Travel in Delhi

Delhi is two cities that never merged. Old Delhi is the Mughal one — the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, and the lanes of the old city, thick with spices, tea, cloth and street food. New Delhi is what the British left: wide avenues, a government district whose buildings still carry the spirit of a fading British India, and India Gate, raised for the dead of the First World War. Our own office is here. Ten of our India trips include Delhi.

Nine of those ten begin here. On eight of them you fly out individually and land early the next morning; a member of staff meets you at the airport and transfers you to your hotel. The day after is the sightseeing day, and six itineraries run it the same way: the Red Fort seen from the outside, the Jama Masjid — India's largest mosque, which holds up to 20,000 at prayer — then the old city lanes, India Gate, a drive through the government district, and a closing walk through Lodhi Garden past some of Delhi's oldest tombs. Five of those six also stop at the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, the largest Sikh temple in the city.

Beyond that day, what you see depends on the trip. The Qutb Minar — a victory tower and minaret from the early 13th century, over 72 metres tall, standing beside the remains of Delhi's oldest mosque — is on four itineraries. Humayun's Tomb is on one, Golden Triangle & Colors of India. The Akshardham Temple with its light-and-water show (closed Mondays), the Lotus Temple, Khari Baoli off Chandni Chowk — Asia's largest spice market — Raj Ghat and its eternal flame at Gandhi's cremation site, and a ride on the Delhi metro all belong to a single trip: the 21-day North India – landscapes and culture, which touches the city three separate times.

Delhi is where most routes turn. Rajasthan – The Land of Kings gives it two nights at the start, then drives to Agra the morning after the sightseeing day, arriving in the afternoon. It is the domestic-flight hub too: trips fly back into Delhi from Jodhpur, Udaipur and Varanasi, and from Bagdogra after Kalimpong and Darjeeling; one returns by train from Haridwar. Across all ten, trips run seven to 21 days, from EUR 1,000, and every one is guided.

Plan for the last day, because it catches people out. Seven of the ten fly home from Delhi, and on six of those the flight goes after midnight. Those days end the same way: a hotel room near the airport to shower and rest — a day room, not a room for the night — then a farewell dinner before the transfer. Golden Triangle & Spirituality is the one that puts a number on the room: about three hours. What fills the hours before it varies. On On the Trails of the Maharajas, Colourful Rajasthan & Himalayas and North India it is a full day of Delhi sightseeing. On Rajasthan – The Land of Kings and Golden Triangle & Spirituality you fly in from Udaipur or Varanasi and rest. Royal Rajasthan & Varanasi is the exception: an ordinary daytime transfer, no day room.

One correction worth making in advance: our Holi trip starts in Delhi but does not celebrate Holi there. On Golden Triangle & Colors of India, Delhi is the welcome dinner on the arrival evening, then the Qutb Minar and Humayun's Tomb the next morning before the drive to Agra. Holi itself is day five, in a royal garden in Jaipur.