Jama Masjid: Tours & Tickets

We had a few specific places we wanted to see Humayun's Tomb, Akshardam Temple, Agrasen di Baoli, lunch at Moti Mahal and some clothes shopping with whatever time left over for my fiancee. Our guide gave a nice background on the sites we visited and answered several of my questions along the way. Although pictures are not allowed inside Akshardam Temple I would still consider it a must stop in New Delhi. Of modern architecture I have not seen anything that compares to it. Moti Mahal, the creators of Butter Chicken, was absolutely delicious. The only problem we had with most restaurant stops was requesting spicy, but being foreigners receiving less spicy food from the restaurants. Moti Mahal was no exception. Still...delicous. The only negative thing I have to say was the shopping. There are several cheap places to buy clothes around New Delhi, but we were taken to a linen store that pays out commission to tour guides and was frankly overpriced on all their items.

Our guide Aamir Khan was informative and knowledgeable. He was friendly and spoke clear English. He provided lots of other insights into the Indian culture and life in India as we visited the various sites throughout the day. We found that interesting. Our driver Himanshu Saxena picked us up promptly at the hotel and was always there for us when we finished visiting the site. He transported us expertly around the crowded streets of Delhi. He was friendly and helpful. Both of these gentlemen were extremely professional and provided an excellent experience for us throughout the day.

We had already seen a few of the sights on a tour the previous day and so our guide didn’t hesitate to alter his initial plan to ensure we saw new things. The downside of the day was the rain which sadly meant not as much walking as we hadn’t any wet weather clothes with us. The highlight was undoubtedly the Ghandi memorial for us - what a guy! The guide and driver worked well together and we felt very safe with them.

Our driver and guide picked us up promptly and we set off to get in as much as we could in a single day, the grand mosque, the various markets of Chandni Chowk, a drive by the Red Fort, a visit to Rajghat, the Lotus Temple, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan and various other sites all in a single Saturday, a busy day to be out and about. Our guide was personable and knowledgeable and full of interesting anecdotes.

I was traveling with a girlfriend of mine to New Delhi, and I particularly enjoyed having a tour from a woman to help explain some of the culture and expectations. It made me feel safe going into unfamiliar areas. I appreciated how she stood up for us when some men who were handling ticket and robe sales at one of the mosques tried to get us to buy robes even though we were fully covered and dressed modestly.