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Delhi · History

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

In 1639 the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the man behind the Taj Mahal, decided to move his capital from Agra to Delhi and build a brand-new city beside the Yamuna: Shahjahanabad, today's Old Delhi. This route follows its backbone, from the Great Mosque and the gate of the Red Fort to the mosque that closes Chandni Chowk to the west. Along the way you'll meet a Jain temple, the palace of a dancing girl who became a princess and the spot where a Sikh Guru was executed. Three and a half centuries of history in under three kilometres.

  • 6 stops
  • 3 km
  • 2 h
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
Red wall of the Red Fort with the Lahori Gate and the Indian flag

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 Jama MasjidShah Jahan's great mosque, set on the highest hill of his city so nobody could doubt who was in charge.
  2. 2 Red Fort (Lahori Gate)The fortress the Mughals ruled from, and the gate where India's prime minister speaks every 15 August.
  3. 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. 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. 5 Gurdwara Sis Ganj SahibThis was the Mughal police station where Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, was beheaded in 1675.
  6. 6 Fatehpuri MosqueThe mosque that closes Chandni Chowk was sold at auction after 1857 and bought back in exchange for four villages.

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  2. Walk to the spot

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What you’ll discover

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

The capital of the Mughals

What the city Shah Jahan raised in barely a decade was like, with its fort, its mosque and its grand avenue.

Every faith on one street

Mosques, a Jain temple and a Sikh gurdwara have shared Chandni Chowk for centuries.

1857 around every corner

The uprising against the British left its mark on almost every stop: follow the traces with us.

Keep exploring

More routes in Delhi

Back to Delhi
Mysteries & legendsDjinns, bloody gates and a lost sultana MixedNew Delhi highlights: from India Gate to the pool of Bangla Sahib