Delhi Sightseeing, Quick Facts, History, Packages, Tours & Excursions

Delhi, the capital of India, is located in north India, surrounded by Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on three sides, straddling the river Yamuna. Administratively, it is a Union Territory, called the National Capital Region, but it is also partially a state, having been given its own legislative assembly in 1991. In addition there are the closely linked satellite towns of Gurgaon and Faridabad in Haryana and NOIDA and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

Contemporary Delhi includes all the sites that had been the capitals of North Indian empires for a thousand years from the many dynasties collectively called the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526), to the Mughal Empire (1526-1857), to the British colonialists who made it their capital in 1912. It was declared independent India's capital in 1947.

Several monuments are evidence of this history. Among them: the Qutb Minar (12th-beginning of 13th century) and Humayun's Tomb (1570) both World Heritage Sites; the Mughal citadel Red Fort (1648); India's largest mosque, the Jama Masjid; the British-built India Gate and the planned and green area of British New Delhi, now holding political and bureaucratic residences, the Indian Parliament and President's House. In fact, the Archaeological Survey of India recognizes some 175 monuments in Delhi as heritage sites. Thus, Delhi often forms a visitor's Golden Triangle with Agra (200 kms away) and Jaipur (250 kms away), to which it is very well connected.

Delhi is also a shopper's hub with the centrally located Connaught Place market, South Extension, and many malls all over town, especially in Gurgaon. All big hospitality chains have hotels here, and restaurant and bars abound.

Delhi has the Indira Gandhi International Airport and is connected to various cities in India and the world. It is by and large thought of as a hot city and a summer visit, up to humid September, is best avoided.