Delhi
Seven cities on top of each other, from the Mughal walls to the imperial avenues.
Delhi has been a capital many times over, and each one left something: Sultanate tombs in the parks, Mughal forts and mosques in the old walled city, and the wide avenues, roundabouts and bungalows of the British New Delhi. It is the usual first stop in northern India and the road to Agra and Jaipur.
Why go
For the monuments: Humayun's Tomb in its garden, the Qutub Minar, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid above the lanes of Old Delhi, and the gardens of Lodhi and Sunder Nursery for the mornings.
And for the food and the contrasts: parathas and kebabs in Chandni Chowk, the markets of Hauz Khas and Khan Market, Sikh hospitality at the Bangla Sahib gurdwara, and the calm of the Lotus Temple.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01Humayun's Tomb
The garden tomb that set the pattern for the Taj Mahal, in red sandstone and white marble among lawns and water channels, with the Sunder Nursery gardens next door.
02Old Delhi: the Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk
The great mosque on its plinth above the old city, the Red Fort along the street from it, and the lanes of Chandni Chowk for spices, silver, wedding finery and long-established eating houses.
03The Qutub Minar
The twelfth-century victory tower and the ruined mosque and iron pillar around it, in the south of the city where the first sultans built.
04India Gate and New Delhi
The arch at the end of the ceremonial avenue, with the presidential palace on the hill, the parliament and the roundabouts of the imperial plan around it.
05The gardens and the tombs
Lodhi Garden's tombs and joggers, Safdarjung's tomb at the end of the avenue, and the Mehrauli archaeological park beside the Qutub, all quiet in the early morning.
06The markets and neighbourhoods
Hauz Khas village's cafés around a medieval reservoir, Khan Market's bookshops and restaurants, Dilli Haat's craft stalls and the Sunday book market in Daryaganj.
07Agra and the Taj Mahal
A morning by express train to the marble tomb on the Yamuna, the Agra Fort and, with a car, the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
Connaught Place and central New Delhi
The colonnaded circle at the centre of the plan, with the metro underneath, hotels around and the avenues to India Gate.
South Delhi
Hauz Khas, Greater Kailash and the diplomatic enclave: leafy, with the city's restaurants, boutiques and many of its guesthouses.
Old Delhi
Inside the Mughal walls: intense, historic and a few converted havelis to stay in among the lanes.
Aerocity
The hotel district beside the airport, on the metro line, for short stays and early flights.
When to go: Delhi
- WinterNovember – February
- Cool, dry and clear apart from the winter fog and smog of December and January. The season for walking the monuments.
- Shoulder monthsMarch and October
- Warm and bright, with Holi in March and Diwali in October or November. Comfortable mornings and evenings.
- SummerApril – June
- Very hot and dry; sightseeing happens at dawn and dusk, and the middle of the day belongs to the museums and the malls.
- Wet seasonJuly – September
- The monsoon brings humidity, downpours and green parks. Fewer visitors and the gardens at their lushest.
Getting there
Airports
One airport in our search serves Delhi. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- DELIndira Gandhi International
Distance from
- BOMMumbai1,150 km
- DXBDubai2,190 km
- SINSingapore4,150 km
- CDGParis6,570 km
- LHRLondon6,730 km
- JNBJohannesburg8,020 km
- SYDSydney10,430 km
- JFKNew York11,750 km
Getting around: Delhi
The metro is extensive, clean and the quickest way across a city of long distances, with a line to the airport. Ride-hailing, taxis and auto-rickshaws fill in; cycle rickshaws work the lanes of Old Delhi.
Traffic is slow and the city sprawls; group the sights by district. Trains from New Delhi station reach Agra in around two hours and Jaipur in four or five.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- India
- Currency
- INR · Indian Rupee
- Languages
- Hindi and English
- Time zone
- India Standard Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +91
The atlas
Delhi in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Delhi, month by month
- Jan21°
- Feb26°
- Mar32°
- Apr39°
- May43°
- Jun42°
- Jul37°
- Aug34°
- Sept33°
- Oct32°
- Nov28°
- Dec23°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: November to February.
Mean highs run from 21°C in January to 43°C in May, with about 750 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for DelhiModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBDelhi
2,190 km
3 hrs 20 mins · Estimate
From AUHDelhi
2,290 km
3 hrs 25 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Delhi
Plan this trip: Delhi
Open the trip builder with Delhi already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
