Here’s a recap of some places you must walk through this winter. Put on your walking shoes, carry a bottle of water and a camera, and make this one a season to remember.
Walking In Winter: 4 Trails To Cover
The information in this post might be outdated
Ten-Second Takeaway
Chandni Chowk & Jama Masjid
If you haven’t visited this part of town in the winter, you’ve seriously missed out. Winter’s when you tuck into the best food with a vengeance, and the desi delectables of the old city are your best bet. Try some from our kebab or biryani list.
There’s Dariba’s jalebi and samosas if you want a bite before you start your walk, and you can always end at Paranthewali Gali for a calorie-rich Delhi binge.
Walk the narrow bylanes of the Walled City; get your dose of history, culture and religion at the Gurdwara Sisganj, the Red Fort, the Jain Temple, the Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri.
The Northern Ridge
The Ridge is one of the jewels of Delhi’s natural history. Known as ‘Bounta’ to those living nearby, the Northern Ridge is a landscaped park/forest that also houses relics of the Revolt of 1857.
Ponder on the imposing solemnity of the Flagstaff Tower, on the British pickets hidden away in the foliage, on the ruins of the Chauburja—remnants of an age of violence in what is now a very peaceful place. Savour the grandeur of the erstwhile Viceregal Lodge, now the office of the Delhi University Vice Chancellor.
Balance out all the good your walk has done for you with meetha samosas at the Gwyer Hall canteen next door.
Jamali-Kamali
Behind the crowd-pulling compound of the Qutub Complex, amid thickets of scrub, lies a cluster of ruins and old buildings spanning over half a millennium, known as the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, or better known as Jamali-Kamali {after the tombs of the Mughal courtiers}.
On a misty morning or in the dappled gold of the mild winter sun, amble across Metcalfe’s Bridge, with the Qutub Minar in the background, and sight the lettering on the tomb of Ghiyasuddin Balban, the Slave Sultan, where you may find offerings and incense left to honour the great man’s soul.
Nudge the security guard at the Jamali-Kamali tomb and he might let you enter the sanctum of the elegant little square building, next to a rather impressive mosque, where the two eponymous souls rest alongside.
Where there are old settlements, there are baolis, and this park is home to one of Delhi’s finest. Named the Rajon ki Baoli after its function as a place of rest for masons, this one is wide-stepped, with galleries on either side- a delight to sit in and walk through.
The Okhla Bird Sanctuary
A patch of wetland between Delhi and Noida, you can drive through one part and walk through the other. The wiggly bridge is the point of entry into a landscape lush with elephant grass and teeming with birdsong —a lovely, quick getaway when routine gets on your nerves.
If the sight of hundreds of waterfowl taking off in flight stirs something poetic in you, delay no further.
