Key areas
Old Delhi This is the ultimate cliché of the Eastern bazaar, with silver spices and flowers by the tonne, but also Mughal monuments, historic mosques, Sikh gurdwaras and Hindu temples. Delhi’s oldest church is on the periphery.
India Gate, Lodi Gardens, Defence Colony The triangle formed by these landmarks is a mixed and quite magical locality. India Gate is bounded by the ceremonial avenue topped by the majestic Presidential Palace. The Lodi area is scattered with grand tombs in landscaped gardens, important institutional buildings and stylish residences. The Defence Colony market has shops and restaurants. Nizamuddin East and West The former is stylish, the latter nouveau riche. The area is also infused with mysticism, due to the location of the iconic Sufi shrine the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. There’s a touch of class in the form of the Oberoi Hotel and colour in the form of the bric-abrac market at Sunder Nagar. Connaught Place (CP) Imperial Delhi’s business district is formed by an inner and outer ring road. Delhi’s hub is crammed with shops, eateries and offices, including many airline ticket offices. Chanakyapuri The diplomatic enclave is full of sprawling embassies with impressive architecture and huge gardens. The ITC Maurya Sheraton and the Taj Palace hotels overlook a wild jungle called the Ridge. This is fun to gaze at from the safety of an upper-floor window, but not to venture into, as monkeys and other wildlife can be a hazard.
Hauz Khas A real village surrounding an ancient tank, this enclave has turned into a touristy, boutique-studded attraction with a deer park attached.
Greater Kailash (GK) This residential area is best for shopping and dining.
Nehru Place This is a rather prosaic new business district.
Qutb-Mehrauli Shops, both stylish and kitschy, have sprung up around the central magnet of the Qutb Minar complex, a magnificent collection of India’s earliest Muslim monuments. Beyond are the power towers of Gurgaon.
Getting around
You can’t flag down taxis, you have to call for one. Ask your hotel or Dial a Cab (Tel: 1920, 1923 or 1929).
For car hire, your hotel is the safest bet. Or try Kidwai Nagar (Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite INA market, near Dilli Haat, Tel: 2467 4153/2688 4312/2336 5358/2336 3607). You can choose from a boxy local Ambassador, saloon cars or the luxury Mercedes. Air-conditioning is reliable and essential.
Auto-rickshaws are cheap and adventurous, but only take them for short distances. Bargain down the rate beforehand, even if there’s a meter. Getting around the old-fashioned way, on foot, is imperative in Old Delhi and fairly good elsewhere. It’s the best way to enjoy the expansive parts of the city and get a feel for the more crowded ones. Watch your wallet, though.
Best advice on buses: don’t even think about it.
Shopping
Delhi has decidedly the best shopping in India in terms of both ethnic and contemporary products across a huge range of prices. Bargaining is fun and possible in most private outlets. Old Delhi and New Delhi offer a diverse range shopping options, and there are also the malls of Gurgaon. Then there are the retail markets at Greater Kailash-1, N Block (especially Fabindia, Hidesign and The Next Shop), South Extension, and the crowded Lajpatnagar, where matrons on a shopping high sweep up printed and embroidered material at really competitive prices. The designer labels are clustered farther out at Kutb Colonnade and Stylemile ( both in the shadow of the Qutb Minar) and 1 MG Road towards Gurgaon.
Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk (‘moonlit square’) is 500 years old and was designed by the daughter of Shah Jahan, who built both the Taj and the Red Fort. Exotica is swamped under petty trade and decrepit buildings, but you can ferret out great silver stuff in Dariba Kalan (Durr-eeba Ka-laan). Khari Baoli (Khurre Bao-li) is closer to the original, being a spice bazaar by day and a flower market in the evening. In New Delhi, browse for artefacts and semi-precious jewellery and beads, especially Tibetan, on Janpath, where you can buy hand-embroidered footwear (moj-rees) and funky sequined handbags. Unfortunately the clothes are rather tacky. INA Market is the place to go for giant freshwater fish, a vial of aged Italian balsamic vinegar and all imaginable produce in between. Nearby is the ethnic showpiece, Dilli Haat, which is great for handicrafts, hand-woven stuff, funky accessories and food from all over India.
Gifts to buy
Top buys are shawls, silks, Western wear, fusion designer stuff, soft furnishings, carpets, hand-made wrapping paper, gift tags and bags. Everything is labelled pashmina, though it usually isn’t. And of course there’s silverware and silver to wear. Indeed, all manner of material is shaped into exquisite handicrafts at ridiculously low prices, considering the laborious workmanship.
