Delhi Tourism

Delhi

Delhi:- ( दिल्ली ) Delhi officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCTD, is a city and a union territory of India.It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east. The NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to 2011 census, Delhi's city population was about 11 million, the second highest in India after Mumbai, while the whole NCTD population was about 16.8 million, making it the world's 3rd largest city proper by population.Delhi's urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCTD boundary to include an estimated population of over 26 million people making it the world's second largest urban area.As of 2016 recent estimates of the metro economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the top or second most productive metro area of India.Delhi is the second wealthiest city after Mumbai in India, with a total wealth of $450 billion and home to 18 billionaires and 23,000 millionaires.

Delhi has been continuously inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and empires. It has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. A union territory, the political administration of the NCTD of Delhi today more closely resembles that of a state of India, with its own legislature, high court and an executive council of ministers headed by a Chief Minister. New Delhi is jointly administered by the federal government of India and the local government of Delhi, and is the capital of the NCTD of Delhi. Delhi hosted the first and ninth Asian Games in 1951 and 1982 respectively, 1983 NAM Summit, 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup, 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2012 BRICS Summit and was one of the major host cities of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region (NCR), which is a unique 'interstate regional planning' area created by the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985.

Red Fort,Delhi

History:- The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC and there is evidence of continuous inhabitation since at least the 6th century BC.The city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata.According to Mahabharata, this land was initially a huge mass of forests called 'Khandavaprastha' which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha. The earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period (c. 300 BC); in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273–235 BC) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight major cities have been discovered in Delhi. The first five cities were in the southern part of present-day Delhi. Gurjara-Pratihara King AnangPal of the Tomara dynasty founded the city of Lal Kot in AD 736. Prithviraj Chauhan conquered Lal Kot in 1178 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.

The king Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori, a Tajik invader from Afghanistan, who made a concerted effort to conquer northern India.By 1200, native Hindu resistance had begun to crumble, the dominance of foreign Turkic Muslim dynasties in north India was to last for the next five centuries. The slave general of Ghori, Qutb-ud-din Aibak was given the responsibility of governing the conquered territories of India and then Ghori returned to his capital, Ghor. He died in 1206 AD. He had no heirs and so his generals declared themselves independent in different parts of his empire. Qutb-ud-din assumed control of Ghori's Indian possessions. He laid the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mamluk Dynasty. he began construction of the Qutb Minar and Quwwat-al-Islam (Might of Islam) mosque, the earliest extant mosque in India. Qutb-ud-din faced widespread Hindu rebellions because he broke several ancient temples to acquire wealth and material to build mosques and other monuments. It was his successor, Iltutmish (1211–36), who consolidated the Turkic conquest of northern India. Razia Sultan, daughter of Iltutmish, succeeded him as the Sultan of Delhi. She is the first and only woman to rule over Delhi.

Babur, was a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, from the Fergana Valley in modern-day Uzbekistan. In 1526, he invaded India, defeated the last Lodhi sultan in the First Battle of Panipat and founded the Mughal Empire that ruled from Delhi and Agra. The Mughal dynasty ruled Delhi for more than three centuries, with a sixteen-year hiatus during the reigns of Sher Shah Suri and Hemu from 1540 to 1556. In 1553, the Hindu king, Hemu acceded to the throne of Delhi by defeating forces of Mughal Emperor Humayun at Agra and Delhi. However, the Mughals re-established their rule after Akbar's army defeated Hemu during the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556.Shah Jahan built the seventh city of Delhi that bears his name Shahjahanabad, which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1638 and is today known as the Old City or Old Delhi.For the next three hundred years, Delhi was ruled by a succession of Turkic and an Afghan, Lodi dynasty. They built several forts and townships that are part of the seven cities of Delhi.Delhi was a major centre of Sufism during this period. The Mamluk Sultanate (Delhi) was overthrown in 1290 by Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji (1290–1320). Under the second Khilji ruler, Ala-ud-din Khilji, the Delhi sultanate extended its control south of the Narmada River in the Deccan. The Delhi sultanate reached its greatest extent during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325–1351). In an attempt to bring the whole of the Deccan under control, he moved his capital to Daulatabad, Maharashtra in central India. However, by moving away from Delhi he lost control of the north and was forced to return to Delhi to restore order. The southern provinces then broke away. In the years following the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388), the Delhi sultanate rapidly began to lose its hold over its northern provinces. Delhi was captured and sacked by Timur Lenk in 1398, who massacred 100,000 captives.Delhi's decline continued under the Sayyid dynasty (1414–1451), until the sultanate was reduced to Delhi and its hinterland. Under the Afghan Lodi dynasty(1451–1526), the Delhi sultanate recovered control of the Punjab and the Gangetic plain to once again achieve domination over Northern India. However, the recovery was short-lived and the sultanate was destroyed in 1526 by Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty.

