“We should always visit a place at it’s best!”

I have realized this after I had been to two places this year. Mumbai’s rain and Delhi’s cold, are pretty famous for their own nature. I have shared my experience of staying in Mumbai in the monsoon. Today, I am going to share my experience of staying in Delhi in the winter.

For the people coming to India for a tour, Delhi is certainly an attraction. I would suggest everyone, visit this beautiful city in the winter as it would certainly be easier to travel around without sweating or making your throat dry. Chillness is something that would encourage you to travel more and more. Even though my schedule was tight, I had been to places that are pretty famous, both historically and scenic view wise.

I had been in the city for 3 nights and 4 days. It was in the middle of December and the temperature was between 17-11 degrees. As I reached around 12.30 in the afternoon, I started my tour in the evening. The best part is, the whole city is connected via the metro. The metro lines are spread across the city like the chain and cover almost all the popular places in Delhi. Several lines are there for the connecting metros from one line to another. If you are traveling by metro, you will get to see the route map for that particular line as well as which line connects to the other. This is the best option to travel around the city, both economically and from a security perspective as well.

5 top places you must visit:

  • The India Gate is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the “ceremonial axis” of New Delhi, formerly called Kingsway. It stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army, who died between 1914–1921 in the first world war. It also consists of 13,300 servicemen’s names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom. India Gate is counted amongst the largest war memorials in India and every Republic Day, the Prime Minister visits the gate to pay their tributes to the Amar Jawan Jyoti, following which the Republic Day parade starts.
    The nearest metro station for India Gate will be, Janpath Metro which is on the Violet line.

  • The Qutb Minar, is a 73-meter (239.5 feet) tall tapering tower of five stories, with a 14.3 meters (47 feet) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 meters (9 feet) at the top of the peak. The Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of Qutb complex. The nearby pillared cupola is known as “Smith’s Folly” is a remnant of the tower’s 19th-century restoration, which included an ill-advised attempt to add some more stories.
    The nearest Metro station for this location will be, Qutub Minar Metro, it comes in the Yellow line.

  • The Red Fort is a historic fort in the city of Delhi, which served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Every year on the Indepence day (15 August), the Prime Minister hoists the Indian flag at the main gate of the fort and delivers a nationally broadcast speech.On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the National Flag above the gate. On each subsequent Independence Day, the prime minister has raised the flag and given a speech that is broadcast nationally.
    The nearest Metro station would be Lal Qila metro which comes in the Violet Line.
  • Humayun’s tomb (Maqbara-i Humayun) is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun’s first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum), in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son, Sayyid Muhammad, Persian architects were chosen by her, It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian Subcontinent and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi.
    The nearest metro station would be JLN stadium-violet line.
  • The Lotus Temple, located in Delhi, is a Bahai house of worship, that was dedicated in December 1986. Notable for its lotus-like shape, it has become a major attraction in the city. Like all Bahai Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all, regardless of religion or any other qualification.
    The nearest metro for this place would be Kalkaji mandir metro station-violet line.

Places for the foodies:

Delhi certainly has some mouthwatering delicious food all across the city. However, there are two famous dishes that you must try if you are in Delhi.

  1. Moolchand ke Parathe(It is a type of bread with some stuffing inside and fried in oil)- Unfortunately I did not have much time to visit this place. It is in Lajpat Nagar. I would still suggest everyone go and try this.
  2. Dilli da butter Chicken- The dish is heaven for the chicken lovers. However, there are two types of butter chicken you will find in Delhi.
    The first one is Kebab chicken dipped in melted butter. It is served with Rumali Roti(Type of bread), salad and curd. If you love the taste and aroma of butter, it’s a jackpot for you. You will get this dish in the Jama Masjid area. The nearest metro station for this place is Jama Masjid Metro which is in the Violet line.
    Another type of butter chicken is the “Authentic butter chicken”. It has all the spices that one requires with the thick gravy and chicken dipped in it. One of the most famous places for having this dish is, “Rajinder the Dhaba”. The place is between two metro stations. They are Green Park and AIIMS in the yellow line. You can get down and any of these two stations and take an auto for the destination. Everyone knows where the dhaba is, the famous Safdarjung Club is right opposite to this place.
    Apart from this, there are a few more dishes you might try. You could visit C.R.Park in Delhi, which is certainly a food paradise. You will get the taste of Bengal in this place. If you want to give it a go, the nearest metro station would be Nehru Enclave, Magenta Line. Almost each and every type of Bengali food is available here.
    Being a Bengali, I could not resist trying those dishes just to make sure that it actually tastes like authentic Bengali food. I only have one picture though. You should also try the street side chaats (snacks)in Chandni Chowk. After coming out from red fort it is within walking distance. The Jalebi(sweet dish), matar samosa and Dahi Valla will surely give you a foodgasm.
    If you are a shopping freak you should visit places like Sarojini(Sarojini Nagar Metro-pink like), Cannaught Place (Rajiv Chowk-connecting station of Blue and Yellow line)and Palika bazar(it is at the same metro station like CP. You get a separate exit through the tunnels). Not having much time, I could only visit CP and trust me I was overwhelmed. It is such a big place for shoppers and you get some famous restaurants and clubs as well for the foodies and party bee.
    The most ideal place for the party lovers is The Hauz Khas Village. Hundreds of clubs and pubs are there. As per your budget and crowd preference you could choose one. Depending upon your choice of music as well you could select. From Bollywood to Eminem, from desi Punjabi songs to Ed Sheeran you will get anything and everything here.
    I visited the place named “Hauz Khas Social”. The ambiance was mind-blowing and so was the food and drinks. This “Social” is also located in many other places in Delhi. It is a chain and the ambiance is so soothing that you would enjoy your conversation along with some good music.

    Coming to the expenses, personally I did not have to pay for staying in the City as I was staying at my boyfriend’s place, however, thousands of options are there. You can just browse through any of the online websites like GoIbibo, Oyo, Trivago, Make My Trip and as per your budget you will get a lot of options. Within 1000-1500 INR there are brilliant options available.
    Fooding is certainly not that expensive, you get every kind of option on the streets as well as in good restaurants. 500-600 INR a day for food is enough, though you can actually get food below that range as well. If you are visiting famous restaurants you can keep a budget of 1200 INR per person.
    For traveling within the city, I would always suggest you to take Metro as I have previously mentioned. Within 150 INR you can visit multiple places in a day. At each metro station you will get auto where you would need to bargain a little but that would be the best and cheapest option.

With all these information mentioned above, I would suggest all my readers, if you are a traveler and if you love visiting India, you can not miss this place. It is also the gateway to places like Shimla, Kullu, Manali.

So folks! Happy traveling. :)

N.B: Historical reference-Wikipedia.
Pictures used in the blog are self-taken in mobile camera.