Precious and semi-precious gems are a steal. Designer clothes and leather accessories, contemporary silver as well as great quilts can be found in the small boutiques of Santushti Complex (Tel: 2688 7179/2688 7180) diagonally opposite the Ashok Hotel. There’s a great little restaurant here called Basil And Thyme, run by a cordon bleu female chef. Handicrafts are reliable at the Cottage Industries Emporium off Janpath and, close by, the 18 state emporia on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, off Connaught Place. Sundarnagar (near The Oberoi hotel) is great for decorative art and semi-precious jewellery. Check out La Boutique at the far end.
Tea is a conventional gift, now available in attractive flavours and packaging. The Sancha brand comes in velvet, brocade or tie-dyed pouches. Find it at the duty-free and government emporia, or call for hotel delivery (Tel: 2326 0373/2328 7775). You can sip from a selection at the elegant
Aap ki Pasand store at the entrance to Old Delhi, opposite Golcha Cinema. Satya Paul’s silk scarves, ties, stoles and accessories come stylishly packed (Tel: 2568/2680 4176).
Things to do
Delhi is a great city to wander around in the cool season. Every couple of kilometres you’ll find some monument constructed by one of the seven empires that left their cultural stamp on this city. Or take a Delhi Tourism Bus for an overview. Delhi walks are organised by heritage groups and are very worthwhile. Old Delhi is evocative and frenetic while New Delhi offers a spectacular architectural perspective along its central mall the Raj Path. Not very imaginative museums and galleries are scattered around here.
Delhi’s evocative tombs, forts and gates, all lie in the heart of the city, all whispering about conquest and trade, romance and intrigue. A must is Humayun’s Tomb, splendidly restored by the Aga Khan Foundation.
A global Sufi Music festival is organised here around March by the artist-designer Muzaffar Ali. Every Thursday evening, a less high-brow but mind-blowing experience can be had across the road, as Sufi singers belt out their passion at the tomb of Hazrat Nizamuddin while thousands of devotees make votive offerings and wishes.
The evocative ruins of the Purana Qila (the old fort) are juxtaposed against the modern pavilions of the trade fairgrounds. The Red Fort has its own fabled story conjured up by a sound and light show in Hindi and English (Tel: 2327 4580/2321 4833). Wander through the little shops after that and round off the evening with kababs at Karim’s.
Excursions
You probably won’t feel the need to leave multilayered Delhi–there are eight cities to explore right here. But if you feel you must add another place-name to your postcards home, hire a car and drive out to the Tughlaqabad Fort or the stepped well of Suraj Kund, which dates back to epic antiquity. The Okhla Barrage is a treat for birdwatchers in winter.
Actually, Delhi’s green spaces, including the jungle of the Ridge, offer a variety of bird life in the heart of the city, from tiny hummingbirds to flamboyant peacocks— and troops of monkeys.
If you have a day and night to spare, you couldn’t do better than chill out at the Neemrana Fort Resort (Tel: 2435 6145, 2435 8962, 2435 5214), half-way to Jaipur. If you have a full weekend, you are spoilt for choice, from Jaipur (three hours by road) to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple of the Sikhs (six hours by an air-conditioned chair-car train).
The promoters of Neemrana also have a tranquil property, the Glasshouse on the Ganges (Tel: 01378 269 224), at Rishikesh, a six-hour drive away on the edge of the Himalayas. Rishikesh got global fame via the Beatles who came here to the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Or try the awesome spa experience at Ananda (Tel: 2653 5231).
But the ultimate experience is the Taj Mahal, at Agra, just a four-hour drive or three-hour train ride away. Do yourself a favour, don’t make a wham-bam encounter out of the world’s most enduring monument to eternal love. Experience its changing persona at dawn and dusk. It’s worth timing your Delhi visit to the moon.
Night viewing of the Taj is now permitted during the five days surrounding the full moon—awesome.
Tourist traps
Enjoy every monument and lane Delhi has to offer, but ordinary cautions apply. It’s not just women who must stay clear of deserted areas after dusk and don’t chat with beggars or touts.
Convention centres
Delhi has the best and biggest in India. Pragati Maidan Exhibition Complex (Tel: 2337 1540/1033) is spread over 100,000 square metres, has 17 exhibition halls, three auditoria and three open-air theatres. Vigyan Bhavan (Tel: 2301 9396/2301 9720) has hosted high-profile official international conferences such as CHOGM and NAM. Its equipment and simultaneous translation facilities meet international standards.
Taj Palace Hotel (Tel: 2611 0202, Fax: 2611 0808) is the most popular of the private convention spaces. It has 13 halls and can accommodate seminars for 700 delegates and even a grand reception for 1,000 guests. It includes two lush lawns which can fit 500 guests for cocktails and cultural performances.
The Ashok Hotel’s convention hall seats 2,000 and its banquet hall fits 400 (Tel: 2611 0101, Fax: 2687 3216).
Habitat World (Tel: 2468 2222, Fax: 2468 2054), at India Habitat Centre, can host 20 functions simultaneously. It has seven landscaped outdoor facilities and a 480-seat auditorium.