Delhi: 6 Hour Spiritual Temple Tour by Car With Expert Guide

Delhi at six in the morning is a different city

The streets are quiet, the temperature is bearable, and the temples are doing what they are for rather than receiving visitors. That is why this tour starts early, and it is the whole reason it works.

Laxminarayan Temple (Birla Mandir)

The first stop, for the morning aarti. Built by the Birla family from 1933 to 1939 and inaugurated by Gandhi on the condition that people of every caste be admitted — which in 1939 was a statement, not a formality.

Three storeys of cream and ochre sandstone in the Nagara style, dedicated to Vishnu and Lakshmi, with side shrines to Shiva, Durga, Krishna, Hanuman and Ganesh.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

The Sikh shrine with the golden dome, built where the eighth Guru sheltered the sick during a smallpox and cholera outbreak in 1664. Water from the well he drew from became the sarovar, the tank beside the hall, and people still carry it home.

The langar here feeds ten to twenty thousand people a day, free, cooked by volunteers. You can go into the kitchen, and you should.

Head covered — scarves are free at the door — shoes off, feet washed on the way in.

Lotus Temple

The Bahá'í house of worship of 1986: nine sides, twenty-seven marble petals, and complete silence inside. No sermons, no images, no rituals — anyone may sit and pray or not. Closed Mondays.

Akshardham or ISKCON, depending on the day

Akshardham is pink sandstone and white marble with no structural steel; note that no phones, cameras or bags are permitted inside, with airport-grade security. ISKCON Delhi is the opposite: loud, participatory kirtan and free prasadam.

Three options

Car and guide; the same with entry fees; or with tickets and lunch.

Practical

Six hours from an early start. Shoes come off repeatedly — wear something easy. Shoulders and knees covered at every stop.