Delhi: Qutub Minar UNESCO World Heritage Site Walking Tour

The tower that started Islamic Delhi, and a pillar nobody can explain.

The Qutub Minar is 72.5 metres of fluted red sandstone and marble, begun in 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak and finished by successors over the next 180 years, which is why the styles change as it rises. It is the tallest brick minaret in the world and the oldest UNESCO site in Delhi. You cannot climb it; access was closed after a stampede in 1981 and has not reopened.

The complex around it is the real substance. Quwwat-ul-Islam, the earliest surviving mosque in northern India, built from the stone of demolished temples, with Hindu carving still visible on columns that were reused rather than recut. The Alai Darwaza, the 1311 gateway that is one of the first true domes built in India. And the unfinished Alai Minar, intended to be twice the height of the Qutub, abandoned at 24 metres when its builder died.

Then the iron pillar. Seven metres, over six tonnes, cast around the fourth century, standing in the open in Delhi's climate for more than 1,600 years with almost no rust. The explanation involves a high phosphorus content forming a protective film, and it remains the most-cited object in the history of Indian metallurgy.

Included

Professional tour guide, and a private car transfer if you select that option.

Worth knowing

Who it suits

Anyone with half a day in Delhi, travellers interested in the point where two architectural traditions met, and visitors who want one substantial site rather than a city drive-by.