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire from Deccan Plateau rose to prominence. In 1737, Maratha forces sacked Delhi following their victory against the Mughals in the First Battle of Delhi. In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but militarily superior Persian army led by Nader Shah of Persia. After his invasion, he completely sacked and looted Delhi, carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Darya-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor. The Mughals, severely further weakened, could never overcome this crushing defeat and humiliation which also left the way open for more invaders to come, including eventually the British. Nader eventually agreed to leave the city and India after forcing the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah I to beg him for mercy and granting him the keys of the city and the royal treasury.A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protectors of the Mughal throne in Delhi.

In 1757, the Afghan ruler, Ahmad Shah Durrani, sacked Delhi. He returned to Afghanistan leaving a Mughal puppet ruler in nominal control. The Marathas again occupied Delhi in 1758, and were in control until their defeat in 1761 at the third battle of Panipat when the city was captured again by Ahmad Shah. However, in 1771, the Marathas established a protectorate over Delhi when the Maratha ruler, Mahadji Shinde, recaptured Delhi and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II was installed as a puppet ruler in 1772. In 1783, Sikhs under Baghel Singh captured Delhi and Red Fort but due to the treaty signed, Sikhs withdrew from Red Fort and agreed to restore Shah Alam II as the emperor. In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi.

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Delhi fell to the forces of East India Company after a bloody fight known as the Siege of Delhi. The city came under the direct control of the British Government in 1858. It was made a district province of the Punjab.In 1911, it was announced that the capital of British held territories in India was to be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. The name "New Delhi" was given in 1927, and the new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931. New Delhi, also known as Lutyens' Delhi, was officially declared as the capital of the Union of India after the country gained independence on 15 August 1947. During the partition of India, thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees, mainly from West Punjab fled to Delhi, while many Muslim residents of the city migrated to Pakistan. Migration to Delhi from the rest of India continues (as of 2013), contributing more to the rise of Delhi's population than the birth rate, which is declining.

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 created the Union Territory of Delhi from the its predecessor the Chief Commissioner's Province of Delhi.The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Act gave Delhi its own legislative assembly along Civil lines, though with limited powers.In December 2001, the Parliament of India building in New Delhi was attacked by armed militants, killing six security personnel.India suspected Pakistan-based militant groups were behind the attack, which caused a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries.There were further terrorist attacks in Delhi in October 2005 and September 2008, resulting in a total of 103 deaths.

Ecology:- Delhi is located at 28.61°N 77.23°E, and lies in Northern India. It borders the Indian states of Haryana on the north, west and south and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to the east. Two prominent features of the geography of Delhi are the Yamuna flood plains and the Delhi ridge. The Yamuna river was the historical boundary between Punjab and UP, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but are prone to recurrent floods. The Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi. The Hindon River separates Ghaziabad from the eastern part of Delhi. The Delhi ridge originates from the Aravalli Range in the south and encircles the west, north-east and north-west parts of the city. It reaches a height of 318 m (1,043 ft) and is a dominant feature of the region.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi covers an area of 1,484 km² (573 sq mi), of which 783 km² (302 sq mi) is designated rural, and 700 km² (270 sq mi) urban therefore making it the largest city in terms of area in the country. It has a length of 51.9 km (32 mi) and a width of 48.48 km (30 mi).

Climate:- Delhi features an atypical version of the humid subtropical climate bordering a hot semi-arid climate. The warm season lasts from 9 April to 8 July with an average daily high temperature above 36 °C (97 °F). The hottest day of the year is 22 May, with an average high of 38 °C (100 °F) and low of 25 °C (77 °F).The cold season lasts from 11 December to 11 February with an average daily high temperature below 18 °C (64 °F). The coldest day of the year is 4 January, with an average low of 2 °C (36 °F) and high of 15 °C (59 °F). In early March, the wind direction changes from north-westerly to south-westerly. From April to October the weather is hot. The monsoon arrives at the end of June, along with an increase in humidity. The brief, mild winter starts in late November, peaks in January and heavy fog often occurs.

Temperatures in Delhi usually range from 5 to 40 °C (41.0 to 104.0 °F), with the lowest and highest temperatures ever recorded being −2.2 and 48.4 °C (28.0 and 119.1 °F) respectively.The annual mean temperature is 25 °C (77 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 13 to 32 °C (55 to 90 °F). The highest temperature recorded in July was 45 °C (113 °F) in 1931.The average annual rainfall is approximately 714 mm (28.1 in), most of which falls during the monsoon in July and August. The average date of the advent of monsoon winds in Delhi is 29 June.

