mumbai to Thane in
1853 AD is also on display.
The Garden of Five Senses is among the latest tourist attractions
in Delhi inaugurated only in 2003. Located at Said-ul-Azaib
near Mehrauli, the garden is spread over an area of 20 acres
of changing scenery. As is suggestive from the name, the garden
is designed to awaken each of the five human senses of vision,
hearing, smell, touch and taste. The sight of the flowers
in myriad hues, the sound of gentle music, the sweet and pleasant
fragrance, the feel of the beautiful objects and test of your
taste buds at exclusively allocated spaces in the garden to
arouse a particular sense.
Religious Tourist Attractions in Delhi
The Lakshmi Narayan Temple was built by the renowned business
family of the Birlas, particularly Raja Baldev Das Birla.
That is why, it is better known as the Birla Temple. The temple
is dedicated to Lord Lakshmi Narayan or Vishnu and was completed
in 6 years from 1933 AD to 1939 AD.
The Lotus Temple is one of the modern tourist attractions
in Delhi. The temple is built of marble, cement, dolomite
and sand in the shape of a lotus. Fariborz Sahba, an Canada-based
Iranian took ten years to design and construct this temple
with the help of almost 800 engineers, technicians, artisans
and laborers. The Lotus Temple comprises of three ranks of
nine petals and nine reflecting pools that surround the building.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is built on the site of the bungalow
of Mirza Raja Jai Singh and was originally called Jaisinghpura
Palace. Because of its construction over an erstwhile palace,
it is called Bangla Sahib. This gurudwara sees thousands of
devotees every day not only of Sikh faith but also from other
religious beliefs and faiths.
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