Delhi Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Delhi

Walk the garden tombs of Humayun and the Lodis

Humayun's Tomb stands in a charbagh, a garden divided into four by causeways, and opens daily from sunrise, so an early walk beats the heat. Lodhi Garden is a public park scattered with Sayyid and Lodi tombs, and Safdarjung's Tomb of 1753–54 was the last enclosed garden tomb built in Delhi. Our Golden Triangle Tour — 6 days gives Humayun's Tomb and India Gate the afternoon of its Delhi sightseeing day.

Explore the Qutb Minar, Mehrauli and Hauz Khas

Start at the 72.5-metre Qutb Minar, then follow the paths of Mehrauli Archaeological Park next door: about 200 acres and some hundred monuments from five centuries, the Rajon ki Baoli stepwell among them. Finish at Hauz Khas, where Firoz Shah Tughlaq's madrasa of 1352 overlooks the old royal tank.

Walk Kartavya Path to India Gate at dusk

The avenue leads from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the National War Memorial and its eternal flame beside India Gate. Arrive as the arch is floodlit; some parts of the area close to visitors after dark.

Book a circuit at Rashtrapati Bhavan

The President's house runs separate tours of its main building, its museum and the Amrit Udyan gardens, plus the Change of Guard ceremony, all booked on its official visitor website. The gardens open only for periods announced each year, usually from early February.

See Akshardham's exhibitions and water show

Swaminarayan Akshardham surrounds a carved mandir with exhibition halls, including a cultural boat ride, and holds a water show after sunset. Phones and cameras go into the cloakroom, shoulders, upper arms and knees must be covered, and the complex shuts on Mondays.

Share a meal at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

The gurudwara near Connaught Place never closes, and volunteers in its langar, the community kitchen, serve free meals to thousands of people a day. A scarf to cover your head is expected.

Shop and snack at Dilli Haat

Dilli Haat INA, open every day beside its own metro station, puts craft stalls from across the country next to food stalls run by different states, so a visit is part shopping, part lunch. The 10 Days Delhi Agra Jaipur with Golden Temple Tour keeps its last afternoon in Delhi free for shopping.

Old Delhi's walks and food lanes

The Red Fort, the Jama Masjid and the bazaars of the walled city are on our Old Delhi page. Two experiences listed here start there: the Old Delhi heritage walk and the Old Delhi street food walk, each a few hours in the lanes with a local guide.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

The two walks are experiences of a few hours, easy to fit into a free morning or evening; they also sit under heritage and architecture in Delhi and culinary experiences in Delhi. Our tour packages all begin in Delhi and move on. The Golden Triangle tour runs the classic circuit at your own pace with a private guide and vehicle, the six-day version is built around a night in Agra for the Taj at sunrise, and Golden Triangle with kids slows it for children of about six and over. For the Ganges, choose Golden Triangle with Varanasi — 8 days; for Amritsar, the ten-day tour; for two weeks from Rajasthan to Varanasi and Rishikesh, the North India Classic Tour — 14 days. See all our Delhi tour packages.

When to go for these

Delhi Tourism recommends October to March, the months to walk the tomb gardens, Mehrauli and Kartavya Path in comfort; IMD's averages put January afternoons barely above 20°C. Winter mornings are often foggy, enough to delay flights, trains and a drive to Agra, and still, cold spells trap smog, bringing graded restrictions across the capital region. From April to June, with May afternoons close to 40°C, see the gardens at opening time and spend the afternoon indoors at Akshardham or the National Museum. July and August are the wettest months.

Planning tips

Akshardham and the National Museum close on Mondays, but Humayun's Tomb, Lodhi Garden and Safdarjung's Tomb open every day, so make Monday a garden day. The southern tombs and Mehrauli are far apart, so a car saves time between them. The sights themselves are described in our Delhi travel guide.