Air Pollution:- According to WHO Delhi was the most polluted city in the world in 2014. In 2016 WHO downgraded Delhi to eleventh-worst in the urban air quality database.According to one estimate, air pollution causes the death of about 10,500 people in Delhi every year.During 2013–14, peak levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in Delhi increased by about 44%, primarily due to high vehicular and industrial emissions, construction work and crop burning in adjoining states.Delhi has the highest level of the airborne particulate matter, PM2.5 considered most harmful to health, with 153 micrograms.Rising air pollution level has significantly increased lung-related ailments (especially asthma and lung cancer) among Delhi's children and women. The dense smog in Delhi during winter season results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year.According to Indian meteorologists, the average maximum temperature in Delhi during winters has declined notably since 1998 due to rising air pollution.

Environmentalists have criticised the Delhi government for not doing enough to curb air pollution and to inform people about air quality issues.Most of Delhi's residents are unaware of alarming levels of air pollution in the city and the health risks associated with it however, as of 2015, awareness, particularly among the foreign diplomatic community and high-income Indians, was noticeably increasing.Since the mid-1990s, Delhi has undertaken some measures to curb air pollution – Delhi has the third highest quantity of trees among Indian cities and the Delhi Transport Corporation operates the world's largest fleet of environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In 1996, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) started a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court of India that ordered the conversion of Delhi's fleet of buses and taxis to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and banned the use of leaded petrol in 1998. In 2003, Delhi won the United States Department of Energy's first 'Clean Cities International Partner of the Year' award for its "bold efforts to curb air pollution and support alternative fuel initiatives". The Delhi Metro has also been credited for significantly reducing air pollutants in the city.

However, according to several authors, most of these gains have been lost, especially due to stubble burning, a rise in the market share of diesel cars and a considerable decline in bus ridership.According to CSE and System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), burning of agricultural waste in nearby Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regions results in severe intensification of smog over Delhi. The state government of Uttar Pradesh is considering imposing a ban on crop burning to reduce pollution in Delhi NCR and an environmental panel has appealed to India's Supreme Court to impose a 30% cess on diesel cars.

The Circles of Sustainability assessment of Delhi gives a marginally more favourable impression of the ecological sustainability of the city only because it is based on a more comprehensive series of measures than only air pollution. Part of the reason that the city remains assessed at basic sustainability is because of the low resource-use and carbon emissions of its poorer neighbourhoods.

Culture:-

Delhi's culture has been influenced by its lengthy history and historic association as the capital of India, Although a strong Punjabi Influence can be seen in language, Dress and Cuisine brought by the large number of refugees who came following the partition in 1947 the recent migration from other parts of India has made it a melting pot. This is exemplified by many significant monuments in the city. Delhi is also identified as the location of Indraprastha, the ancient capital of the Pandavas. The Archaeological Survey of India recognises 1200 heritage buildings and 175 monuments as national heritage sites.In the Old City, the Mughals and the Turkic rulers constructed several architecturally significant buildings, such as the Jama Masjid – India's largest mosque built in 1656 and the Red Fort. Three World Heritage Sites – the Red Fort, Qutab Minar and Humayun's Tomb – are located in Delhi. Other monuments include the India Gate, the Jantar Mantar – an 18th-century astronomical observatory – and the Purana Qila – a 16th-century fortress. The Laxminarayan temple, Akshardham temple, the Bahá'í Lotus temple and the ISKCON temple are examples of modern architecture. Raj Ghat and associated memorials houses memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and other notable personalities. New Delhi houses several government buildings and official residences reminiscent of British colonial architecture, including the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Secretariat, Rajpath, the Parliament of India and Vijay Chowk. Humayan's Tomb is an example of the Mughal gardens style. Some regal havelis (palatial residences) are in the Old City.

Lotus Temple, is a Bahá'í House of Worship completed in 1986. Notable for its flowerlike shape, it serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent and has become a prominent attraction in the city. The Lotus Temple has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. Like all other Bahá'í Houses of Worship, is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as emphasised in Bahá'í texts. The Bahá'í laws emphasise that the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions. The Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore, no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practised.

Chandni Chowk, a 17th-century market, is one of the most popular shopping areas in Delhi for jewellery and Zari saris.Delhi's arts and crafts include, Zardosi – an embroidery done with gold thread –and Meenakari – the art of enamelling.

