Where do people think of when they let their mind wander to thoughts of India?  For many it’s Delhi.

Vastly contradictory and unruly is Delhi; crowded, aggravating, and extremely hectic? Delhi! How about Impressive, glittering, magnificent, cultural, sensory and awe-inspiringly awesome? Again it’s Delhi.  As has already been stated Delhi is a state of grand contradictions, vastly stunning many people overlook the beauty and impressiveness of Delhi’s glory to focus on the sore points. 

Delhi is the capital of India. And has an amazingly opulent city.  For someone to travel to India and leave out Delhi from his tour would be an absolute crime.

Tourism in Delhi State

Studded with a past that reaches far back into Indian history you will find old Delhi, beautiful for its crumbling splendor, and famously frantic pace it was once the capital of Islamic India. The British build New Delhi as their imperial capital and then on top of all that there is an even newer Delhi, constantly under construction including the preparations that went into place for the 2010 commonwealth games.  This modern Delhi is in fact so modern it out modernizes much of what we would imagine of being modern.

Underneath all this though you can see the old India shining through there are ruins and monuments, and vestiges of lost empires, gorgeous temples and mosques and brilliant museums. In fact there is so much culture here that even the most diehard of the culture crowd will at times find Delhi hard to digest.

And surprisingly that is not all there is to Delhi…Shopping, yes, shopping in Delhi is a sensory experience.  In the emporiums of Delhi you will find all of India’s riches uncovered. Shopaholics eat your heart out? Yes please!  From the most stunning and exquisite Kashmiri shawls to the incense and trinket boxes, they can be found here. Delhi is definitely somewhere to any person would want to shop.

History and Culture in Delhi State

Delhi has a unique culture owing to the fact that it has a lengthy history and a long association with holding the capital of India within its borders.   This is primarily understood by the amount of monuments with significant value that can be found within the area.  In fact there are over 1000 that the archaeological survey of India recognises as heritage buildings and 175 national heritage sites in the wider Delhi state.

Despite Delhi’s rich history it seems that for the most part the inhabitants of Delhi are barely aware of the heritage found in this state.  In Delhi the culture is an ever changing mix of people who have migrated here from varying parts of India and the globe.  Perhaps ironically the descendants of the people that built many of the monuments here have mainly moved with only a small portion of these people still within the confines of old Delhi, keeping the old traditions alive on a smaller scale.