Old Delhi seen from a minaret of the Jama Masjid, with a marble dome in the foreground
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Delhi in 2 days

  • 2 days
  • 10.4 km on foot
  • 16 stops
  • Audio guide

Two days is the pace at which Delhi starts to win you over. You can give one day to each half of the city and still have an afternoon spare for a Mughal mausoleum and a garden. This plan suits anyone who wants to understand why Delhi is said to have been rebuilt seven times, without rushing and without skipping good food. Fewer kilometres a day, a lot more seen.

Day 1Empire, mausoleum and legend

Start with the route «New Delhi highlights», from India Gate to Bangla Sahib, while the heat still holds back. For lunch cross to the north and order parathas in Paranthe Wali Gali. The afternoon is looser: take a taxi down to Humayun's Tomb, then head back towards Raj Ghat, already close to the sunset route. That one, «Djinns, bloody gates and a lost sultana», runs from Feroz Shah Kotla to the Jama Masjid and gains from low light. Dinner is a freshly fried jalebi.

  1. Morning

    New Delhi highlights: from India Gate to the pool of Bangla Sahib

    Mixed · 4.5 km · 2 h 30 min

    1. India GateA 42-metre triumphal arch honouring more than 70,000 Indian soldiers who died in the First World War.
    2. Agrasen ki BaoliA medieval stepwell hidden among tower blocks, with 108 steps leading down into silence.
    3. Connaught PlaceThe great white-colonnaded circus the British built to give their new capital a commercial heart.
    4. Jantar MantarIn 1724 an astronomer-maharaja built giant stone instruments here to measure the sky with the naked eye.
    5. Gurdwara Bangla SahibThe bungalow of a raja where the Sikhs' child Guru died in 1664, now with a sacred pool and a kitchen that never closes.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Parathas from Paranthe Wali Gali at Pandit Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan. Paranthe Wali Gali, Chandni Chowk, Vieja Delhi

  3. Afternoon

    Humayun's Tomb

    India's first great Mughal garden tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built in the 16th century by Humayun's widow. Its red sandstone and white marble foreshadow the Taj Mahal. It sits in the south: take a taxi or the metro and give it an hour and a half.

    Directions

    Raj Ghat

    A park with Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, a black marble platform where he was cremated in 1948. It is a calm place of lawns and trees, a few minutes from the Red Fort and Feroz Shah Kotla. You go barefoot. A good place to breathe before the sunset route.

    Directions

  4. Early evening

    Djinns, bloody gates and a lost sultana

    Mysteries & legends · 2.9 km · 2 h

    1. Feroz Shah KotlaThe ruins of a 14th-century sultan, an Ashokan pillar nobody could read for centuries and letters addressed to the djinns.
    2. Khooni Darwaza, the Bloody GateA 16th-century gate whose name only appears in 1857, when a British officer shot three Mughal princes here.
    3. Turkman GateOld Delhi's southern gate is named after a Sufi saint who lived here when all this was wilderness.
    4. Tomb of Razia SultanA tiny courtyard in a back lane may hold the only woman who ever reigned as sultan of Delhi.
    5. Jama Masjid: relics and a legendary cupThe mosque is named after a mythical cup that showed the whole world, and it keeps relics attributed to the Prophet.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  5. Dinner

    Try Jalebi at Old Famous Jalebi Wala. Esquina de Dariba Kalan con Chandni Chowk, Vieja Delhi

Day 2Shahjahanabad and a green pause

Today is the «Shahjahanabad» route: leave the Jama Masjid early, follow the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk to Fatehpuri Mosque. It is only 3 km, but every stop deserves time. Have a dahi bhalla on the same street and, from Fatehpuri, step into Khari Baoli, a stone's throw away. To finish, hop on the metro to Lodhi Gardens: after the din of the bazaar, the lawns feel like heaven. Carry small cash for tips.

  1. Morning

    Shahjahanabad: the city Shah Jahan drew with a ruler and marble

    History · 3 km · 2 h

    1. Jama MasjidShah Jahan's great mosque, set on the highest hill of his city so nobody could doubt who was in charge.
    2. Red Fort (Lahori Gate)The fortress the Mughals ruled from, and the gate where India's prime minister speaks every 15 August.
    3. Lal Mandir Jain TempleOld Delhi's oldest Jain temple began, according to its own tradition, in the tent of a Mughal army officer.
    4. Begum Samru's Palace (Bhagirath Palace)A dancing girl from Chawri Bazar who came to command an army, turned Catholic and built herself a palace on Chandni Chowk.
    5. Gurdwara Sis Ganj SahibThis was the Mughal police station where Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, was beheaded in 1675.
    6. Fatehpuri MosqueThe mosque that closes Chandni Chowk was sold at auction after 1857 and bought back in exchange for four villages.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Dahi bhalla at Natraj Dahi Bhalle Wala. Chandni Chowk, junto a Paranthe Wali Gali, Vieja Delhi

  3. Afternoon

    Khari Baoli

    A wholesale spice market billed as Asia's largest, a few steps from Fatehpuri Mosque. Sacks of chillies, turmeric, cardamom and dried fruit, porters at a run, and plenty of noise. Walk in from the end of the history route and bring some patience.

    Directions

    Lodhi Gardens

    A park of 15th- and 16th-century tombs from the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties among lawns, palms and paths. This is where Delhiites themselves come to stroll. Perfect for slowing down after the bazaar, and easy to reach by metro or taxi.

    Directions

The map

Delhi in 2 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed Mysteries & legends History Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Delhi in 2 days

  • Group by area: New Delhi and the south on day one, Old Delhi on day two. In Delhi distances are measured in hours of traffic, not kilometres.
  • The best season is October to March. April to June is brutally hot and the monsoon arrives between July and September; in summer, do the routes first thing.
  • Buy tickets by card or online when you can and check each monument's weekly closing day. At places of worship, cover shoulders and knees and go barefoot.

Questions

Delhi in 2 days: your questions

Are two days enough in Delhi?

For the essentials, yes: the three routes plus Humayun's Tomb, Raj Ghat, the spice market and Lodhi Gardens. The Qutb Minar and the south are left out and fit a third day. Two days let you go without rushing and eat well.

How far do you walk in these two days?

The three routes add up to about 10.4 km: 7.4 on the first day, with New Delhi and the legends route, and 3 on the second. The extras add some strolling. Hops between areas are by metro, tuk-tuk or taxi.

Where should you stay for this plan?

Near Connaught Place or any Yellow Line metro station: it takes you to New Delhi and Chandni Chowk without long changes. Staying in Old Delhi is very authentic, but noisier and more chaotic.

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