Mehrauli Village is one of the more unusual trudges in our list of heritage walks. It is a historic village, the first cities of Delhi came up here, & there is plenty of evidence of prehistoric settlements on the ridge area where Mehrauli area if one is careful enough to look.

Our walk this Sunday covered some of the medieval monuments which stand hidden among modern construction in Mehrauli. We meet at Adam Khan’s tomb which is the most prominent building here. (more…)

Mehrauli Archaeological Park is one of the most interesting trails in Delhi. The route covers an archaeological site, the tomb of Sultan Balban, Jamali Kamali mosque & tomb, Thomas Metcalfe’s estate called Dilkusha (which consisted of a boathouse, Metcalfe’s follies, Mohd Quli Khan’s tomb converted into a residence) and a step well by the name Rajon ki Baoli. The walk was conducted by Kanika Singh & Kavita Singh, team members, Delhi Heritage Walks.

The neighborhood of Mehrauli is a delight for a lover of history, for someone who revels in looking under the multiple layers of time. Mehrauli is the area where the first cities of Delhi came up & even when the capital shifted this area was never abandoned. Which means that as dynasties came & went, politics changed, the river shifted course, Mehrauli continued to be inhabited. So understanding the development in Mehrauli, its changes, helps us understand Delhi. (more…)

On the day of separation from you in helplessness and loneliness, nothing consoles us but the sorrow we feel for you.

O Jamali! Resort to the door of the friend, for our refuge is the door of the beloved.

These are lines by poet & traveller, Sheikh Fazlullah, who went by the pen name Jamali. And his name lives on today…the park where our heritage walk was organized is locally known as Jamali Kamali. Officially, the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, very few know it by that name. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is a minefield of archaeological remains! Everywhere the eye goes, there are remains of historic settlements, some almost devoured by vegetation. Close to the entrance is a clearing, beyond a gateway, which is a recently excavated archaeological site. I shared some of my surface finds with the group: a small clay toy shaped like a horse, bits & pieces of pottery! (more…)

This is without doubt, one of the best places to see in Delhi. A heritage walk here combined history with the sense of adventure & exploration. Our heritage walk in Mehrauli Archaeological Park covers Balban’s tomb, a site of archaeological excavation, ruins of a late Mughal residential settlement, Jamali Kamali mosque & tomb, Rajon ki Baoli (a Lodi period stepwell) & Dilkusha, or Thomas Metcalfe’s estate. The last comprises of altered landscape & modified ruins including Metcalfe’s folly, Mohammad Quli Khan’s tomb & a dovecot converted into a boathouse.

(posted by Kanika Singh & Kavita Singh, team members, Delhi Heritage Walks)