Tourism:-

According to Euromonitor International, Delhi ranked as 28th most visited city in the world and first in India by foreign visitors in 2015.There are numerous tourist attractions in Delhi, both historic and modern.

Qutb Minar Complex:-

Qutb Minar Complex,Delhi

Red Fort:-

Red Fort,Delhi

Humayun's Tomb:-

Humayun Tomb,Delhi

Indo-Islamic architecture:-

Indo Islamic,Delhi

India Gate:-

India Gate a 1931 built war memorial to soldiers of British Indian Army who died during First World War.

India Gate,Delhi

Jantar Mantar:-

Jantar Mantar,Delhi

Purana Qila:-

Purana Qila,Delhi

Akshardham Temple:-

Akshardham Temple,Delhi

Laxminarayan Temple:-

Laxminarayan Temple,Delhi

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib:-

Gurudwara Bangla sahib,Delhi

Lotus Temple:-

Lotus Temple,Delhi

Jama Masjid:-

Jama Masjid,Delhi

ISKCON Temple:-

ISKCON Temple,Delhi

Connaught Place:-

Connaught Place,Delhi

Chandni Chowk:-

Chandni chowk Market,Delhi

Khan Market:-

Khan Market,Delhi

Dilli Haat Market:-

Dilli Haat Market,Delhi

How To Reach:-

Bus:- Delhi has the highest road density of 2103 km/100 km² in India.Buses are the most popular means of road transport catering to about 60% of Delhi's total demand.Delhi has one of India's largest bus transport systems. Buses are operated by the state-owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which owns the largest fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG)-fueled buses in the world. Personal vehicles especially cars also form a major chunk of vehicles plying on Delhi roads. Delhi has the highest number of registered cars compared to any other metropolitan city in India. Taxis, auto rickshaws, and cycle rickshaws also ply on Delhi roads in large numbers.

Delhi is connected by Road to various parts of the country through several National Highways:

National Highway 1 (India) or (NH 1) is a National Highway in Northern India that links the National capital New Delhi to the town of Attari in Punjab near the Indo-Pakistan border.
National Highway 2 (India) (NH 2) commonly referred as Delhi-Kolkata Road is a busy Indian National Highway that runs through the states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
National Highway 8 (India) (NH 8) is a National Highway in India that connects the Indian capital city of New Delhi with the Indian Financial capital city of Mumbai.
National Highway 10 (India) (NH 10) is a National Highway in northern India that originates at Delhi and ends at the town of Fazilka in Punjab near the Indo-Pakistan border.
National Highway 24 (India) (NH 24) is a National Highway in India that connects the National capital Delhi to Uttar Pradesh state capital Lucknow running 438 kilometres (272 miles) in length.

Rail:- Delhi is a major junction in the Indian railway network and is the headquarters of the Northern Railway. The five main railway stations are New Delhi railway station, Old Delhi Railway Station, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Anand Vihar Railway Terminal and Sarai Rohilla.The Delhi Metro, a mass rapid transit system built and operated by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), serves many parts of Delhi and the neighbouring cities Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. As of August 2011, the metro consists of six operational lines with a total length of 189 km (117 mi) and 146 stations, and several other lines are under construction.The Phase-I was built at a cost of US$2.3 billion and the Phase-II was expected to cost an additional ₹216 billion (US$3.4 billion). Phase-II has a total length of 128 km and was completed by 2010.Delhi Metro completed 10 years of operation on 25 December 2012. It carries millions of passengers every day. In addition to the Delhi Metro, a suburban railway, the Delhi Suburban Railway exists.

Air:- Indira Gandhi International Airport, situated to the southwest of Delhi, is the main gateway for the city's domestic and international civilian air traffic. In 2015–16, the airport handled more than 48 million passengers,making it the busiest airport in India and South Asia. Terminal 3, which cost ₹96.8 billion (US$1.5 billion) to construct between 2007 and 2010, handles an additional 37 million passengers annually.

The Delhi Flying Club, established in 1928 with two de Havilland Moth aircraft named Delhi and Roshanara, was based at Safdarjung Airport which started operations in 1929, when it was the Delhi's only airport and the second in India.The airport functioned until 2001, however in January 2002 the government closed the airport for flying activities because of security concerns following the New York attacks in September 2001. Since then, the club only carries out aircraft maintenance courses and is used for helicopter rides to Indira Gandhi International Airport for VIP including the president and the prime minister.

A second airport open for commercial flights has been suggested either by expansion of Meerut Airport or construction of a new airport in Greater Noida.

Visit By Map

Happy to journey

Contact Us:-