Miscellaneous

Have you thought that your thirst for explorations can be quenched by not making a hole in your pocket? The metro yellow line lets you cover at least seven historically relevant places in a span of some hours, without worrying about the chock-a-block traffic or an unpredictable weather. Does that sound impossible to you? India City walks, is here to make this happen!

‘Metro Walks’ is an interesting new way to experience your heritage offering world class comfort and convenience where in a zipped air-conditioned comfort you can listen to stories of your city while you are on transit from one destination to another. No need to worry, just hop into the metro to make the metro ride full of memorable experiences with utmost diverse yet intriguing history and legacy. So before you hop on with us, get a glimpse of what you will be going to see on our carefully curated pit stops. Handpicked by us to block your day for some history of Delhi and an exciting ride around the city!

Starting from the Southern part of the long line, one of the first brick minarets of Delhi, Qutub Minar, is something which you can see even from the metro, while reaching towards Qutub Minar metro station. A short rickshaw ride from the metro station towards the ticket counter of Qutub Minar, would lead us to the 72 metre high brick minaret which is also UNESCO World Heritage site, is the tallest brick minaret. Roughly 700 mts away is another off beat place which is overshadowed by the world heritage site. Spread over 200 mts of lush greenery, it has layers of history trapped in it, which was also the first city of Delhi.

From Qutub Minar, our next stop can be Hauz Khas, where we travel ahead in time, come to the ruler who built the Hauz-i-Illahi tank and the fort city of Siri? Baffled? Don’t be, we are talking about Allauddin Khilji, who was famous for having an eye on a beautiful Rajput princess Rani Padmini, and building the second city of Delhi which was known as Siri. He understood the importance of reservoirs in Delhi, which is why he had built a huge tank called Hauz-i-Illahi, later name by Feroz Tughlaq as Hauz Khas. The tank overlooked an educational centre of the 14^th century which was built by Feroz Tughlaq, as well as houses the tomb of Feroz Tughlaq, inside the Huaz Khas complex. Hauz Khas, now, is a go-to place for upbeat café’s, pubs and clubs. This compact village is aperfect blend of history and urban culture.

Right from the 14^th century monuments we can travel ahead in time, towards the gardens which houses heritage of the Sayyids and Lodhis unknowingly. Lodhi Garden can be easily accessible from Jor Bagh metro station, by taking a rickshaw ride from the metro station. Packed in greenery and rooted in history, the garden houses grandiose structures, which are possibly the last remains of Lodhis in Delhi. Nearby is Safdarjung’s tomb, which is a stone throw away from the metro station, a last ray of light in the lamp of Mughal architecture, this mid 18^th century mausoleum was built by the Nawab of Awadh for his father, Safdarjung.

Hopping back to the metro and travelling further, we come across a station called central secretariat, which will transport you to the last city of Delhi known as Lutyen’s Delhi . The eighth city built by the British, between 1911and 1931. Of all of Lutyen’s Delhi, the main landmarks buildings are Rashtrapati Bhawan, India Gate and the Viceregal Lodge which were the headquarters of imperial authorities of pre-Independent India.

Going further towards the north of Delhi, get down at either Chawri Bazaar or Chandni Chowk to access the heart of Dilli, Old Delhi. The bustling 16^th century Mughal Walled city will suck you in its colours, and culture. So come, breathe in the living fabric of Delhi!

Have you thought that your thirst for explorations can be quenched by not making a hole in your pocket? The metro yellow line lets you cover at least seven historically relevant places in a span of some hours, without worrying about the chock-a-block traffic or an unpredictable weather. Does that sound impossible to you? India City walks, is here to make this happen!

‘Metro Walks’ is an interesting new way to experience your heritage offering world class comfort and convenience where in a zipped air-conditioned comfort you can listen to stories of your city while you are on transit from one destination to another. No need to worry, just hop into the metro to make the metro ride full of memorable experiences with utmost diverse yet intriguing history and legacy. So before you hop on with us, get a glimpse of what you will be going to see on our carefully curated pit stops. Handpicked by us to block your day for some history of Delhi and an exciting ride around the city!

The Purple line has been termed by the metro itself a heritage line because the line is travelling through the history of Delhi from Sultanate to Mughals and back. The originating station which is Kashmiri Gate is itself a historical site, offers a plethora of places to look around and unravel a lot of stories related to the British Empire in India.

From Kashmiri Gate, we can hop into the metro, and travel Lal Qila, which is the Hindi name for Red Fort. Qila-e-Mubarak was the residential complex for Shahjahan. Commissioned in 1638, the palace was conceptualized after the decision to shift the capital from Agra to Delhi was taken by the emperor. The precincts surrounding the residential complex later was supposed to be the seventh city of Delhi, called Shahjahanabad, which is in modern times called as Old delhi.

Walking a little ahead from Red Fort towards main street Chandni Chowk, is one of the picturesque mosques in the country. Commissioned by Shahjahan, located right at the beginning of Chawri Bazaar street, the mosque is one of the main spots of the city of Shahjahanabad. Feast your eyes on the magnificent four towers and beautiful architecture of the mosque. Walking through Jama Masjid towards the Red fort area, you can stumble upon a small mosque, which was built by the Mughal 18^th century nobleman Roshan-ud-Daulah, later repaired by Bahadur Shah Zafar II. The prominence of the mosque is of the fact that the invader Nadir Shah would sit and watch the massacre of Delhi, from this mosque precinct.

Traveling right from the Red Fort complex towards the Delhi gate area, to enjoy a plethora of anecdotes that the monuments carries with itself. Once a gate, out of the total 14 gates which were part of the walled city had a lot of heritage significance till the British period.

At Janpath, when we get down and look around, we can understand that the place has lot to tell you. While you are preparing to get spooked by the Khooni Darwaza, the gate of the Walled city which was believed to be haunted, we are quick to take you out, and transport you to a beautiful stepwell of the 14^th century which again is haunted but a favourite spots amongst the nearby schools.

Taking an auto from Agrasen ki baoli, we can travel to one of Delhi’s eccentric historic site, which is a collection of curving geometric buildings that are carefully calibrated to monitor the movement of stars and planets. The observatory was constructed by Maharaja Jai Singh II in around 1725. The first one was built by the Maharaja in Jaipur which was later replicated in Delhi.