Travel to Delhi with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Delhi with single trip travel insurance from Essential Travel

The capital of India, Delhi, is home to many amazing attractions worth visiting depsite some of the country’s highest levels of pollution, growth and poverty. The city is the heart of modern India, and provides astonishing contrasts of old against new, foreign against familiar. Additionally, it is an excellent starting point for exploring northern India.

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Key Attractions

Delhi has some amazing architecture, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, a 1920s British imperialist masterpiece. History buffs will want to visit Rajghat, the park where Gandhi was cremated in 1948. Alternatively, the Qutb Complex is a feat of architecture – well preserved and covered in detailed carvings.

Another major attraction, the National Museum, is a must-see with its 150,000 pieces covering some five millennia. Here, you can delight in antiquities like the 12th century statue of Lord Shiva, and the countrys finest collection of Indus Valley relics (2700 BC). Lal Qila (Red Fort) was the seat of Mughal power from 1639 to 1857 and is an awesome structure covering almost two kilometres.

Out and About

Most visitors to Delhi travel the 200kms to Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan as an everlasting representation of his love for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Alternatively, Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is 300kms from Delhi and known for its many palaces. Just six hours by road from Delhi is the state of Bharatpur, where you can explore Keoladeo National Park (also called Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary).

Leisure Options

In the evening, you can take in a show such as Dances of India, held at the Parsi Anjuman Hall, or the sound-and-light show at the Red Fort. Djinns (named after William Dalrymple’s book, City of Djinns) is a popular pub located in the Hyatt Regency. Shoppers will want to visit the Cottage Industries Emporium near Connaught Place; this huge complex offers quality goods from all over India and is excellent for souvenirs.

Safety

Roughly 50,000 people live in poverty on the streets of Delhi or in open lots. Delhis municipal authorities passed a law in September 2002 that makes it illegal to give money to beggars at traffic lights, even though begging has been illegal since the 1959 Beggars Act. The criminalisation of poverty can lead to crime, and visitors should be careful. Even with the best of symphathy, visitors become tired with the incessant attention from begging children, and trying to help them out can lead to uncomfortable or dangerous situations. Additionally, Delhi is not the cleanest of cities and travellers should be careful of what they eat and drink to avoid the infamous ‘Delhi belly’ and other ailments. Taking out travel insurance before going to Delhi is a must.

Weather in Delhi

As a land locked city, the distance from the sea gives Delhi a very extreme type of continental climate. The temperature ranges from 45C in summer to 4 degrees in the winter. Winter is often marked by mist and fog in the mornings and cold from the Himalayan region makes it very chilly in the winter months. The summer heat wave makes sun protection imperative. The best time to visit is during February to April, the spring season, when the flowers make Delhi very colourful

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