Delhi

Known locally as “Dilli”, Delhi has been a seat of power for over a thousand years. The Indian capital comprises two cities: Old Delhi, with its vibrant and chaotic medieval lanes, and the carefully planned broad avenues of New Delhi built by the British in the early 20th century. Visiting Old Delhi offers a ‘warts and all’ immersion into India. Architectural highlights include the 17th-century Red Fort, the stunning onion-domed Jama Masjid Mosque, and St James’ Church (1836), built by the colourful Colonel James Skinner. Arguably though, the teeming bazaars, thronging with colour, alive with intense aromas, and echoing to the call of hawkers and revving of auto-rickshaws, leave the greatest impression.

To the south of Old Delhi are four unmissable sights: the imposing 73m high Qutb Minar (1193) tower, the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage-listed garden tomb of Emperor Humayun, the flower-shaped Baha’i Lotus Temple, and the tombs in the tranquil Lodi Gardens.

Imperial New Delhi is nowhere better showcased than on Rajpath (Kingsway), the centrepiece of Sir Edwin Lutyens’s vision for the new Indian capital, where a grand tree-lined boulevard leads from the India Gate war memorial up Raisina Hill to the palatial Rashtrapati Bhavan – formerly the home of the Viceroy and now occupied by the President of India. The seldom visited Mutiny Memorial is of interest to students of the Raj, a little to the north of the Old City. Nearby, Coronation Park was the location of the 1877, 1903 and 1911 Durbars, and is filled with statues of the unloved ‘ghosts’ of empire – including the tallest statue of King George V. If overgrown statues aren’t for you, a more immediate and refreshing taste of empire can always be had at the Imperial Hotel’s nostalgically decorated Patiala Peg bar!