An Expat’s Top 6 Less Frequented Places in Delhi

Exploring Delhi is never ending. I’ve spent nearly a year in Delhi and every week I’m still discovering new locations. It’s not possible to “finish” Delhi. It’ll keep you coming back for more.

There are 6 locations in particular that I’ve been blown away by. These places aren’t all necessarily at the top of to-do lists on travel sites, but they should be!

1. Deer Park & Hauz Khas

Deer Park is one of Delhi’s many large and beautiful parks. The difference is that Deer Park is coupled with the ritzy Hauz Khas village that overlooks the large man-made lake in the park. As the name suggests, there’s a deer sanctuary at the park too!

Take an hour and complete a loop of the park. Then when you’ve worked up an appetite visit one of Hauz Khas’ hundreds of restaurants. Hauz Khas village boasts Delhi’s cleanest and best restaurants.

2. Drive through Chanakyapuri

Chanakyapuri is Delhi’s foreign embassy district. These aren’t just any embassies though. Many of them are works of art. They’ve amazingly been built in the style of their country. Qatar’s embassy is sandstone and looks like something plucked from the desert. Thailand’s embassy is designed like a beautiful Buddhist temple.

Chanakyapuri’s streets are also one of a kind in India. They’re wide, clean, quiet, and beautifully kept as you’ll see in the many large landscaped roundabouts.

3. Visit Rashtrapati Bhawan

Rashtrapati Bhawan is the largest President’s residence in the world. When you visit, you’ll be taken on a guided tour throughout the property. It’s a great example of the opulence of the British and one of the nicest properties in the world, let alone India.

Rashtrapati Bhawan and its Mughal Gardens are open to the public from August to March each year. It’s completely free and you can register to visit at the President of India’s website.

4. Visit Indira Gandhi’s House

Everybody visits Gandhi Smriti (the house he lived and was assassinated at). But nearby is also Indira Gandhi’s house. Indira was the first female prime minister of India and known as the ‘Iron Lady of India’ for her strong leadership of the country.

She too faced the same fate as Gandhi, being assassinated by her own guards at her house. Her house as been preserved as it was since she died. It’s a peek back in time. To learn the full story about the #1 Indian political family read the page turner The Red Sari by Javier Moro.

5. Explore Chhatarpur

I didn’t know Chhatarpur is the second largest temple complex in India when I decided to jump on the metro and go for a walk around. So you can imagine my surprise when I turned the corner and saw massive statues, monuments, and temples spanning hundreds of metres only a 2-minute walk from the Chhatarpur metro station. It’s a bit like a competition between temples to see who could outdo the other.

6. Safdarjung’s Tomb

I stumbled upon Safdarjung’s Tomb by accident. I was walking back to the metro station after walking around Lodhi Garden when I stopped for an ice cream outside the tomb’s entrance. There was no one else around so I thought to myself it mustn’t be a very impressive tomb. After eating, I peered quickly through the entrance and was shocked. The tomb was the size of the Taj Mahal just sitting in the middle of Delhi. Needless to say, I quickly bought a ticket and got a closer look at this impressive monument.